The purpose of writing this book is to strengthen the study of the international relations (IR) theory of moral realism through discussions between myself and eight IR scholars who are also interested in moral realism. Since the publication of Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers in 2019, more than 40 reviews have appeared. I found it necessary to sponsor discussions on IR moral realism and put some of them into a collection. On the one hand, it is important to clarify certain misunderstandings about IR moral realism; on the other, it is helpful for further development of this theory.

Producing a book of this kind meant there were some difficult decisions to make, giving the writers’ multiplex perspectives and portraying aspects such as morality, ideology, leadership types, leadership formation, political institutions, power structure, level analysis, international norms, international order, China– US rivalry, and so on. It became clear that there are too many outstanding essays about moral realism to be included in one volume. For the sake of following a specific theoretical theme, fresh chapters would be necessary. To provide readers with an understanding of the significance of moral realism, I invited the eight IR scholars to contribute new chapters to this project. With a solid grounding in IR theories and remarkable views on Chinese political culture, these scholars have been successful with their writings on IR theory and Chinese foreign policy.

Chapters in this collection set the stage for the understanding of and debating on IR moral realism. In addition, those debates will give IR students new insight into aspects of ontology, epistemology, and methodology in IR theory construction. For other readers, this collection may provide insightful opinions about the differences between interstate leadership and domestic leadership, the relations between leadership and political institutions, the different views on leadership morality's influence on the historical trends of international politics, and the impacts of major powers’ leadership on the present world order.

In addition, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022 adds a practical dimension to the theoretical significance of this book. Since the war began, many IR scholars have paid increasing attention to the role of world leaders along with the war- impacted international order.