they claim that the primary objective of states is survival in the “anarchical international system,” where they are preoccupied with matters related to national security and relative power gains

they believe that international cooperation depends on the will and power of nation states; from this perspective, it is difficult to achieve and maintain international cooperation mainly because states strive to achieve their own interests

they emphasise the importance of relative gains (zero-sum game) in international politics

they argue that international regimes, globalization, and international interdependence are important tools for managing the relations between international actors

they claim that foreign policy is constrained by anarchy