Deadly Imbalances: Tripolarity and Hitler's Strategy of World Conquest

Scholars frequently portray the Second World War as an epic morality play driven by a villain (Hitler) and a sinner (Chamberlain). Deadly Imbalances offers a new approach, combining both the attributes of states and the structure of the international system to explain the origins and causes of the war. Central to Schweller's analysis is the argument that the structure of the international system was tripolar-with Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States as the three central powers-and not multipolar-and that this needs to be considered in any examination of the antecedent causes and crucial events of the war.

Presents a rare combination: a penetrating critique of popular theories; an important theoretical advance in its own right; and stimulating case study of a seminal event in international history.... The book will change the way scholars think about realist theory and the Second World War. (William Wohlforth, Yale University)