The Domestic Structure Model

Abstract

The domestic structure model rests on the idea that the arms dynamic is generated by forces within the state. It is, in an important sense, derived from, and complementary to, the action-reaction model. It functions as an alternative to it only in the sense that the two models compete for primacy of place in ability to explain observed behaviour within the arms dynamic. In a narrow sense, the literature on the domestic structure model is quite new, dating from the 1970s, and the failure of the action-reaction model adequately to explain what goes on between the superpowers. In a broader sense, however, it is simply an extension of the longstanding tradition that seeks to explain the behaviour of states primarily in terms of their domestic structures and affairs (Waltz, 1959, chs 4, 5).