The Balance of Power
| Date | 01 April 1977 |
| Published date | 01 April 1977 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711787700500505 |
| Author | Benno Wassermann |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
71
THE
BALANCE
OF
POWER
By
BENNO
WAS SERMANN
POWER
CHECKS
AND
POWER
VACUUMS
THE
theory
of
the
Balance
of
Power
was
first
formulated
by
Hume
in
his
essay
&dquo;On
the
Balance
of
Power&dquo;,
and
received
its
classical
application
at
the
Congress
of
Vienna.
Since
then
it
has
been
clarified
and
refined
but
it still
remains
ambiguous
with
regard
to
war
and
peace,
the
status
quo
revisionist
dichotomy
and
the
survival
and
destruction
of
the
international
system.
In
the
absence
of
an
external
threat
to
mankind
from
another
planet
or
another
species,
human
beings
live
divided
up
in
organised
groups
called
sovereign
states,
each
of
which
constitutes
a
threat
to
the
other,
and
the
whole
system
survives
because
of
the
Balance
of
Power.
This
Balance
of
Power
may,
therefore,
be
regarded
as
a
theory
of
power
checks
and
power
vacuums.
Martin
Wight
has
distinguished
nine
different
meanings
of
the
term
Balance
of
Power
in
the
literature.
They
are:
1.
An
even
distribution
of
power.
2.
The
principle
that
power
ought
to
be
evenly
distributed.
3.
The
existing
distribution
of
power.
Hence,
any
possible
distribution
of
power.
4.
The
principle
of
equal
aggrandisement
of
the
Great
Powers
at
the
expense
of
the
weak.
5.
The
principle
that
our
side
ought
to
have
a
margin
of
strength
in
order
to
avert
the
danger
of
power
becoming
unevenly
distributed.
6.
(When
governed
by
the
verb
&dquo;to
hold&dquo;)
A
special
role
in
maintaining
an
even
distribution
of
power.
7.
(Ditto)
A
special
advantage
in
the
existing
distribution
of
power.
8.
Predominance.
9.
An
inherent
tendency
of
international
politics
to
produce
an
even
distribution
of
power.
1
"Diplomatic
Investigations",
ed.
H.
Butterfield
and
M.
Wight,
page
151.
2
"The
Balance
of
Power:
Prescription,
Concept
or
Propaganda",
World
Politics,
1952
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