In the International System and Their Impact on the Strategic Prioritization of States: A Study of the Perspectives of Kenneth Waltz, John Mearsheimer, and Hedley Bull

Abstract

This study examines the impact of international anarchy on the reshaping of states' strategic priorities by analyzing the relationship between the anarchic nature of the international environment, the structure of the international system, and the limits of states' strategic behavior. It aims to clarify how international anarchy leads states to reorder their strategic priorities, focusing on three main approaches: Kenneth Waltz's conception of anarchy as a structural feature linked to the distribution of capabilities within the international system; John Mearsheimer's conception, which links anarchy to states' maximization of power and their pursuit of hegemony to ensure survival; and Hedley Bull's conception, which holds that shared interests among international units, together with the rules and institutions they generate, contribute to forming an international society capable of regulating interactions and mitigating the effects of anarchy. The study proceeds from the central premise that international anarchy does not produce a single response among all states; rather, each state's response varies according to its position within the international system, the structure of that system, the distribution of power, and the rules that constrain interaction among states. The study concludes that international anarchy does not signify the complete absence of order, but rather the absence of a supreme central authority, alongside international rules and institutions that relatively limit the effects of this anarchy.....