Kenneth Waltz - by Paul R Viotti

About the Book

This book is a groundbreaking intellectual biography of Kenneth Waltz, shedding new light on the development and significance of his key contributions.

Book Synopsis

Kenneth Waltz (1924-2013) is perhaps the most enduringly influential figure in international relations theory of the second half of the twentieth century. He is considered the father of the structural-realist or neorealist school, and his views on core questions, such as the causes of war and the structure of the international system, are foundational to the field today and likely will remain so for decades to come. Waltz's writings on both theoretical and policy-related topics, from the balance of power to the spread of nuclear weapons, continue to fuel debate.

This book is a groundbreaking intellectual biography of Kenneth Waltz, shedding new light on the development and significance of his key contributions. Paul R. Viotti draws on extensive, candid interviews with Waltz as well as Waltz's personal files and archival research to provide a nuanced account of the great scholar's life and thought. He traces the intellectual sources and personal experiences that shaped Waltz's work, including an intense Lutheran upbringing; service in World War II and the Korean War; and the academic environments of Oberlin College, Columbia University, and the University of California, Berkeley. Viotti examines the key influences on Waltz's major works, Man, the State, and War and Theory of International Politics, and analyzes their distinctive insights. Engaging with the views of Waltz's critics and featuring reminiscences from his colleagues, this book is a compelling portrait of an intellectual titan.

Review Quotes

During the twentieth century's last four decades, Kenneth Waltz towered over the field of international relations theory. In this must-read intellectual biography, Paul R. Viotti--a Waltz student and himself an accomplished scholar--provides insight into Waltz's formative life experiences and traces the evolution of Waltz's thinking about international politics.--Christopher Layne, author of The Peace of Illusions: American Grand Strategy from 1940 to the Present

Not since Hans Morgenthau has an individual done more to shape the discipline of international relations, as taught both in America and around the world, than Kenneth Waltz. While many of us know his work, few knew him as a person, and as Viotti's deep exploration of Waltz shows, Waltz's life experiences shaped him as both a person and a thinker. Any student of international relations should read this book in order to understand how and why Waltz defined the field.--Paul Poast, author of Arguing About Alliances: The Art of Agreement in Military-Pact Negotiations

Viotti traces Kenneth Waltz's early wartime experiences and formative intellectual engagement with the theories of Kant and Rousseau in showing how he became the pivotal international relations scholar of our era.--Jack Snyder, author of Human Rights for Pragmatists: Social Power in Modern Times

About the Author

Paul R. Viotti is a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. His books include International Relations Theory (seventh edition, 2023); American Foreign Policy and National Security (2020); U.S. National Security: New Threats, Old Realities (2016); and The Dollar and National Security: The Monetary Component of Hard Power (2014).