Some of his books include:
- The Soviet Quest for Hegemony: A Marxist Theory (1990)
- International Conflict and the Global System: A Realist Perspective (2000, 2nd edition 2009)
- Ethnic and Nationalist Conflict after the Cold War: Lessons from the Balkans and the USSR (2016)
- Rationalist Explanations for War (1995, co-authored with David D. Laitin)
- The Roots of War and Peace: A Statistical Look (2007, co-authored with David D. Laitin and Jason Beuchamp)
- Exit from the Vampire's Castle: The Political Biology of the Cold War (2013, co-authored with David D. Laitin)
- Handbook of International Relations (2014, co-authored with David D. Laitin)
- Foreign Intervention by Invitation (2021, co-authored with David D. Laitin and Jason Beuchamp)