A Tale of Two Systems: Learning to Cooperate and Compete in the International System

I argue that states and leaders in competitive frameworks learn to behave with realist policies from their interactions with other states and leaders and, in the absence of these interactions, rely on other mechanisms. Contrary to what scholars of the realist tradition maintain, I do not argue that the tenants consistent with realism are effectively human nature or due to the self-help, anarchic structure of the international system. Instead, I maintain that leaders in conflictual relationships learn these methods are an effective way in which to respond to the world around them as they learn the constraints that are placed on them by other states’ leaders.