NAME: CASSADIE WILBURGH

USI: 1037504

TOPIC: THE CONCEPT OF POWER BALANCE

ENG1105- INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF ENGLISH

TUTORIAL LECTURER: MS. SINIKA HENRY

FEBRUARY 17th, 2021

 THE CONCEPT OF POWER BALANCE

A balance of power can be formed by multiple states when alliances are fluid; they are formed
easily or broken on the basis of practicality by not taking into consideration form of government,
history, religion or values. Shifting its support to oppose whichever alliance or state is strongest,
a single state occasionally plays the role of a balancer. This role was played by Britain in Europe
(Williams, Andrew 2004) in its relations with Germany, Russia and France. By matching their
increases in military capability, two states can balance against each other. Both the United States
and the Soviet Union expanded their nuclear arsenals to balance against each other in the cold
war. The complexity of measuring power is one weak point of the balance of power. From the
size of its land mass, level of technology and population, the state’s power ultimately derives its
power. Nevertheless, this potential power translates into military capability in a flawed manner.
There is a dependence on such elements of luck, geography, morale and leadership with the
effective use of military force. Throughout history in various regions of the world, some
historical examples of power balancing are found. For instance, through a constantly shifting
network of alliances, these Chinese states pursued power (“China Superpower”, 2010).

Evaluate how effective power balancing is, in practice, toward preserving peace.
Without the Soviet threat, the United States, as the dominant world power, would face
difficulties in its relations with such states as the European powers and China and the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower (“The Globalist”:
June 2, 2010). The ever changing nature of power, in the present-day international system further
complicated the operation of the global balance of power. For the smaller states Globalization,
industrialization and modernization have made them acquire power in a significant manner. Even
though, the balance of power is less applicable to conflicts involving other non-state groups and
terrorists, the balance of power may continue to operate among other states who will engaged in
prolonged disputes in the future.
For approximately five hundred years, the central concept in the study of international relations
has been the balance of power. The dominant role of this is to ensure peace and the continuity of
power. The purpose of the balance of power is to put in place to explain the situation where
states will ally themselves to prevent the domination of one state upon others and peace will
obviously be preserved by effective balancing of power and by matching their increase in
military capability.

International relations theorists disagree about the propensity for states to balance versus
bandwagon. On the one hand, some theorists claim that states form counter-alliances against the
powerful to prevent any one state from achieving hegemony over everyone else while a second
group of theorists claim that states tend to gravitate toward the powerful, joining the strongest
rather than participating in a blocking coalition.
On April 4th 1949 an organization was formed named North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), many countries agreed on the NATO which is an intergovernmental military alliance
based. A system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense to an
attack by any external party is constituted by the organization. The countries of the world
normally strike alliances with the powerful countries for their own security reasons.

The second group of theorists claimed that states have a tendency to gravitate towards the
powerful joining the stronger rather than participating in a blocking coalition. Even during the
post-world war time, in 1954, South Korea formed an alliance with the United States of America
and South Korea signed the ROK/U.S Mutual Security Agreement in which they agreed to
defend each other in the event of aggression by outside nations (Manwoo Lee,1988,pp. 35-36).
Also, during the war waged in Afghanistan after September 11 terrorist attacks on United States,
Pakistan supported United States because of security concerns. The major reason why most of
the nations of the world depend on the United States is that in recent years it has been the most
formidable military power in recent years and its spending levels is the principle determinant of
world military spending and recent increases are connected to the so-called war on Terror and
the Afghanistan and the Iraq invasions. Japan struck an alliance with the United States of
America because it feels that its presence in the western pacific is very much important to the
region’s peace and stability (Jusuf Wanandi, 1997).

To sum up everything, it is very evident that states all around the world tend to gravitate towards
the powerful rather than joining the strongest. This is evidently seen with the United States Of
America and other nations. Many countries in the Southeast Asia feel that the transformation of
Southeast Asia as a region of stability could not have been achieved in such a quick manner
without the help of the United States (“Straits Times,”1997).
REFERRENCES

Williams, Andrew (2004). D-Day to Berlin. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340833971

“China Superpower” (PDF). http://www.casaasia.es/pdf/9200595422AM1127202862621.pdf.

Retrieved 2010-08-27

The Globalist – June 2, 2010 cite: “An Insecure Foothold for the United States; Russia is

certainly still a superpower comparable only to the United States”

Hume, David. 1752/1963. “Of the Balance of Power,” Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 346-347.

The official Emblem of NATO”. NATO. http://www.nato.int/multi/natologo.htm.

Retrieved 20 February 2008
Manwoo Lee, et.al. Alliance under Tension: the Evolution of South Korean-U.S.
Relations (Boulder, Co.: West view Press, 1988), pp. 35-36.
Jusuf Wanandi, “Time for Japan to rethink its regional and global role,” Straits Times, 27
August 1997
Straits Times, 20 November 1997