Balance of Power and Its Critics: The Limitations of Current Paradigms

Abstract

The last two chapters described parallel processes. In one, a distinction between protector and protected created a community built on the foundation of American power and German and Japanese restraint. This community was one not only without war, but where the use of force to resolve disputes was no longer at issue. Meanwhile, a dramatic set of technological advancements captured under the heading of the nuclear revolution forced the two countries that were still capable of protecting themselves even in the midst of the unleashed power of the state into a situation of total defenselessness. In order to navigate this condition of Mutually Assured Destruction, the superpowers were compelled to cooperate.