The main principles analyzed in the work of Kenneth N. Waltz are briefly as follows:

- States are the primary actors in the international system.

- The absence of an international regulatory authority makes the international system anarchic. Consequently, the relationships between states are competitive and often conflictual.

- For the security of states, the principle of self-help applies. States, by taking care of their own security, reduce the security of other states, resulting in increased competition and the creation of security dilemmas.

- States tend to be rational because they are sensitive to cost and because their main concern is their security, that is, survival, the maintenance of territorial sovereignty, and national independence.

- States seek to acquire power, which is the main currency in international political dominance, and to increase their security, they adopt balancing strategies that develop self-regulating mechanisms.

- The creation of a self-regulating system of balanced powers means that the distribution of power is crucial for both stability and instability in international politics.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]