While neorealists agree that the structure of the international relations is the primary impetus in seeking security, there is disagreement among neorealist scholars as to whether states merely aim to survive or whether states want to maximize their relative power.
Mens neorealister er enige om at strukturen for internationale relationer er den primære fremdrift for at søge sikkerhed, er der uenighed blandt neorealistiske lærde i forhold til om stater bare går efter at overleve eller om stater ønsker at maksimere deres relative magt.