PS 430G Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Human Capital, Theoretical Definition
23 Jan 2019
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Let"s look at the economy and the military. You can"t be a foreign policy maker and truly believe that you will not use violence against people. In realism, gridlock is a sign of weakness. If you cannot make decisions, if you cannot act, you are weak. You also need technological capabilities (this is pretty self-explanatory). We"ve got a zero- sum competition that"s always shifting. States are constantly balancing and checking each other. As one state rises to dominate everyone, alliances form as a counteract. It doesn"t matter if it becomes a 3 v. 1 scenario if the 1 has weapons that can destroy everyone. After the creation of nuclear technology, power becomes fixed. In this way the balance of power turns into a balance of terror. This is why post-cold war, the us didn"t want anyone to have nuclear weapons, even allies. You get more leverage if you"re 1 of 4 rather than 1 of 20.
