Balance of Power as a Concept

Section A; 1) How does Kenneth Waltz’s idea of ‘capabilities’ differ from Hans Morgenthau’s idea of ‘power’? Does this have any effect on how each view the nature of international politics?

The Cold War was brought on by the differences in economic treatment and political ideology between the US and USSR that could no longer be ignored once the common goal of fighting together as WWII drew to a close and ended. The two powerful countries saw the other country’s actions, or lack of actions, as a power grab and a threat to their own national security. Threats of nuclear attack caused many issues between the US and USSR. The two countries acted to prevent the expansion of each other’s political ideology into other countries.

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union took place after the World War II until the early 1990s. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were at the Cold War which employed nuclear arms race, space programs development race, weapons developments, counter-intelligence, military alliances, and propaganda. This Cold War made the world fear for the possible World War III. Ally nations for both sides were divided into either the democratic or the communism which were either on the United States side or the Soviet Union’s side. This Cold War was a political and strategic method to gain strategic territories for the military purpose and also for the economic gains.

I agree with the quote that “Wars between states can be explained by the distribution of power and capabilities in the international system.” Power distribution among all the great powers plays an important role for the stability and economy of the state. I believe that war determines who will govern the international system, and whose interests will be primarily served by the new international order.

The Cold war, a threatening competition between the United States and the Soviet Unions, kept going from the late 1940 's until the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991. The war was "icy" just in that the United States and USSR never battled one another in an immediate military encounter, however both superpowers debilitated one another with atomic destruction and partook oftentimes in "intermediary wars" by supporting associated countries in various "hot" wars set up like Korea, Vietnam, and Angola. The Cold War characterized both nations ' outside strategies through the a large portion of the twentieth century, as the Americans and Soviets sought partners to keep up and enlarge their separate effective reaches around the globe. Every side saw the chilly war as a fight between the developments, in the overall conflict between the American free enterprise, and Soviet socialism, one and only could win. For over forty years, the Soviet-American clash hung overwhelming over worldwide issues, forming the world with gigantic military developments, an endless atomic weapons contest, serious surveillance, and furious mechanical rivalry as every side attempted to pick up the high ground in planning for the nuclear "hot war" all people dreaded would some time or another come.

In the United States Federalism Constitution had another power which is the reserved power. A reserved power gets order by the 10th Amendment. The 10th amendment the Bill of Rights to further define the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The amendment says that the federal government has only those powers specifically granted by the Constitution. Once the 10th amendment had been used the Anti-Federalists became anxious that the new Constitution exposed the Revolutionary War that object to violence against a form of government or indestructible central government.

The Cold War got its name because there was no actual-armed conflict between the Soviets and the Americans. There was no "hot" war. During this period of history, the United States and the Soviet Union's armed forces never met on the battlefield. The two countries were constantly responding to each other's actions though. This included spying, a military arms competition, industrial and technological developments, and even a race to the moon. Both countries spent vast amounts of money on defense, nuclear arms, and support of third-party wars.

What if The Cold War Turned Hot? The Cold War was a time of political and military tension primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. Historians believe that these tensions lasted from 1947 to 1991. The Cold War had many different components, but one part that could have turned the war hot was the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cold War was a unique war, nothing like the wars that had come before. It did not have a clear start, no real first battle to start the hostilities. It could be said that the Warsaw upraising in 1944 was the beginning, though what that symbolized was coming went unnoticed by the United States. It was not until two years later in 1946 that the United States finally realized that they had walked out of the fire World War II and into the frying pan of a new war (International). That kind of subtle development was common in the Cold War and continued until it 's resolution in 1990. There was no clear aggressor, it was a mutual war over ideologies, a nature clash between communism and and capitalist democracy. No one wanted things to dissolve into military conflict so it was fought primarily with policy (International, Gale). The question of avoidance is always present and especially with the Cold War. Answered simply, yes, if the United States or the Soviet Union had taken either more peaceful or more aggressive actions it could have led to a peaceful resolution or mutual destruction instead. Remnants of the Cold War can be found wide and far, from the complete destruction of historic Japanese society to nuclear waste and the death and illness that accompanies it in Kazakhstan (The Cold War in Asia, Werner). The Cold War, mutually started by the U.S. and the Soviet Union, could have been avoided but may have been the best option despite the severely negative legacy in left

The so-called Cold War between the United States and The Soviet Union started after Winston Churchill's Fulton speech in August 16, 1945 and in fact ended only when the USSR collapsed. The Cold War was a period of tense relationship between the two countries and not once the world stood at the brink of World War III. However the American interpretation of history turns the Soviet Union into an evil aggressor, meanwhile the United States did their best to defense their country and democracy around the world. Ask any

The balance of power theory is viewed as critical policy in the handling of international relations. To fully comprehend how the balance

Morgentau considers Balance of Power to be a forceful check on the exercising of national power at the international level, hence tool for maintaining peace. What are the different types of BoP and what are the strengths and weaknesses of this system of peace maintenance? Morgentheu 1978

Nye, J. S. (1990) ‘Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power’, Basic Books, New York, NY.

The Balance of Power is a fiercely debated topic within the realm of international relations. Its true definition has been impossible to pin down and how it manifests itself has been argued over by many academics, in addition to this the idea is divided between the schools of thought that it is a force for preserving peace or a force for tension and war. This essay will look to examine the balance of power using retrospective analysis of historical events, focusing on the lead up to and the outbreak of WWI and its conclusion and the Cold war. Through this it can be hoped to find a clearer definition of the balance of power, whether it is really a balance analogous to a set of scales and whether the balance of power is a way of preserving peace and stability or whether it is on the whole, better termed as the balance of war, creating only tension and instability.

The international system is a self-help system; states are obliged to look after themselves, because there is no one else to look after them. Waltz does not assume that states are pursuing the increase in their power and the importance of them between others states, necessarily aggressive body, but he does believe that they desire to preserve themselves. This means that they are obliged to be considered with their security, national defence and obliged to regard other states as potential threats (Brown, 2001).