Mearsheimer agrees
Michael Mousseau, 19 (Professor in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida, PhD from Binghamton University; “The End of War: How a Robust Marketplace and Liberal Hegemony Are Leading to perpetual World Peace”; International Security 2019; 44 (1): 160–196. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00352) //LVL
Because economic power is central to military power, realist theory rejects the idea that states can be unconcerned with relative gains. Many influential scholars of power politics recognize, however, that factors other than relative power can inform states about whether another state is a threat. Arguably, the behavior of a state says more about whether it is a threat than do its economic and military capabilities. Even John Mearsheimer, considered to be the first theorist to postulate “offensive” realism, has asserted that “the prospects for cooperation among market democracies are ‘excellent.’