The Balance of Power Theory: Why it Doesn't Work for the US in 2018

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War the United States has found itself with no near peer competitors and the lone global super power. The US has established itself as a global hegemon with economic and military dominance in what is now a unipolar system of global powers. For these reasons the balance of power can no longer can be applied to the US in 2018. This paper will lay out three separate positions showing how the US in 2018 does not fit with the balance of power theory and a new more flexible and hierarchical theory should be established to better predict future international relations with regard to the US. Counter arguments against this include the rise of China and Russia over the past two decades as well as an argument against the claim that a global hegemon can exist but rather regional hegemons are the pinnacle of the international system. Lastly, this paper will introduce and offer a different theory, known as the structure of power theory, as an alternative to the balance of power theory in 2018.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 2018
Accession Number
AD1177138

Entities

People

  • Justin D. Owens

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alliances
  • Cold War
  • Geography
  • Information Operations
  • Instructions
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • International Security
  • Marine Corps
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • New York
  • Security
  • Social Sciences
  • Southeast Asia
  • United States
  • Word Processors

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Theoretical Analysis.