The Balance of Power in International Relations

Richard Little is Professor of International Politics at the University of Bristol. He is a former Chair and President of the British International Studies Association and the author of International Systems in World History (with Barry Buzan, 2000).

'Richard Little's study is set to be the definitive account of balance-of-power thinking within IR theory. He traces the role played by this idea in the work of Morgenthau, Bull, Waltz, and Mearsheimer, and manages to treat them all with remarkable freshness and originality. This book yields many new insights into a topic that continues to fascinate the IR mind, despite the many times its death has been foretold.' Ian Clark, Professor of International Politics, University of Wales Aberystwyth

• Part I. Introduction: 1. Reassessing the balance of power; Part II. Metaphors, Myths and Models: 2. Metaphors and the balance of power; 3. The balance of power: from metaphors to myths and models; Part III. Balance of Power Models: 4. Hans J. Morgenthau's Politics among Nations; 5. Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society; 6. Kenneth N. Waltz's Theory of International Politics; 7. John J. Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Politics; Part IV. Conclusion: 8. A composite view of the balance of power for the twenty first century.