Current debates about the nature of international politics have centered on the clash between supporters and critics of realism. The Perils of Anarchy brings together a number of recent essays written in the realist tradition. It includes realist interpretations of the collapse of the Cold War order and of the emerging order that has replaced it, the sources of alignment and aggression, and the causes of peace. A final section provides a counterpoint by raising criticisms of and alternatives to the realist approach.

Contributors
Charles L. Glaser, Christopher Layne, Peter Liberman, Lisa L. Martin, John J. Mearsheimer, Paul Schroeder, Randall Schweller, Stephen M. Walt, Kenneth N. Waltz, William C. Wohlforth, Fareed Zakaria. An International Security Reader

'For an inventory of insights on the application of recent realist ideas, these are the best selections from the best journal in the field. This collection offers a particularly well-organized array of arguments about the relation of theory to policy, and the benefits and costs of the realist approach.'-Richard K. Betts, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University