Kenneth N. Waltz

About the Author

Kenneth N. Waltz (1924–2013) was a pioneering American political scientist and international relations theorist whose work profoundly shaped the field of global politics. A professor at institutions including Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley, Waltz developed neorealism, emphasizing the anarchic structure of the international system as the primary driver of state behavior and conflict. His seminal contributions explore the interplay between human nature, domestic politics, and systemic forces in explaining war and peace. Waltz's rigorous, structural approach continues to influence scholars, policymakers, and debates on power dynamics in world affairs, cementing his legacy as a foundational thinker in realist theory.