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

The most dangerous states in the international system are continental powers with large armies.

This self-defeating behavior, so the argument goes, must be the result of warped domestic politics.

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.

When World War II started on September 1, 1939, the German army contained 3.74 million soldiers and 103 divisions.

States care about relative wealth, because economic might is the foundation of military might.

In the anarchic world of international politics, it is better to be Godzilla than Bambi.