'The proposition that the nature of international politics is shaped by power relations' is often listed as a
'defining characteristic of Realism' (Wendt, 1999: 96‐7). As Wendt (1999: 97) points out, however, this is
not a unique characteristic of realism. Neoliberals, Marxists, postmodernists, constructivists, dependency
theorists, globalists and feminists all think power matters. No attempt will be made here to survey the
treatments of power relations in all of these theories. The discussion will confine itself to three well‐known
and influential theories ‐‐the balance of power, neorealism, and offensive realism.