Scholar

John Mearsheimer

John Joseph Mearsheimer is an American political scientist and international relations scholar. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service… more

John Mearsheimer

H-index: 40

Political science 85%

Sociology 7%

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by John Mearsheimer

Talking Gaza & Iran with Trita Parsi

On 6 October 2025, Trita Parsi and I were guests on the “Community Alliance 4 Peace and Justice.” We discussed the Israeli policy behind the genocide in Gaza; the chances that Trump’s 20-point plan will shut it down; and the likelihood that Israel and the US will attack Iran again.

by John Mearsheimer

Israel's Lawyers

In May 2005, Aaron David Miller, an American who has a passionate attachment to Israel and was one of President Bill Clinton’s advisors at the Camp David negotiations in the summer of 1999, published a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post titled “Israel’s Lawyer.”

by John Mearsheimer

Screwing the Palestinians Again

On 2 October 2025, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with the Judge about two different issues.

by John Mearsheimer

Trump's Flawed Plan for Gaza

On 30 September 2025, I was on The Spectator’s podcast with Freddy Gray talking about President Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza genocide. It is a deeply flawed plan, which Benjamin Netanyahu played a key role in crafting and which was presented to Hamas as a fait accompli. As I discuss in the podcast, Hamas would be foolish in the extreme to a…

by John Mearsheimer

Passing the Buck to Europe

On 25 September 2025, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with the Judge about Trump’s famous Truth Social tweet where he subtly said that the US is turning responsibility for the Ukraine war to the Europeans and Ukraine, while at the same time he is going to great lengths as the war goes south to protect himself against the charge he “lost Ukraine.” We also discussed the roots of America’s harmful relationship with Israel and Tucker Carlson’s comment that Netanyahu has been telling others that “I control the United States.”

by John Mearsheimer

Trump & Ukraine: I'm Outta Here!

On 24 September 2025, I was on the “Deep Dive” with Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis talking mainly about Donald Trump’s remarkable comments about the Ukraine war in a Truth Social post.

by John Mearsheimer

The Israeli Threat to America

On 18 September 2025, I talked with Judge Napolitano on his show — “Judging Freedom” — about the impact Israel and its supporters are having on the United States, not just on the foreign policy front, but on the home front as well.

by John Mearsheimer

US Failure Abroad and at Home

On 11 September 2025, I appeared on the “The Bottom Line,” an al Jazeera program hosted by Steve Clemons. We focused mainly on the mayhem in the Middle East, although we also touched on Ukraine and the state of American democracy. Of course, it was another depressing, but hopefully informative discussion.

by John Mearsheimer

Talking with TIMES RADIO in London

On 12 September 2025, I appeared on “Times Radio,” which is associated with The Times and The Sunday Times in London, as well as Rupert Murdoch’s News Broadcasting. I spoke with the host, Adam Boulton, about Ukraine, US Middle East Policy, President Trump’s stewardship of US foreign policy, and the state of America’s liberal democracy. What is most striking is not the interview itself, which I thought went very well, but the comments viewers posted. They are remarkably hostile to me and my views. I am not complaining about them— as I am fair game — but I think the comments show how difficult — if not impossible — it will be for the West to reach any kind of meaningful peace agreement with Russia. The Russophobia in the West is so intense and widespread.

by John Mearsheimer

Ukraine Is Barely Hanging On

On 11 September 2025, I talked to Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis on his podcast — “Deep Dive” — about Ukraine and the Israeli attack on Doha. We focused a lot of attention on the Russian drones that landed in Poland on the previous day, as well as Ukraine’s deteriorating situation on the battlefield. Exactly how those drones ended up wandering into Poland …

by John Mearsheimer

The US-Israeli Tag Team

On 10 September 2025, I spoke with Judge Napolitano on his show, “Judging Freedom,” about the Israeli strike against the Hamas negotiators in Doha and how the US green-lighted it. We talked more generally about the US-Israeli relationship and the extent to which Israel has the United States wrapped around its finger.

by John Mearsheimer

How Not to Run US Foreign Policy

On 4 September 2025, I was on “Judging Freedom” talking with Judge Napolitano mainly about how foolishly President Trump is acting on the foreign policy front — driving India and Russia into the arms of China and causing a significant tightening of relations between China-Russia-Iran-North Korea. On top of all this, he seems to be getting ready to use f…

Reposts 0 Sep 6

by John Mearsheimer

Trump's India Blunder

On 2 September 2025, I was on India Today discussing Trump misguided tariffs on India, which have done great damage to US-Indian relations and will not get India to stop buying Russian oil. Indeed, the tariffs are pushing India closer to both Russia and China, which is clearly not in America’s strategic interest.

Reposts 0 Sep 3

by John Mearsheimer

The March of Folly in Ukraine

On 28 August 2025, I was on the “Deep Dive” with Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis talking mainly about the Ukraine war and the continuing inability of European and Ukrainian leaders to come to grips with the catastrophe facing them.

