WORLD POLITICS – Lecture 8

WORLD POLITICS – Lecture 8

3. HEGEMONIC STABILITY IN REALISM (2): Anarchy and the Struggle for Power (Mearsheimer)

5 Realist Assumptions 1 • World characterized by security competition and war • Anarchy different from conflict but world politics is not overseen by a central authority above all independent states • There is no higher ruling body in the international system • There is no government over governments

5 Realist Assumptions (Cont.) 2 • Great powers inherently possess some offensive military capability with a potential to destroy each other

5 Realist Assumptions (Cont.) 3 • States are uncertain about one another’s action

5 Realist Assumptions (Cont.) 4 • Survival is the primary goal of great powers

5 Realist Assumptions (Cont.) 5 • Great powers are rational actors. (Strategic moves among states leading to ordering of preferences.)

Assumptions 1 through 5 together give a powerful incentive for great powers to think and act offensively with regard to each other. • 3 general patterns of behavior: fear, self-help, and power maximization

State Behavior • Self-help environment leads to anticipate to be the most powerful state in the system • The bigger the gap in power, the less likely the weaker will attack the stronger • The ideal situation is to be the hegemon • One state’s gain (+) in power is another’s loss (-); great powers operate in zero sum mentality (+) + (-) = 0

State Behavior (Cont.) • Hegemony becomes the goal and objective of great powers • Opportunity to take advantage and prevent other states to not take advantage: offense + defense • The best defense is a good offense

Relative vs. Absolute Power • Relative power is to gain large power advantage over potential rivals, but can forgo large gains in their own power • Absolute power is to care only about the size of one’s own gains

A great power with a marked power advantage over its rivals will likely behave aggressively, because of its capability • By contrast, a great power facing a powerful opponent will be less inclined to consider offensive action and more concerned with defending the existing balance of power • US – Soviet balance of power

Seeking Hegemony • A hegemon is a state that is so powerful that it dominates all the other states in the system • A hegemon is the only great power in the system • Global hegemon different from regional hegemon

Seeking Hegemony (Cont.) • The ideal situation for any great power is to be the only regional hegemon in the world. That status quo of power would preserve the existing distribution of power and maintain stability

Power and Fear • Power and fear are complementary • The higher the fear, the more intense is the security competition • A scared state will seek harder to enhance its security • Fear among great powers results from the equal offensive military power capable of destroying each other

World Order through Deterrence • Each great power seeks to maximize its own share of war power. Great powers do not work together to make world order. • Attempting to maximize share of power, great powers work hard to deter wars in which they will likely be victims

World Order through Deterrence (Cont.) • The US spent large resources to deter the Soviet Union from starting war in Europe, not because of deep-seated commitment to promoting peace worldwide, but because of the fear and clear danger that the Soviet represented in the balance of power • Stability during the Cold War was the unintended consequence of great power security competition

World Order through Deterrence (Cont.) • Cooperation takes place in a world that is competitive at its core—one where states have powerful incentives to take advantage of other states

WORLD POLITICS – Lecture 8