The Past as Prologue: Realist Thought and the Future of American Security Policy.

The article examines the theory of realism and its relationship to national security policy in the U.S.. It outlines the realist argument which focuses on four premises including states, anarchy, interests, and power. It evaluates the usefulness of realism in terms of framing enduring security issue and discusses the future of realist thought with respect to framing emerging security issues.