John Mearsheimer - Offensive Realism

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Latest episodes

• The Korean War: America vs China | Ask The Professor

  October 7, 2026 · 16 min

  YouTube Channel member ⁠@spacecometrue ⁠ asked me to share my analysis of the causes and course of the Korean War. North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950, and nearly won before the U.S. stepped in. MacArthur's Inchon landing pushed…

• Episode 11: Trump Can’t Bluff Iran into Surrender

  October 6, 2026 · 39 min

  DESCRIPTION It seems clear that the Trump administration and its allies are working overtime to create the false impression that the United States is well on its way to defeating Iran and that Tehran should therefore submit to American…

• Forget Vietnam, You Get Iran And Iraq | Ask The Professor

  October 3, 2026 · 12 min

  I'll explain how the Vietnam War shaped my thinking about international relations, and the lessons it holds for today.

• Will China Attack Taiwan? | Ask The Professor

  October 2, 2026 · 7 min

  I'll explain why I believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in the next decade is unlikely, and the one scenario that could change that.

• Episode 10: The Inescapable US-China Rivalry

  September 29, 2026 · 54 min

  President Trump and President Xi Jinping just concluded a three-day summit in Washington, DC, that was noteworthy for its lofty rhetoric and almost complete lack of progress in dealing with a host of truly important issues: AI, Iran…

• Episode 9: Is Ukraine Committing National Suicide?

  September 22, 2026 · 41 min

  Iuliia Mendel, who served as President Zelensky’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, published an article in The Spectator on September 15, 2026, titled “Zelensky’s Strategy Is National Suicide.” In essence, she makes a compelling case…

• Episode 8: The Russia I Saw

  September 16, 2026 · 47 min

  I recently spent 8 days in Russia – September 5-12, 2026 – mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. I gave a series of talks and interviews and spoke with numerous people in the Russian security community, including senior figures like Foreign…

• Episode 7: A Must Read Book on the Israel Lobby

  September 9, 2026 · 42 min

  Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick have just published a terrific new book called Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power. It appears twenty years after Steve Walt and I published “The Israel Lobby” in The London Review of Books…