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Explaining Third World Alignment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2011

Steven R. David
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University
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Abstract

Many argue that balance of power theory is as applicable to the Third World as it is to other states. Without substantial modification, however, balance of power theory cannot explain Third World alignments, because it ignores key characteristics of Third World states that determine alignment. The author develops a theory, “omnibalancing,” that is relevant to the Third World and that repairs these defects. Rather than balance of power's emphasis on states seeking to resist threats from other states, omnibalancing explains Third World alignments as a consequence of leaders seeking to counter internal and external threats to their rule. The superiority of omnibalancing over balance of power in making Third World alignments understandable is related to the Third World in general and to the alignment decisions of two key Third World states in particular. The author concludes by discussing why an understanding of the Third World, including Third World alignment, is central to the study of international relations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of Princeton University 1991

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References

1 For a comprehensive discussion of what connotes alignment, see Duncan, George T. and Siverson, Randolph M., “Flexibility of Alliance Partner Choice in a Multipolar System,” International Studies Quarterly 26 (December 1982), 511–38, at 518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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3 Kenneth Waltz and, to a lesser extent, Hans Morgenthau base their balance of power theory on the capabilities of states. Generally speaking, the greater the capability of a state, the greater the threat it poses to other states; see Waltz, , Theory of international Politics (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1979)Google Scholar, esp. chap. 6; and Morgenthau, Hans and Thompson, Kenneth, Politics among Nations, 6th ed. (New York: Knopf, 1985)Google Scholar, esp. chap. 11. George Liska also emphasizes the role of external threat, calling it the “primary source of alliances”; see Nations in Alliance: The Limits of Interdependence (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1962), 13.

4 Holsti, Ole R., Hopmann, P. Terrence, and Sullivan, John D., Unity and Disintegration in International Alliances: Comparative Studies (New York: John Wiley, 1973), 5.Google Scholar Based on an exhaustive survey of the literature, the authors concluded that most balance of power writings argue this.

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7 This is a major argument made by Stephen Walt, who asserts that his theory is supported by the experiences of states in the Middle East. He does, however, modify balance of power theory to focus on threats (instead of power) from other states. See Walt (fn. 2), 13–14.

8 Waltz (fn. 3), 121; and Morgenthau and Thompson (fn. 3), 228.

9 The first mention I have been able to find of “bandwagoning” in the sense used here is in Wolfers, Arnold, Discord and Collaboration: Essays in International Politics (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), 15.Google Scholar See also Walt (fn. 2), 19–21.

10 See Morgenthau and Thompson (fn. 3), chaps. 1, 3, for a concise description of realism.

11 Ibid., 4.

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16 Morgenthau and Thompson (fn. 3), 14.

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30 According to Stephen Krasner, Third World states behave alike in global negotiations, not out of a common desire for economic development, but rather out of a common need for regime security. This view supports the contentions that one can generalize about the Third World and that concerns over survival assume central importance in Third World decision making. Krasner, See, “Third World Vulnerabilities and Global Negotiations,” Review of International Studies 9 (October 1983), 235–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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34 For an argument of why states should be considered the main actors in international politics, see Waltz (fn. 3), 93–95; and see also Keohane (fn. 12), 160.

35 Waltz (fn. 3), 81.

36 Morgenthau and Thompson (fn. 3), 227–28.

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44 Some good background treatments of Anwar Sadat's Egypt, including his decision to reject his alignment with the Soviet Union and turn to the United States, include el-Sadat, Anwar, In Search of Identity: An Autobiography (New York: Harper and Row, 1978)Google Scholar; Baker, Raymond William, Egypt's Uncertain Revolution under Nasser and Sadat (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978);CrossRefGoogle ScholarHinnebusch, Raymond A. Jr, Egyptian Politics under Sadat (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985)Google Scholar; Dawaisha, A. I., Egypt in the Arab World: The Elements of Foreign Policy (New York: Macmillan, 1976)Google Scholar; Heikal, Mohammed, The Sphinx and the Commissar: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Influence in the Arab World (London: Collins, 1978)Google Scholar; Shamir, Shimon, “Egypt's Reorientation towards the U.S.: Factors and Conditions of Decision Making,” in Shaked, Haim and Rabinovich, Itamar, eds., The Middle East and the United States: Perceptions and Policies (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1980)Google Scholar; Cooper, Mark, The Transformation of Egypt (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982)Google Scholar; Rubinstein, Alvin Z., Red Star on the Nile: The Soviet-Egyptian Influence Relationship since the June War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977)Google Scholar; and Freedman, Robert O., Soviet Policy toward the Middle East since 1970 (New York: Praeger, 1975).Google Scholar

45 Extensive accounts of the internal threats besetting Sadat can be found in Baker (fn. 44); Hinnebusch (fn. 44); and Cooper (fn. 44).

46 Jervis, , “Systems Theories and Diplomatic History,” in Lauren, Paul Gordon, ed., Diplomacy: New Approaches in History, Theory and Policy (New York: Free Press, 1979), 218.Google Scholar

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49 Waltz (fn. 5), 37–38.

50 Waltz (fn. 3), 94.

51 Walt makes this point in connection with bandwagoning; see Walt (fn. 2), 179.

52 On the possible reasons for the absence of war among states outside the Third World, see Doyle, Michael W., “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs,” Philosophy and Public Affairs 12 (Summer-Fall 1983), 205–35, 323–53Google Scholar; idem, “Liberalism and World Politics,” American Political Science Review 80 (December 1986), 1151–69; Russett, Bruce, “The Politics of an Alternative Security System: Toward a More Democratic and Therefore More Peaceful World,” in Weston, Burns, ed., Alternatives to Nuclear Deterrence (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1989)Google Scholar; Gaddis (fn. 18), esp. chap. 8; Mueller, John, “The Essential Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons: Stability in the Postwar World,” International Security 13 (Fall 1988), 5579CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Fukuyama, Francis, “The End of History,” National Interest 16 (Summer 1989), 318.Google Scholar

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