Browsing by Subject "Balancing"
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Item Open Access Balance of power theory meets Al Qaeda : dynamics of non-state actor balancing in postinternational politics(2008) Denk, AytaçThe bulk of studies on the balance of power, which constitutes balance of power theory, suggest that only states are involved in balance of power dynamics. This thesis maintains that exclusion of non-state actors (NSAs) from balance of power dynamics constitutes a significant gap in balance of power theory. This gap originates from a failure to notice fundamental changes in the structure of, and actorness in, world politics. As a result of these macro level and micro level changes, NSAs became both motivated and capable of balancing against states. This thesis evaluates Al Qaeda’s challenge against the United States as a case study of balancing behavior. A close examination of its discourse reveals that Al Qaeda is motivated to balance against America while mechanisms that it uses demonstrate that the organization is capable of engaging in such balancing. This balancing behavior has not only undermined American power but also appears to be playing a role in global power distribution dynamics in world politics. This thesis is, in short, an attempt to fill the theoretical and empirical gap that exists in balance of power theory. It concludes that the full potential of balance of power theory can be realized only by extending its boundaries to cover the postinternational world structure and thus opening it up to NSAs.Item Open Access A constructivist analysis on balancing : the impact of US war on terror on China and Russia(2012) Sarı Karademir, BurcuThis dissertation provides a constructivist analysis of balancing under unipolarity by examining the question of how the US war on terror has influenced China’s and Russia’s tendency to balance against the United States. To answer this question, this dissertation looks at how China’s and Russia’s security understandings have evolved as a result of their bilateral relations with the US and US security practices in international relations since the end of the Cold War. It points out that China’s and Russia’s interactions with the US have produced micro-cultures in which rivalry over international status and insecurity have become dominant. The dissertation argues that China’s and Russia’s reactions to the US war on terror were shaped by their security understandings. It states that after a temporary betterment of relations with the US, both states’ concerns about their status in international relations were intensified after US unilateralism in the Iraq war. In addition, the dissertation points out that unipolarity exists in a Lockean culture at macro-structural level in which the US has the primary status empowering it to shape the norms of international relations. It stresses that as China and Russia want to play a role in the rule-making process and management of the international order, they are concerned by US status as the system-maker. The dissertation concludes that China and Russia might balance against the US due to the insecurities produced at macro and microstructural levels.Item Open Access Why does balancing fail? comparing U.S. balancing strategies against the Soviet Union and China(2022-08) Bulut, BurakObjectives. Balancing is one of the most significant concepts in international relations. States have always had to face challenges, and knowing how to balance a challenge successfully is of utmost importance for states. In this study, I investigate why balancing fails. Method. I utilize comparative case study and employ process-tracing. I examine the respective balancing strategies of the U.S. against the Soviet Union and China based on my balancing framework and compare them with each other. Results. This study finds out that, the U.S. applied a coherent balancing strategy aiming to improve the balance of relative military and non-military power to its favor vis-à-vis the Soviet Union during the Cold War. To that end, it used alliance formation as the main balancing strategy, while strategic aid to prospective allies was the secondary balancing strategy. However, it failed to do the same against China in the post-Cold War period. Each Administration pursued different balancing strategies, creating an inconsistency. Conclusion. The pursuit of a coherent balancing strategy affects balancing success and failure. Pursuit of a coherent balancing strategy to improve the balance of relative military and non-military power against a rival results in successful balancing. Conversely, the lack of a coherent balancing strategy leads to balancing failure.