Important benefits often accrue to states that behave in an unexpected way.

Great powers must be forever vigilant and never subordinate survival to any other goal, including prosperity.

The German air offensives against British cities in World Wars I and II not only failed to coerce the United Kingdom to surrender, but Germany also lost both wars.

Decapitation is a fanciful strategy.

Offensive realism predicts that the United States will send its army across the Atlantic when there is a potential hegemon in Europe that the local great powers cannot contain by themselves.

The ideal situation for any state is to experience sharp economic growth while its rivals' economies grow slowly or hardly at all.

Bandwagoning is a strategy for the weak.