No. 25 in America · Week of November 9, 2026
Political scientist, University of Chicago
John Mearsheimer is a political scientist at the University of Chicago and the architect of offensive realism.
Photo: John Mearsheimer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Score breakdown
Nine parts, measured fresh each week. This is where John Mearsheimer's points came from, and the evidence behind each one.
Debate record
Defends his case on Ukraine against its sharpest critics, including former ambassador Michael McFaul at the Munk Debates.
Mearsheimer's theory holds that great powers seek regional dominance in an anarchic international system.
His argument that the West bears much of the blame for the war in Ukraine has made him one of the most debated scholars in the world.
On the record
2026
May 20, 2026
Formal debateWon the audience vote
Against Mike Pompeo and Victoria Nuland · Munk Debates, Toronto
John Mearsheimer argued for the motion with Stephen Walt. The pro side won the audience vote, swinging 1 percent.
2022
May 12, 2022
Formal debateLost the audience vote
Against Michael McFaul and Radosław Sikorski · Munk Debates, Toronto
Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt argued that Western policy bears responsibility for the conflict, against McFaul and Sikorski.
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