Balance of Power IR

 

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Balance of Power: eaning! "ature! ethods and #elevance  by Dinesh International Politics

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“Whenever the term Balance of Power is used without qualification, it refers to an actual state of affairs in which power is distributed among nations with approximately equality” — ans! "! #orgenthau! “$nmanaged struggle for power can be a source of war in international relations!”  Such a realization stands universally recognized and it has led to the developmentt of certain devices of power management. One such device has developmen been Balance of Power.

 

In fact, Balance of Power has been traditionally an important fact of international relations. It has been guiding the decisions and policies of nations. Since the 1th century Several scholars regard it as the best guide for securing the goals of national interest without getting involved in war. !pto the first half of twentieth century, Balance of Power was regarded as being the only "nown modern device of international management management of power. “Balance of Power is a nearly fundamenta fundamentall law of politics as it is possible to find!” —#artin Wright  Palmer and Per"ins also hold that balance of power principle has been #a basic principle of international relations.

 What is Balance Balance of Pow Power? er? It is indeed very difficult to define Balance of Power. It has been defined it differently by different scholars. #$he trouble with Balance of Power is not that it has no meaning, but that it has too many meanings.% &Innis '. (laude )r. Some writers define it in terms of e*uilibrium where as others in terms of #preponderance% #preponderan ce% or #dise*uilibrium%. Some define it as a principle of action while others define it as a policy or system. %ome Popular &efinitions of Balance of Power: +1 #Balance of Power is such a -ust e*uilibrium/ in power among the members of the family of nations as will prevent any one of them from becoming sufficiently sufficiently strong to enforce its will upon others.% &Sidney B. 0ay

 

+ #Balance of Power is an e*uilibrium or a certain amount of stability in power relations that under favourable conditions is produced by an alliance of states or by other devices.% &2eorge Schwarzenberger  Schwarzenberger  +3 #Balance of Power is such a system in which some nations regulate their power relations without any interference by any big power. 4s such it is a decentralized system system in which power and policies remain in the hands of constituting units.% &Inis (laude +5 Balance of Power means #the maintenance of such a ust e*uilibrium between the members of the family of nations as should prevent any one of them from becoming sufficiently strong to impose its will upon the rest.% &'ord (astlereagh +6 #7henever the term Balance of Power is used without *ualification, it refers to an actual state of affairs in which power is distributed among nations with appro8imately e*uality.% &9ans. ). :orgenthau  4ll these definitions definitions clearly reflect reflect that Balance Balance of Power Power is defined differently differently by different scholars. It is very difficult to give or select a uniformly acceptable definition. $his difficultly ma"es it essential for us to study the features of Balance of Power.

Nature of Balance of Power Palmer and Per"ins describe several maor features of Balance of Power +BOP;

1. Some Sort of Equilibrium in Power Relations:

 

$he term Balance of Power suggests -e*uilibrium which is subect to constant, ceaseless change. In short, though it stands for e*uilibrium, it also involves some dise*uilibrium. $hat is why scholars define it as a ust e*uilibriums or some sort of e*uilibrium in power relations.

2. em!orar" an# $nstable: In practice a balance of power always proves to be temporary and unstable. 4 particular balance of power survives only for a short time.

%. o be &cti'el" &chie'e#: $he balance of power has to be achieved by the active intervention of men. It is not a gift of 2od. States cannot afford to wait until it #happens%. $hey have to secure it through their efforts.

(. )a'ours Status quo: Balance of power favours status *uo in power positions of maor powers. It see"s to maintain a balance in their power relations. 9owever, 9owever, in order to be effective,, a foreign policy of balance of power must be changing and dynamic. effective

*. he est of B+P is War: of power seldom seldom e8ists. $he only test of of a balance is war and  4 real balance of when war brea"s out the balance comes to an end. 7ar is a situation which balance of power see"s to prevent and when it brea"s out, balance power comes to an end.

,. Not a -e'ice of Peace: Balance of Power is not a primary device of peace because it admits war as a means for maintaining balance.

. Bi/ Powers as &ctors of B+P:

 

In a balance of power system, the big states or powerful states are the players. $he small states or less powerful states are either spectators or the victims of the game.

0. ulti!licit" of States as an Essential on#ition:

Balance of Power system operates when there are present a number of maor  powers, each of which is determined to maintain a particular balance or e*uilibrium in their power relations.

3. National Interest is its Basis: Balance of Power is a policy that can be adopted by any state. $he real basis that leads to this policy is national interest in a given environment. 'he (olden $ge of B)P: $he period of 115 was the golden age of Balance of Power. ?uring this period, it was regarded as a nearly fundamental law of international relations. relations. It bro"e down due the outbrea" of 0irst 7orld 7ar in 1>15. It was tried to be unsuccessfully revived during 1>1>= 1>3>. 9owever, the attempt failed and the world had to bear the Second 7orld 7ar.

