Balance of Power

Definition
The concept of the balance of power has no agreed definition. It is used in so many
different senses.
Professor Pollard’s View
It’s a system where different countries or groups of countries (sovereign states) try
to prevent any single power from becoming too strong and threatening the security of
others. Basically, it's a way to keep one nation from dominating the others.
Ernst B. Haas’ View
He argues that the concept of the balance of power can mean different things in
different contexts. According to Haas, there are eight different meanings of the term,
such as:
Power Distribution: It can just refer to how power is spread out between different
countries.
Balance or Equilibrium: It can mean a balance of power, where no single country is
too powerful.
Hegemony or Imbalance: It can refer to a situation where one country dominates or
when there's an imbalance of power.
Stability and Peace: It can suggest that a balanced distribution of power leads to
peace and stability.
Instability and War: On the flip side, an imbalance of power could lead to instability
and war.
Power Politics: It can simply refer to the overall strategy of using power in
international politics.
Universal Law of History: Some may see it as a natural or universal law in history
that nations will always try to balance each other’s power.
System and Guide to Policymakers: Finally, some think of the balance of power as a
guiding principle or system to help leaders make decisions.
 George Schwarzenegger’s View
 Balance of power as a kind of equilibrium or stability in international
relations.
 Stability or Peace comes from the alliances that countries form with
each other. When countries team up, they help create a balance that
prevents any one nation from becoming too powerful.
Sidney Fay’s View
 Balance of power means a fair distribution of power among nations,
ensuring that no one country becomes powerful enough to force its will
on the others.
 Essentially, it’s about keeping peace by preventing domination by any
single country.
Hans Morgenthau’s View
 Emphasizes that balance of power is not just a theoretical concept—it’s
something that actually happens when power is shared more equally
among nations, helping to prevent one country from becoming too
powerful.
In a Nutshell
All scholars agree that the balance of power is about stability in international relations, which
comes from a fair distribution of power between nations.
They see it as a way to prevent any one country from becoming too powerful and dominating
others, ensuring peace and fairness in the world.

21-11-2024
Techniques of Balance of Power
 The techniques of balance of power refer to the methods or strategies that
countries use to maintain or achieve a balance of power between them.
 The balance of power itself isn't always stable or predictable—it often only
lasts for a short time and can be shaky. To make sure it works, countries need
to use specific techniques or strategies. Without these methods, balance of
power wouldn't be effective.
The text will now list the important methods which are used to maintain this
balance:
1. Acquisition of Allies
 It means forming alliances with other countries to strengthen your own
power.
 This is a common and old method used to maintain a balance of power
between nations.
 When countries feel they are too weak, they join forces with others to
increase their strength and counter any potential threats.
 This process often involves forming alliances, and sometimes counter-
alliances; to make sure no one country becomes too powerful.
 For example, historical alliances like the Triple Alliance (Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Italy)
 Triple Entente (France, Russia, and the United Kingdom)
Two types of Alliances
Offensive
This type of alliance is formed when countries come together with the goal of
changing the balance of power in their favor. They might aim to attack or weaken
another country or group of countries to increase their own power.
Defensive
A defensive alliance is created when countries join forces to protect themselves and
maintain the current balance of power. If one member of the alliance is attacked,
the others will help defend it, aiming to keep the balance stable and prevent any
country from becoming too powerful.
Two Major Pre-requisites for Achieving Effectively any of these Alliances
 First, power enough to secure the purpose for which it is formed whether
that be aggression
 Second, common fundamental interest between or a more the allying states
2. The Acquisition of Territory
 It refers to countries gaining new land or regions.
 It’s one of the ways countries try to increase their power or influence.
Some examples of territorial acquisition include
  The partition of Poland (when Poland was divided among other European
powers in the late 18th century).
 The partition of Africa (when European countries divided up African land
during the 19th century).
 The Congress of Berlin (a meeting where European powers decided how
to divide Africa among themselves in the late 1800s).
3. The Creation of Buffer States
A buffer state is like a cushion or barrier placed between two rivals to help prevent direct conflict

 It is a strategy used to maintain balance between two rival powers.

 A buffer state is a neutral country or region placed between two powerful
nations, helping to prevent direct conflict between them.
 This neutral area helps to keep the rival powers from directly clashing with
each other.
Some historical examples of buffer states include
 Afghanistan: It acted as a buffer between the Russian Empire and the
British Empire in India during the 19th century.
 Korea: It served as a buffer between Russia and Japan in the early 20th
century.
 Holland and Belgium: These countries acted as buffer states between
major European powers in the 19th and early 20th centsuries.
4. Undermining Enemy’s Strength
 Focuses on weakening the enemy by using propaganda and diplomacy, or a
mix of both.
There are two main aims of this technique
 Weaken the enemy's coalition: This means trying to break up the group of
countries or allies that are working together against you
 Prevent the enemy from gaining new allies: This involves stopping the
enemy from convincing neutral countries to join their side.

