Venezuela and Iran unite - Balance of Power Theory…
Writing by abuhatem on Monday, 19 of November , 2007 at 9:14 pm
While I was reading today’s news on Yahoo I stumbled upon this article:
TEHRAN, Iran - Venezuela’s outspoken president joined with Iran’s leader Monday in boasting that they are “united like a single fist” in challenging American influence, saying the fall of the dollar is a sign that “the U.S. empire is coming down.”
It just reminded me of the balance of power theory that foreign policy Realists have been repeating for decades - powers don’t bandwagon, as neocons claim, they balance.
For more information on the two theories see John Mearsheimer’s work Hans Morgenthaeu and the Iraq War: Realism versus Neoconservatism:
Realists do not believe that we live in a bandwagoning world. On the contrary, realists tend to believe that we live in a balancing world, in which, when one state puts its fist in another state’s face, the target usually does not throw its hands in the air and surrender. Instead, it looks for ways to defend itself; it balances against the threatening state.
Category: International Relations
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