David A. McEntire
Abstract: With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the balance of power within the international system underwent fundamental changes. This article will provide some background information about the balance of power and then review some of the numerous arguments surrounding this topic. Specifically, the article will review pertinent literature to discuss the meaning of balance of power, how the equilibration process of balance of power occurs, whether a balance or imbalance of power is more conducive to war, and if one particular distribution of power in the international system is more stable than another. The argument to be made is that the balance of power is beset with controversy that has not been resolved, and might not ever be. To make this argument, this article gives background information and the definition of a balance of power before delving into the effects that the numerous balances of power have on the international system.
Keywords: Balance of Power, Cold War, Soviet Union, International System, Morganthau
