Balance of Power

In International Relations an equilibrium of power

sufficient to discourage or present one nation or
prevent one nation from imposing its will on or
interfering with the interests of another.
Balance of Power, theory and policy of international
relations that asserts that the most effective check
on the power of a state is the power of other states.
In international relations, the term state refers to a
country with a government and a population.
The term balance of power refers to the distribution
of power capabilities of rival states or alliance
 The balance of power theory maintains that when one state or
alliance increases its power or applies it more aggressively;
threatened states will increase their own power in response, often
by forming a counter-balancing coalition.
Balance of Power is a central concept in neorealist theory.
It is difficult to give exact definition to balance of power because as
Martin Wright says the notion is notoriously full of confusions.
L.Claude also says: The trouble with the balance power is not that
it has no meaning but that it has too many meanings
But essential idea is very simple but when principle is applied to the
international relations , the concept of power means that through
shifting alliances and countervailing pressures ,no one power or
combinations of powers will be allowed to grow so strong as to
threaten the security of the rest as per Palmer and Perkins.
 And finally Hartman explains concept of Balance of Power in
International Relations as a system in the sense that one power bloc
leads to the emergence of other and it ultimately leads to a network of
alliances.
The concept of balance of power rests on the assumption that excessive
power anywhere in the system is a threat to the existence of the other
units and that most effective antidote of power is power
Balance of Power and International Relations
As a policy, balance of power suggests that states counter any threat to
their security by allying with other threatened states and by increasing
their own military capabilities.
The policy of forming a geographically based coalition of states to
surround and block an expansionist power is known as containment.
For example, the United States followed a containment policy towards
the Soviet Union after World War II by building military alliances and
bases throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
 A Balance of power system can functions effectively in two
different ways:
1. Multiple states can form a balance of power when alliances are fluid
that is, when they are easily formed or broken on the basis of expediency,
regardless of values, religion, history, or form of government.
Occasionally a single state plays a balancer role, shifting its support to
oppose whatever state or alliance is strongest. Britain played this role in
Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in its relations with
France, Russia, and Germany.
2. Two states can balance against each other by matching their increases
in military capability. In the Cold War, the Soviet Union and United States
both expanded their nuclear arsenals to balance against each other.
One weakness of the balance of power concept is the difficulty of
measuring power. Ultimately a states power derives from the size of its
land mass, population, and its level of technology. But this potential power
measured roughly by a states gross domestic product (GDP)translates
imperfectly into military capability.
The effective use of military force depends on such elements as leadership,
morale, geography, and luck. Furthermore, leaders misperceptions can
seriously distort the calculation of power. During the Vietnam War (1959-
 Balance of Power Today
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the
worlds sole superpower.
Balance of power theory suggests that without the Soviet threat the
United States, as the dominant world power, will face difficulties in its
relations with such states as China and the European powers.
For example, key countries such as China, Russia, France, and Germany all
opposed the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 in diplomatic arenas
such as the United Nations.
Yet this opposition did not stop the United States from acting, exposing the
significant gap in military capability that now exists between the United
States and the rest of the world.
Small states that fear the United States are no longer able to join a
counterbalancing coalition to protect their security. Instead, many are
developing nuclear weapons in an attempt to dramatically expand their
military capability. For example, North Korea claimed in 2003 that it was
developing nuclear weapons to balance against U.S. power.
 The changing nature of power in the contemporary international
system further complicates the operation of the global balance of
power.
Globalization, the Internet, weapons of mass destruction, and other
technological developments have made it possible for small states
and even non state groups to acquire significant power.
These factors also dilute the relative importance of military power. For
example, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United
States assembled a broad coalition to invade Afghanistan, using
military force to topple the Taliban government and end the Talibans
support for al-Qaeda terrorists.
This application of military power did not provoke a balancing coalition
of other states, but it also did not end the terrorist threat to the United
States. In the future, the balance of power may continue to operate
among states engaged in prolonged disputes, but it is less applicable
to conflicts involving terrorists and other non state groups.
Conclusion
The balance of power has been a central concept in the theory and practice of
international relations for the past five hundred years.
It has also played a key role in some of the most important attempts to
develop a theory of international politics in the contemporary study of
international relations.
Another basis for the realist theory is the idea of a balance of power and the
anarchic nature of the global system as there is no effective global
government and the world system is anomic (without rules).
This ties in well with the idea of global relations being one of self help and
each state striving to promote its own interests at the expense of others. In
short, realists see the global system as one of self help.
The idea of the balance of power is put in place to explain the situation where
states will ally themselves to prevent the hegemony of one state over all
others.
Balance of Power, theory and policy of international relations that asserts that
the most effective check on the power of a state is the power of other states.