$he Second 7orld 7ar +1>3>=56 produced several structural changes in the international system system as well as in the balance of power system. !nder the impact of these changes, the Balance of Power system lost much of its relevance as a device of power management. It is now lost much of its relevance in international relations.

$n#erl"in/ Princi!al &ssum!tions an# Postulates of Balance of Power:

 

$he Balance of Power rests upon several fundamental postulates and assumptions.

4a5 )i'e Princi!al &ssum!tions: +1 0irstly, Balance of Power assumes that states are determined to protect their vital rights and interests by all means, including war. war. + Secondly, vital interests of the states are threatened. +3 $he relative power position of states can be measured with a degree of accuracy. +5 Balance of Power assumes that #balance% will either deter the threatening state from launching an attac" or permit the victim to avoid defeat if an attac" should occur. +6 $he statesmen can, and they do ma"e foreign policy decisions intelligently on basis of power considerations.

4b5 a6or Postulates of Balance of Power: +1 4 nation nation following balance of power is prepared to change its alliances or treaties if the circumstances may so demand. + 7hen a nation finds that a particular preponderance 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. 7ar is aimed only at the wea"ening of power of the violator of the balance. 4fter 4fter war a new balance of power system is achieved. $he basic principle of Balance of Power is that e8cessive power anywhere in the system

 

is a threat to the e8istence of others and that the most effective antidote to power is power. 0rom 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 maor powers for maintaining a balance in their power relations. In this process they maintain a sort of e*uilibrium in their power relations and do not permit any state to violate the 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 ta"e action, including war, for for wea"ening the power of the violator as well as for restoring the balance.

etho#s of Balance of Power: Balance of Power is not automatic@ it has to be secured by the states following this policy. In fact, there are several methods by which states try to secure and maintain balance of power. #Balance of Power is a game which is played by actors with the help of several devices.% :aor :ethods of Balance of Power;  Power; 

I. om!ensation:

It is also "nown as territorial compensation. compensation. It usually entails the anne8ation or  division of the territory of the state whose power is considered dangerous for the balance. In the 1th and 13 and 1>6 were based upon the principle of compensation. 4ustria, Prussia and Aussia agreed to divide Polish territory in such a way that the distribution of power among them would be appro8imately the same. In the latter part of the 1>th century, and after each of the two world wars of the th century, territorial compensation was used as a device for wea"ening the powers of the states whose actions had led to a violation of the balance. It was applied by the colonial powers for ustifying their actions aimed at maintaining their imperial possessions.

II. &lliances an# ounter &lliances: are re regarded as as a principal method method of balance balance of power. power.  4lliance=ma"ing a  4lliance is a device device by which a combination of of nations creates creates a favourable favourable balance of power by entering into military or security pacts aimed at augmenting their own strength vis=a=vis the power of their opponents opponents.. 9owever, an alliance among a group of nations, almost always, leads to the establishmentt of a counter alliance by the opponents. 9istory is full of establishmen e8amples of such alliances and counter alliances. 7henever any nation threatened the balance of Curope, other states formed alliances against it and were usually able to curb the power of the over= ambitious state. 4fter the $riple 4lliance of 156 period, alliances li"e D4$O, SC4$O, 7arsaw Pact emerged as devices of Balance of Power. $he first two were established by the !S4 and

 

the third one was organised by the erstwhile !SSA for strengthenin strengthening g their respective power positions in the era of cold war.

III. Inter'ention an# Non7inter'ention: #Intervention is a dictatorial interference in the internal affairs of another stateEstates stateEstate s with a view to change or maintain a particular desired situation which is considered to be harmful or useful to the competing opponents. Some times during a war between two states no attempt is made by other states to intervene. $his is done for ma"ing the two warring states wea"er. wea"er.  4s such intervention intervention and non=interventio non=intervention n are used as as devices of Balance Balance of Power. :ostly it is used by a maor power for regaining an old ally or for pic"ing up a new ally or for imposing a desired situation on other states. British intervention in 2reece, the !S intervention is 2renada, Dicaragua, (uba, Forea, Gietnam, and +Crstwhile !SSA/s interventions in Poland, (zechoslova"ia, 9ungary, and 4fghanistan can be *uoted as e8amples of interventions carried out by the big powers.

I8. -i'i#e an# Rule: $he policy of divide and rule has also been a method of balance of power. It has been a time honored policy of wea"ening the opponents. opponents. It is resorted to be all such nations who try to ma"e or "eep their competitors wea" by "eeping them divided or by dividing them. $he 0rench policy towards 2ermany and the British policy towards the Curopean continent can be cited as the outstanding e8amples. $he rich and powerful states now do not refrain from using divide and rule r ule for controlling the policies of the new states of 4sia, 4frica and 'atin 4merica.