To achieve these aims

 First, you try to exploit differences or tensions within the enemy's
camp. Every alliance has different interests, and if you can highlight
those differences, you might be able to weaken the unity of the group.
 Second, you focus on detaching the enemy's allies. If you can convince
even one ally to leave the enemy camp, it causes a loss of strength for
the enemy and lowers their morale.
5. Armament and disarmament
 This technique is that a race for armaments disrupts the balance while the
balance is preserved by the reduction of the armaments.
 The achievement of this technique is a difficult task and history contains
records of failures of several attempts at disarmament in the past.
6. Intervention and non- intervention
 Intervention: This happens when a country decides to get involved in a
conflict, often to protect its own interests or maintain the balance of
power. Intervention can range from a small involvement, like offering
diplomatic support or economic aid, to full-scale military participation in
a war.
 Non-intervention: This approach is the opposite of intervention. It’s a
peaceful policy where countries, particularly smaller or weaker states,
choose not to get involved in conflicts
7. Divide and Rule
 Divide and Rule is a technique where a powerful country creates divisions
among smaller groups (whether by religion, ethnicity, or politics) to prevent
them from uniting and challenging the ruling power.

Some other strategic to maintain Balance of Power

 Contained Conflicts
When conflicts do erupt, power is best balanced by containing/stopping that
conflict and ensuring it doesn’t spread. This was one of the driving rationales
behind the UN’s involvement in the Korean War, the United States’s
involvement in Vietnam, and the more recent international involvements in
Libya and Syria.
 Limited Retaliation
Nations who are attacked by other nations should retaliate only to the extent
necessary to preserve their own sovereignty and safety. To preserve the
balance of power, the retaliating nation should not seize land or resources.
 Robust Trade
Studies have shown that nations that trade together are less prone to
engaging in the kinds of disputes that lead to military conflict. This is most
likely because trade interlinks economies, making conflict between trading
partners costly for both parties. As such, mutually beneficial trade agreements
can be a useful tool in preserving the balance of power.
  Diplomacy
Diplomacy is perhaps the most vital tool in avoiding conflict and keeping world
powers balanced.

Criticism
 Most scholars have come up with their viewpoints that the principles of the
concept of balance of power are correct but the altered conditions prevent
the balance of power system from operating correctly. For instance,

According to Morgenthau
If the balance of power becomes unstable, it is not because the idea itself is wrong,
but because of the specific conditions or situations that exist among the countries
involved.

Morgenthau and three folded criticism of the balance of power

Uncertainty
The balance of power is uncertain because it’s difficult to measure a country's
power accurately. This uncertainty means that countries can’t always predict the
balance of power correctly, which makes it unreliable.
Unreality
The balance of power system seems more real and effective than it actually is. In
reality, the system often oversimplifies and hides the true nature of international
politics.
Inadequacy
The balance of power is inadequate because it doesn’t provide a clear or reliable
way to ensure stability. Morgenthau points out that even though it has been helpful
in some periods of history, it alone isn’t enough to maintain order in the world. The
balance of power is limited and can’t always prevent conflicts or maintain peace.
In short
 Uncertainty: It's hard to measure and predict power accurately.
 Unreality: The system looks more organized than it actually is and hides the
true complexity of international politics.
  Inadequacy: The balance of power isn’t enough on its own to maintain stability
and peace; other factors are needed.

Relevance of the Balance of Power

 Organski has asked the scholars to reject the balance of power theory because
it is logically unsound, full of contradictions, inconsistent with the events
have occurred.
 Even the rules or the basic principles propounded by the balance of power
theorists are not applicable in the ever-changing scenario of international
relations.
 Neither of the rules seems to be valid in contemporary international relations.
 Moreover, the spread of the nuclear weapons, has created situations which
are quite different from the pre- nuclear international scenario. The possession
of nuclear weapons may work as a deterrent and induce the leaders to use
the force with restraint and prevent escalation of small wars to big ones.
 Nevertheless, the functioning of the balance of power system in such a
multipolar world cannot be ruled out completely.

4th Topic
Foreign Policy: Concepts and Techniques
Definitions of Foreign Policy
Objectives of Foreign Policy
Determinants of Foreign Policy
Techniques of Foreign Policy