The Balance of Power in International Relations
Metaphors, Myths and Models

An authoritative 2007 analysis of the concept of the balance of power in international relations.

Richard Little (Author)

9780521697606, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 September 2007

328 pages, 34 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.44 kg

'… a valuable contribution …' Political Studies Review

The balance of power has been a central concept in the theory and practice of international relations for the past five hundred years. It has also played a key role in some of the most important attempts to develop a theory of international politics in the contemporary study of international relations. In this 2007 book, Richard Little establishes a framework that treats the balance of power as a metaphor, a myth and a model. He then uses this framework to reassess four major texts that use the balance of power to promote a theoretical understanding of international relations: Hans J. Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations (1948), Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society (1977), Kenneth N. Waltz's Theory of International Politics (1979) and John J. Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001). These reassessments allow the author to develop a more comprehensive model of the balance of power.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Reassessing the balance of power
Part II. Metaphors, Myths and Models: 2. Metaphors and the balance of power
3. The balance of power: from metaphors to myths and models
Part III. Balance of Power Models: 4. Hans J. Morgenthau's Politics among Nations
5. Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society
6. Kenneth N. Waltz's Theory of International Politics
7. John J. Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
Part IV. Conclusion: 8. A composite view of the balance of power for the twenty first century.

Subject Areas: Social security & welfare law [LNTH], International institutions [JPSN], International relations [JPS], Political science & theory [JPA]