 

 8. Buffer States or 9ones:  4nother method balance of power is to set up a buffer buffer state between two method of balance rivals or opponents. Buffers, observes G.G. ?y"e, #are areas which are wea", which possess considerable strategic importance to two or more strong powers, Buffer is a small state created or maintained as a separating state i.e. as a buffer state for "eeping two competing states physically separate each stronger power then tries to bring the buffer within its sphere of influence but regards it as important, if not vital, v ital, that no other strong power be permitted to do so. $he maor function of a buffer is to "eep the two powerful nations apart and thus minimise the chances of clash and hence to help the maintenance of balance.%

 8I. &rmaments an# -isarmaments: -isarmaments: particularly very powerful  4ll nations, particularly powerful nations, place place great emphasis emphasis on armaments as the means for maintaining or securing a favourable position in power relations in the world. It is also used as a means to "eep away a possible aggressor or enemy. 9owever, armament race between two competitors or opponents can lead to a highly dangerous situation which cans accidently cause a war. In this way armament race can act as a danger to world peace and security. (onse*uently, now=a=days, ?isarmaments and 4rms (ontrol are regarded as better devices for maintaining and strengthening world peace and security. 4 comprehensive disarmament planEe8ercise involving nuclear disarmament can go a long way in strengthening the balance +peace that e8ists in international relations.

 

 8II. he ol#er of the Balance or the Balancer: $he system of balance of power may consist of two scales plus a third element -holder/ of the balance or the balancer. $he balancer balancer is a nation or a group of nations, which remains aloof from the policies of the two rivals or opponents and plays the role of, #the laughing third party.% It poses temptations to both parties to the balance, and each contending party tries to win over the support of the laughing third party&the balancer. Dormally,, the balancer remains away from both the parties but if any party to Dormally the balance becomes unduly wea" resulting into a threat to the balance, the balancer oins it and helps the restoration of balance.  4fter that the the balancer again again becomes aloof. $radition $raditionally ally Britain used to play the role of a balancer in Curope. 9owever in the era cold war no state could perform the role of a balancer in internationa internationall relations. $he rise of unipolarity after 1>>1, involving the presence of only one super power has now further reduced the chances for the emergence of a balancer in international relations. $hese are the seven maor methods or devices of Balance of Power. $hese have been traditionally used by nations pursuing the policy of a balance of power.

ritical E'aluation of Balance of Power: Balance of Power has been strongly praised as well as severely criticized. %ome %cholars observe: “Balance of Power is nearly a fundamenta fundamentall law of politics as is possible to find,” —#artin Wright 

 

“Balance of Power is a basic principle of international relations!” —Palmer and  Per%ins  4s against this this several others others li"e Aichard (obden (obden criticize it as as unreal, inade*uate and uncertain system. $hey hold that Balance of Power admits war in the have balance and ma"es the nations power hungry. $he supporters of Balance of Power advance a number of arguments in favour and give e8ample of the 115 period of history to prove the effectiveness effectiveness of balance of power as a device of power management. management.

Balance of Power: &r/uments in )a'our: *+, $ %ource of %tability in nternational #elations: Balance of Power provides stability to international relations. It is a device of effective power management management and peace. ?uring the past 5 years it was successful, at most of the times, in preserving peace. #Balance of Power has many a times prevented war. 7ar brea"s out only when any state assumes e8cessive power.% &0redric 2eniz *2, t suits the real nature of nternational #elations: Balance of Power is in tune with the dynamic nature of international relations. It helps continuous adustments and readustments in relations without any grave ris" of war among states. *, nsures ultiplicity of %tates: Since Balance of Power postulates the presence of a number of maor international actors + or < even more, it ensures multiplicity of nations and their active participation in preserving balance in international relations.

 

*4, (uarantees the 0reedom of %mall %tates: Balance of Power ensures the preservation of small and wea" states. Its rule that no nation is to be completely eliminated, eliminated, favors the continued e8istence of  all states. Cach state feels secure about its security in the balance of power system. *1, Balance of Power &iscourages ar: Balance of Power discourages war because each state "nows that any attempt to become unduly powerful shall invo"e an action, even war, by all other states and hence, it "eeps its ambitions under control. *3, $ %ource of Peace in nternational #elations: 0inally, Balance of Power is always a source of peace and order in international relations. It supports status *uo in relations. Between 115 it successfully prevented war.

Balance of Power: &r/uments &/ainst: *+, Balance of Power cannot ensure Peace: Balance of Power does not necessarily bring peace. Cven during its golden days, it failed to prevent the domination of small states by the big states. It was not successful in preserving the security of small states. In fact, in the past, wars have been fought in the name of preservation of Balance of Power. $he three periods of stability&one starting from 1H5