Reposts 0 Aug 30

by John Mearsheimer

Smotrich Explains the Genocide

On 28 August 2025, I was on “Judging Freedom” with Judge Napolitano. We talked about the never-ending nonsense that Western elites purvey about how to end the Ukraine war as well as the state of the Israeli genocide and the possibility that Israel might attack Iran again. The judge played two important clips of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich …

Reposts 0 Aug 29

by John Mearsheimer

Ignoring Brute Facts

On 20 August 2025, I was on The Duran with Glenn Diesen and Alexander Mercouris. We talked mainly about how European leaders and President Zelensky continue to act toward Russia (and the United States) in ways that make little strategic sense — given the realties on the battlefield and well-established Russian demands for ending the war. Watching them i…

Reposts 0 Aug 24

by John Mearsheimer

Going Around in Circles

On 21 August 2025, I spoke with Judge Napolitano on “Judging Freedom” about what is happening on the Ukraine front after the Alaska meeting on August 15 and President Trump’s meeting with European leaders at the White House on August 18. It is quite clear that we now have a bit more clarification on what each side’s demands are and what President Trump …

Reposts 0 Aug 23

by John Mearsheimer

Europe & Ukraine: Today & Tomorrow

On 19 August 2025, I was interviewed by Roger Köppel, the editor of Die Weltwoche, a prominent Swiss weekly magazine based in Zurich. We talked about different aspects of the Ukraine crisis, but focused mainly on the implications for Europe.

Reposts 0 Aug 22

by John Mearsheimer

Dumb: Picking a Fight with India

On 20 August 2025, I was on CNN-News18 in India with Zakka Jacob, a top-notch interviewer who I have spoken with on a number of occasions in the past. We talked about the recent dealings surrounding the Ukraine war and how it relates to US policy toward India. I argued that the Trump administration’s hostile policy toward India — slapping 50% tariffs on…

Reposts 0 Aug 21

by John Mearsheimer

Ukraine Sticks To Its Guns

On 19 August 2025, I was on “Democracy Now!” with Amy Goodman talking about Ukraine. There was a second guest, Denys Pilash, a Ukrainian political scientist, who was speaking from Kyiv. We both agreed that the Alaska summit did not bring us any closer to either a ceasefire or a negotiated peace settlement. But otherwise, there was deep disagreement betw…

Reposts 0 Aug 20

by John Mearsheimer

Am I "Morally Deranged"?

On 18 August 2025, I appeared on UnHerd with Freddie Sayers to talk about Ukraine’s future in the wake of the Putin-Trump meeting. Immediately thereafter, Freddie interviewed Matthew Syed, a columnist for the Sunday Times in London. He and I have fundamentally different views about the causes of the Ukraine war and what is the smartest policy for Ukrain…

Reposts 0 Aug 19

by John Mearsheimer

The Aftermath of the Alaska Summit

On 16 August 2025, I was on “Breaking Points” with Saagar Enjeti and Ryan Grim discussing what happened at the Alaska meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump.

Reposts 0 Aug 17

by John Mearsheimer

Anticipating the Alaska Meeting

On 15 August 2025, hours before Presidents Putin and Trump met in Alaska, I was on Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan González. The other guest on the show was Matt Duss, who was Senator Bernie Sanders’ chief foreign policy advisor at one point in his career. Although Matt and I disagree about the origins of the Ukraine war, we talked mainly …

Reposts 0 Aug 16

by John Mearsheimer

Trump Stumbles Toward Alaska

On 14 August 2025, on the “Judging Freedom” podcast, Judge Napolitano and I talked about the looming meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump and why it is likely to be a victory for Putin and why there will be no agreement that puts an end to the Ukraine war. We also discussed how incompetent the Trump administration has been in its dealings with the…

Reposts 0 Aug 15

by John Mearsheimer

North to Alaska

On 13 August 2025, I was on the “Deep Dive” podcast with Lt. Col. (ret) Danny Davis talking about the upcoming meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump in Alaska. I laid out in considerable detail my view that there is hardly any prospect of the two sides reaching a meaningful peace agreement or getting a ceasefire. When it comes to our country’s effo…

Reposts 0 Aug 14

by John Mearsheimer

How Israel Was Created

On 7 August 2025, I was on “Judging Freedom,” where the Judge asked me to take the first 10 minutes of the show to explain how Israel was created. In other words, to give. a mini-lecture on the subject. He then asked me a handful of question about my presentation and we then went on to talk about other issues involving Israel.

Reposts 0 Aug 8

by John Mearsheimer

Reflecting on "The Great Delusion"

On 31 July 2025, Glenn Diesen had me on his podcast to talk about my 2018 book, The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities. In that book, I critique “liberal hegemony,” the foreign policy that the US pursued during the unipolar moment (1992-2017). NATO expansion into Ukraine was a key element of that policy as was “engagement” with China and the Bush Doctrine in the greater Middle East.

Reposts 0 Aug 6

by John Mearsheimer

The Trouble Ahead in Ukraine

On 31 July 2025, I was on the “Deep Dive” podcast with Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis talking about Ukraine and whether that war will ever end, and if it does, what the aftermath will look like. We agreed that the end of the shooting is likely to lead to a frozen conflict attended by poisonous relations between Russia on one side and Ukraine and the West o…

Reposts 0 Aug 5

by John Mearsheimer

In Despair with the Judge

On 31 July 2025, I was back on “Judging Freedom” with the Judge, who had been on a well-deserved vacation. We talked about the usual subjects — the Gaza genocide, the Ukraine war, Trump foreign policy, and US-Russia relations. Sadly, the situation in all of these cases had not improved since we last talked and if anything, had gotten worse.

Reposts 0 Aug 3

by John Mearsheimer

Talking with Tucker Carlson

On 28 July 2025, I was on The Tucker Carlson Show.

Reposts 0 Jul 31

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