Balance of power : theory and practice in the 21st century /

Balance of power is among the more controversial and therefore enduring concepts in international relations. The editors and contributors to this collection, prolific academics in the field of international relations and security studies, focus on an important question: what is the relevance of balance of power theory and policies in the post-Cold War era? Three of the essays assess the relevance of the theory as an explanatory device, three examine the prevalence of its practice, and the remaining six consider balance of power politics within regional contexts: Europe, Central Eurasia, the Middle East, East and South Asia, and Latin America. The introduction, setting out the questions to be addressed by the contributors, and the conclusion, summing up the essays, lend the volume unusual coherence. The question of relevance is not definitively settled. Although some evidence of balance of power politics can be found on the regional level, it is not found on the global scale. These well-documented essays are recommended to those interested in international relations study as well as in regional security policies. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty. R. P. Peters University of Massachusetts at Boston