The Balance Of Power Theory

Mearsheimer’s short article “The cause of great power war” explains the occurrence of major power wars. According to Mearsheimer, power gives rise to three kinds of systems which are known as Bipolarity, Unbalanced Multipolarity, and

In his 1988 Republican National Convention acceptance speech former U.S. President George H.W. Bush proclaimed that, “Weakness and ambivalence lead to war.”. For better or worse a state's ability to influence world politics is primarily based on much power they have. In purely academic terms, power is the ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself (Frieden P. A-6). Power is usually represented by the capability of a state to preserve or tip the balance of power towards their own national interests. Balance of power refers to a situation in which the military capabilities of two states or groups of

Power and influence go together because power is influence. There is no greater power than having the ability to influence an individual, group of people, or situation. Leaders, followers and the situation can have influence and obtain power at some point. There are five sources of leader power that are used. These sources have been used in situations that I have personally handled. I have also seen these used, by observing some of my leaders. I will review these sources and situations that I have handled throughout this paper. I will discuss the outcome and how effective they were in each situation (Bethel University, 2011).

In the article, author John J. Mearsheimer highlights that a state’s main objective in their actions were meant to survive and take any measure to ensure their safety. The state will focus on surviving and will plan around that objective. However, the safest possible position is to be the hegemon of their region. States aim to achieve this whilst still maintaining a secured surviving status. A state that has potential and holds a respected status may be safe now but is still exposed to downfall corresponds to the idea that states will search for opportunities to gain power over rivals. The author supports the notion of creating alliances and absolute power. In reality, states are not seeking equilibrium, rather they seek hegemony. With a regional hegemony

Although we have systems in place to maintain a fair balance of power between the 3 branches, which branch of government do you think is the most powerful/important? Why? Explain!

This superpower era was a period marked by bipolarity and the strong tensions and rivalry between a US-dominated West and a Soviet-dominated East. Wagner defines bipolarity as the “distribution of power among states after World War II,” and adds that this “peculiar distribution of power…accounts for the antagonism that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union.” Morgenthau, as a realist, believed that bipolarity was “a mechanism that contains in itself the potentialities for unheard-of good as well as for unprecedented evil” and that it made the “hostile opposition of two gigantic power blocs possible.” Contrary to Morgenthau, Waltz, as a neorealist, attributed the absence of war to bipolarity and stressed that it was inherently more stable and less war-prone than multipolarity. Additionally, neorealist perspectives argue that the equilibrium of bipolarity implies that bipolar systems are stable and relatively peaceful. Such perspectives stem from the belief that the containment of conflict can be achieved via a balance of power. In contrast, liberal perspectives equate bipolarity with tension, insecurity, and the “propensity to breed hegemonic ambition and prioritise military power.” Nevertheless, the concept of bipolarity has significant implications for global order. Two rival powers cannot remain in indefinite equilibrium. At some point, one has to surpass the other - and may do so until the other re-establishes the balance of power. Thus, rivalry and tension are inevitable in a world which is bipolar and in dynamic equilibrium. Indeed, Wohlforth remarks that “when two states are far more powerful than all others, their fates are very largely determined by the competitiveness of their own political and economic systems.” Moreover, the stability of global

In both the 19th and 20th centuries, Europe experienced unifying peace efforts following years of war being raged across the continent.  In 1814, the solution to years of revolutions and conquests throughout Europe and by Napoleon Bonaparte was the creation of a delegation of representatives from each of the five major European powers at the time called the Congress of Vienna.  Almost 150 years later, two subsequent world wars ravaged Europe with the unified Germany as the main aggressor. Similar to the century beforehand, the European powers had to agree on a unifying system to reestablish peace, borders, and infrastructure.   This time, they created the European Union.  However, the European Union greatly differed from the Congress of Vienna

In multi-polar theory, world order is achieved through the cooperation of multiple power systems. In this system powerful states counter-balance each other. It is mainly achieved through international law, international cooperation and economic coordination. The negative side of multi-polarity is that it leads to vulnerability and interdependence, modernization, national interests, multilateralism and problems with international

“The existence of local balances of power has served to protect the independence of states in particular areas from absorption or domination by a local preponderant

Today’s world politics are heavily influenced by globalization. Most of the sates are integrated in this phenomenon, creating social and cultural interaction as well as economic incentives which will facilitate the growth and development of the states. Thus many of the policies of a state are in accordance to its current state preferences and dependence with other countries. Despite of China’s rising power and its expanding aims, it must be taken into consideration that the emergence of rising powers have to be unified with other major powers to combat common dangers such as terrorism as it inflicts every state regardless of its power. Therefore, fundamental values, beliefs, needs and importance will bring all the major powers to very

Each theory of international relations has a different approach to power, especially when it comes to the shift in the distribution of power. The theory of realism stresses the importance of anarchy, balance of power, and relative gain when it comes to the shift in division of powers. Realism emphasizes that the international system lacks a central authority, leading to anarchy, because of this every state must try to balance one another, which is measured through relative gains. However, unlike in the United States, a system of checks and balance cannot control states on an international level. This

States can either internally balancing by building up their military or externally by creating alliances with other states that are aimed toward their rivals. According to the balance of threat theory, states generally balance against threats, although the weaker states are more likely to bandwagon with the rising threat. (Kissinger)

One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories from Middle East and South East Asian countries that have been translated by various authors over hundreds of years. Even though it is a collection of stories from different counties, they are all centered around the frame story of King Shahryar and his wife, Scheherazade, who narrates the stories for a span of one thousand and one nights in an effort to stop the King from killing more innocent young women as punishment for his first wife’s adulterous act. The stories that she recounts to King Shahryar convey a greater sense of adventure, truth, fantastic imagination, magical creatures that symbolize the Middle Eastern countries. Nevertheless, there are several important themes that come out of the stories such as the relationship of crime and punishment, power and wealth, and tensions between the sexes that are present from both the ancient civilization of Middle Eastern countries and present day Middle Eastern countries. This paper will focus on the frame story, “Story of King Shahryar and His Brother”, to illustrate the beginning of a recurring theme in all of Scheherazade’s stories of the unfair balance of power between the male and female characters.

Although the United States remains the world’s lone superpower, it is no longer a hyperpower that can bully potential contenders. The rest of the world is catching up. A change from unipolarity to multipolarity is one could facilitate a return nations struggling for power and prestige through war. While some might say a return to this system could destroy todays relative peace amongst great powers, they are incorrect. A return to multipolarity could show us that several emerging powers will emerge to join the United States as powers within the international system. It does not tell us how multipolarity will effect international governance. The question is whether emerging powers accept or resist the western order that will exist when they

When it comes to the topic of the distribution of power in international arena, there is one state that cannot be left behind in any debate. The US has been considered as a global hegemon since the end of the Cold War, but more recently there has been no clear vision about its role in transformation of current international system. Although, other great powers tend to pick up pace in gaining strength in some dimension, the US status of the strongest superpower that dominates the global governance can be backed up with its economic and military capacity as well as its geopolitical influence.