This document provides an analytical study of routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). It begins with definitions of MANETs and discusses their key characteristics including dynamic topology, limited energy/bandwidth, and security vulnerabilities. The document then examines the core functions and categories of MANET routing protocols. It analyzes several table-driven proactive protocols including DSDV and WRP, and on-demand reactive protocols including DSR, AODV, and TORA. Tables compare the protocols on metrics like routing structure, memory overhead, convergence time and advantages/disadvantages. The analysis found that different protocols have tradeoffs between overhead, adaptation to mobility, and scalability.