By James R. Holmes
Atlantic Monthly columnist Robert Kaplan created a minor stir a few weeks back when he published a defense of John Mearsheimer’s work. Mearsheimer has been a controversial figure since 2006-2007, when he co-authored an article and book alleging that the “Israel lobby” holds American foreign policy captive.” No commentary on his work can avoid dredging up that episode again – hence the controversy over Kaplan’s Atlantic essay. This University of Chicago professor, however, is best-known within academe as a leading proponent of international relations “realism.” He has pushed a variant of realism known as “offensive realism” with particular zeal and efficacy. That strand of research was what elicited Kaplan’s praise.
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