Theory of International Politics


Theory of International Politics is a 1979 book on international relations theory by Kenneth Waltz that offers a new theory, the neorealist theory of international relations. Taking into account the influence of neoclassical economic theory, Waltz argued that the fundamental "ordering principle" of the international political system is anarchy, which is defined by the presence of "functionally undifferentiated" individual state actors lacking "relations of super- and subordination" that are distinguished only by their varying capabilities.
It is arguably the most influential book in international relations, causing a fundamental discursive transformation and bringing the concept of anarchy to the forefront.