Abstract:

The core aim of the current paper is to summarize the basic argumentation of the Waltzian program and re-examine it in comparison with the legacy of systemic geopolitics. Which is Waltz’s contribution, what is added by Mearsheimer and what does systemic geopolitical analysis offer in the margins of the relevant debate? Both of them focus on Great Powers, since these are considered without any doubt rational actors shaping international system. On this line of thought, their specific legacy is comparatively analyzed with systemic geopolitics and it is developed on the common basis of “system”. Systemic analysis is their common starting point towards analysis of international affairs and interstate distribution of power. Beyond their contradiction with reference to conclusions and epistemological issues, systemic analysis offers a common framework of understanding and conceptualizing systemic geopolitical analysis and structural realism. For this reason, system-level parameters are considered critical representing an epistemological and methodological prioritization far from blinkered analyses cited by other theoretical and philosophical traditions.