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Balance of Power

The balance of power is a fundamental principle of international relations that aims to prevent any one nation from becoming too powerful and threatening others. It relies on several assumptions, including the readiness of states to protect their interests and the ability to measure relative power accurately. Various methods, such as alliances, armaments, and the use of buffer states, are employed to maintain this balance and ensure stability among nations.

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Balance of Power

The balance of power is a fundamental principle of international relations that aims to prevent any one nation from becoming too powerful and threatening others. It relies on several assumptions, including the readiness of states to protect their interests and the ability to measure relative power accurately. Various methods, such as alliances, armaments, and the use of buffer states, are employed to maintain this balance and ensure stability among nations.

Uploaded by

Apphorozein Lamin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Balance of Power

Meaning - The balance of power is considered as one of the core principles of international
relations. Although the theory doesn’t have one, exact meaning, it is best understood as referring to
a state of international order where power is balanced in such a way that nations avoid aggression
out of fear of forceful retaliation.

The concept of the Balance of Power (BOP) is one of the oldest and most talked
about concepts of the international theory. The term seeks to explain the fundamental law on which
the international politics is based. According to Morgenthau, the term balance of power implies ‘the
actual state of affairs in which powers is distributed among several nations with approximate
equality.’ The concept of the balance of power assumes that no one power or combination of
powers should be allowed to grow so strong as to threaten the security of the rest.

Sidney. B. Fay maintains, “Balance of Power is an equilibrium in power among the members of the
family of nations as would prevent any one of them from becoming sufficiently strong to enforce its
will upon others”.

George Schwarzenegger defines it,” as an equilibrium or a certain amount of stability in


international relations that under favorable conditions is produced by an alliance of states or by
other devices”.

Underlying Principal Assumptions and postulates of the Balance of Power

The Balance of Power rests upon several fundamental postulates and assumptions. They are -

(a) Five Principal Assumptions:


(1) Firstly, Balance of Power assumes that states are determined to protect their vital rights
and interests by all means, including war.
(2) Secondly, vital interests of the states are threatened.
(3) The relative power position of states can be measured with the degree of accuracy.
(4) Balance of Power assumes that ‘balance’ will either deter the threatening state from
launching attack or permit the victim to avoid defeat if an attack should occur.
(5) The statemen can, and they do make foreign policy decisions intelligently on basis of
power considerations.

(b) Major Postulates of Balance of Power:


(1) A nation following balance of power is prepared to change its alliances or treaties if the
circumstances may so demand.
(2) When a nation finds that a particular preponderance of power is increasing menacingly,
it gets prepared to go to war for maintaining the balance.
(3) Balance of Power postulates that no nation is to be totally eliminated in war. War is
aimed only at the weakening of power of the violator of the balance. After war a new
balance of power system is achieved. The basic principle of balance of power is that
exercise power anywhere in the system is a threat to the existence of others and that
the most effective antidote to power is power.
From the above discussion of the features, assumptions, postulates
and purposes of Balance of Power, it becomes clear that balance of power is a device of
power management which is used by several major powers for maintaining a balance in
their power relations.
In this process they maintain a sort of equilibrium in their power relations and do not
permit any state to violate this balance. In case any state tries to disturb or violate the
balance of power, the other states individually or collectively or is a group can take
action, including war, for weakening the power of the violator as well as for restoring the
balance.

Methods/Devices of Balance of Power


1.Alliances and Counter Alliances- Building alliances and counter-alliances has been the most
commonly employed method of maintaining the balance of power. When two nations, competing
with each other, can add to their own power, the power of other nations or if they can withhold the
power of other nations from the adversary, they can be said to be following the policy of alliances.
Generally, alliances are formed with the objective of serving identical interests or complimentary
interests. Alliances are often divided into offensive and defensive. While an offensive alliance seeks
to upset the balance in favour of its members, a defensive alliance aims at restoring the balance in
its favour. The general conditions for success of alliances include factors such as common interests,
common ideologies, common economic interests, geography, cultural, similarities and so on.

2. Armaments and Disarmament- The direct way of maintaining the balance is to increase one’s
own power in relation to power of one’s opponents. Hence, every nation tries to maximize its
power. Armaments race is a result of high insecurities, suspicion and fear among nations. It is viewed
to avoid such situations of fear and insecurities and create a stable balance of power.

Disarmament, on the other hand, is a technique for stabilizing the balance of power
by means of proportionate reduction of armaments. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
between the former Soviet Union and the United States is an example of competing states agreeing
for a proportionate reduction of armaments.

3. Divide and Rule- This method is used by nations to make or keep their competitors weak by
dividing them or keeping them divided. In modern times, the policy followed by France towards
Germany. The policy of England towards Indian sub-continent and the policy of the Soviet Union
towards the rest of Europe have all been the examples of Divide and Rule Policy.

4. Compensation and partition- A state increases its power by acquisition of new territories and thus
balance is tilted in its favor. When such things occur, the other side also takes immediate steps to
increase its own power in compensation in order to preserve the balance.

5. Buffer states- Buffer states are small intermediary states which are used by great powers in their
balancing game of power politics for their political military and strategic purposes. They are of great
importance because of their cushioning effect between great powers. They may be neutral or
neutralized states or usually weak states. Buffer states prevent the two giants apart and thus reduce
the friction between them. Poland has been a buffer state between Russia and Germany and Tibet
has been a buffer between China and India.

6. Intervention and Non-intervention- Intervention and no-intervention devices have been


employed by powerful countries which are in the position of a balancer. Intervention may range all
the way from slight deviations from neutrality to full-scale military participation in a major war. Non-
intervention suggests a kind of policy usually followed by small states and by those great powers
which are satisfied with the political order and can follow peaceful methods to preserve the balance.

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