[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-38060-en":3,"doc-seo-38060-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":11,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},38060,1374391974585,"Genevieve","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",2,"Literature","Why Leaders Lie The Truth About Lying in International Politics","Why Leaders Lie argues that international lying is often misunderstood in moral terms yet serves strategic purposes in specific circumstances. The work develops a framework for categorizing international lies and examines how leaders use misrepresentation, cover-ups, fearmongering, nationalist narratives, and “liberal lies” in dealings among states and within societies. It also addresses the limits and consequences of telling international lies, culminating in a conclusion that challenges common assumptions about how frequently states lie to each other.","WHY LEADERS LIE  \nThe Truth about Lying in International Politics  \nJOHN J.MEARSHEIMER  \nOXFORD  \nUNIVERSITY PRESS  \nOxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education.  \nOxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto  \nWith offices in  \nArgentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam  \nCopyright © 2011 by John J.Mearsheimer  \nPublished by Oxford University Press, Inc.198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016  \n[www.oup.com](www.oup.com)  \nOxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press  \nAll rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.  \nLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in  \nPublication Data  \nMearsheimer, John J.  \nWhy leaders lie : the truth about lying in [international politics / John J.Mearsheimer.p.cm](international politics / John J.Mearsheimer.p.cm). Includes bibliographicalreferences and index.  \nISBN-13:978-0-19-975873-9 (hardcover : alk.paper)  \nISBN-10:0-19-975873-5  \n1.International relations—Moral and ethical aspects.2.Truthfulness and falsehood—Political aspects.3.Political ethics.I.Title.  \nJZ1306.M43 2011 172'.4—dc22 2010013552 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1  \nPrinted in the United States of America on acid-free paper  \nContents  \nPreface  \nIntroduction  \nCHAPTER l What is Lying?  \nCHAPTER 2 The Inventory of International Lies CHAPTER 3 Lying between States  \nCHAPTER 4 Fearmongering CHAPTER 5 Strategic Cover-ups CHAPTER 6 Nationalist Myths  \nCHAPTER 7 Liberal Lies  \nCHAPTER 8 The Downside of Telling International Lies CHAPTER 9 Conclusion  \nNotes  \nPreface  \nIn the spring of 2003, Serge Schmemann of the New York Times called me out of the blue and said that he was working on a piece about lying in international politics for the Sunday paper's \"Week in Review\" section. He said that for some reason my name popped into his head, so he decided to call me.We had not met or talked before. I told him that I had never thought about the subject and I did not think there was much, if any, scholarly literature on international lying. I told him that he should tell me what he was thinking and I would react. We did just that and had what I thought was an interesting and fruitful discussion that lasted about an hour. Afterward, I wrote up some brief notes on the conversation and filed them away.  \nA few months later, in September 2003,1 was invited to give a talk at MIT on a topic of my choosing. I thought it would be interesting to talk about lying in international politics, so I pulled up my notes from my conversation with Schmemann and crafted a talk for the occasion. Over the next six years, I wrote a paper, gave eight more talks, and had numerous conversations with friends and colleagues about this subject.  \nThroughout this process, I have been struck by the way people respond to the topic of international lying. Every audience and almost every person I have spoken to quickly  \nbecomes engaged and excited by the subject, and many want to talk at length about it. A number have sent me follow-up emailson their own initiative, including people who I have never met, but who were in the audience at one of my talks.  \nI can think of several reasons why this subject generates so much interest. For starters, most people consider lying to be areprobate form of behavior, at least when you first broach the subject.Nearly everyone would recoil at being called a liar, even if they occasionally tell a lie themselves. Indeed, it is such a serious charge that people sometimes hesitate to call someone aliar eve","cbCairwOeqSISC9w","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairwOeqSISC9w","pdf",898209,1,185,"English","en",105,"# Preface\n# Introduction\n# What is Lying?\n# The Inventory of International Lies\n# Lying between States\n# Fearmongering\n# Strategic Cover-ups\n# Nationalist Myths\n# Liberal Lies\n# The Downside of Telling International Lies\n# Conclusion","[{\"question\":\"Why does the topic of international lying attract so much interest?\",\"answer\":\"The subject engages audiences quickly because most people view lying as a serious moral charge, while the book also argues that lying can sometimes be strategically justified. This tension fuels discussion and curiosity.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the book claim about how often states lie to each other?\",\"answer\":\"It contends that statesmen and diplomats do not lie to each other very often, challenging the widespread belief that inter-state lying is routine. The book allows that some lying exists but argues it is not as common as people assume.\"},{\"question\":\"What strategic reasons might lead leaders to lie in international politics?\",\"answer\":\"The argument is that leaders may have good strategic reasons to deceive other countries and sometimes their own people. The book treats international lying as potentially clever, necessary, or even virtuous in certain circumstances.\"}]",1783057424,285,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"why-leaders-lie-the-truth-about-lying-in-international-politics","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,52,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,46,49],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/why-leaders-lie-the-truth-about-lying-in-international-politics/38060/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":40,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-08","2026-07-03",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":11},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Why does the topic of international lying attract so much interest?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"The subject engages audiences quickly because most people view lying as a serious moral charge, while the book also argues that lying can sometimes be strategically justified. This tension fuels discussion and curiosity.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What does the book claim about how often states lie to each other?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It contends that statesmen and diplomats do not lie to each other very often, challenging the widespread belief that inter-state lying is routine. The book allows that some lying exists but argues it is not as common as people assume.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What strategic reasons might lead leaders to lie in international politics?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The argument is that leaders may have good strategic reasons to deceive other countries and sometimes their own people. 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