FOREWORD
Kenneth N. Waltz
Since the Treaty of Westphalia, states have been the bedrock on which the inter-
national political system is built. More, and more often, the bedrock is thought to
have softened and eroded. When A-bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the
nation-state appeared to be doomed. That world government was the only
alternative to world war was quickly concluded by Robert Maynard Hutchins and
Bertrand Russell, and somewhat later by Herman Kahn. Yet, nuclear weapons in
the hands of some states have made it impossible for those states to fight major wars
and so, paradoxically, these very weapons have thereby become the safeguard of
states. Globalization was expected to render national borders so porous as to lead to
the demise of states. Instead, globalization has placed a premium on the abilities of
states to cope with fast-changing economic and technological conditions. After
September 11, 2001, terrorists, it was feared, would be able to deploy forces on a
scale that few states could cope with, but terrorists are not able to mount sustained
attacks, to rend the fabric of societies, and to occupy state territories. They can
frighten and annoy states without the slightest ability to undermine them. Some
have thought that non-governmental organizations might transcend states and
ultimately replace them. But NGOs, far from threatening states, have served as their
hand-maidens. The financing of NGOs depends heavily on states; the health and
work, and the very existence of NGOs requires the support and tolerance of states.
The essays in this book, written by a band of outstanding scholars with different
takes on how to theorize international politics, demonstrate the pertinence, the
resilience, and, I must add, at times the limits and weaknesses of realist theory. I am
pleased that books of mine published in distant years have stimulated so many
thoughtful, insightful, and constructively critical essays. They attest to the impor-
tance and contribute to the power of the agenda of realism.