[1] Taking into account the influence of neoclassical economic theory, Waltz argued that the fundamental "ordering principle" (p. 88) of the international political system is anarchy, which is defined by the presence of "functionally undifferentiated" (p. 97) individual state actors lacking "relations of super- and subordination" (p. 88) that are distinguished only by their varying capabilities.

Waltz challenges reductionist approaches to international politics, arguing that they fail to account for similar behaviors across states (Ch.

According to Waltz, system-level processes of socialization and competition lead states to behave in similar ways (p. 76).

It is arguably the most influential book in international relations, causing a fundamental discursive transformation and bringing the concept of anarchy to the forefront.

[5] John Mearsheimer describes it as among the three most influential realist works of international relations of the 20th century,[6] Charles Glaser characterized it as the "defining work" in the neorealist international relations literature,[7] and Robert Jervis wrote in 1998 that the book was "the most important book in the field in the past decade.