Relevance of Balance of Power in the 21st Century | By Dr. Aarzoo Sharma
Relevance of Balance of Power in the 21st Century By Dr. Aarzoo Sharma Balance of Power is one of the oldest foundational concepts of international relations. We can find the idea in Thucydides’ ‘Peloponnesian War’, Hobbes’ ‘Leviathon’ and Kautilya’s ‘Arthshastra’. Even modern realists like EH Carr, Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz have focused on this concept. Its status in international politics can be equated with Newton’s law of gravity in physics. The basic logic behind this realist concept is straightforward. In the Westphalian world order which is anarchic due to absence of any “world government”, each state has to rely on self help to avoid being conquered, coerced or otherwise when facing a powerful adversary. Self help requires balance of power. Balance of power can be achieved either by internal balancing or external balancing- internal balancing is the internal buildup of military capabilities as well as economic capabilities as a foundation to strengthen the military pow...
