Striking the Balance

Art, Robert J.

doi:10.1162/isec.2005.30.3.177

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…33 Both the temporal and coalition aspects of soft balancing can be used to help distinguish it from "routine diplomatic friction." Kupchan argues that even if many of the behaviors associated with soft balancing are "mundane," they may still be consequential in geopolitical terms.…”

Section: The Debate Over Soft Balancingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898–1936

Friedman

Long

2015

International Security

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In the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, scholars of international relations debated how to best characterize the rising tide of global opposition. The concept of “soft balancing” emerged as an influential, though contested, explanation of a new phenomenon in a unipolar world: states seeking to constrain the ability of the United States to deploy military force by using multinational organizations, international law, and coalition building. Soft balancing can also be observed in regional unipolar systems. Multinational archival research reveals how Argentina, Mexico, and other Latin American countries responded to expanding U.S. power and military assertiveness in the early twentieth century through coordinated diplomatic maneuvering that provides a strong example of soft balancing. Examination of this earlier case makes an empirical contribution to the emerging soft-balancing literature and suggests that soft balancing need not lead to hard balancing or open conflict.

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Section: The Debate Over Soft Balancingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898–1936

Friedman

Long

2015

International Security

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“…The theoretical literature has not been slow to follow suit. A new wave of scholarship, authored by leading American exponents of realist-inspired security studies, argues that the EU is engaged in an attempt to "balance" American power through the creation and development of ESDP (see, for example, Art [2005Art [ /2006; Posen [2006]; Jones [2007]; Art [2004]; Paul [2004]; Walt [2005]). …”

Section: The European Union: a Would-be Soft Balancer?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to this view, whereas the use of military forces, economic power and leverage, and formal alliances all imply hard balancing, the deployment of informal alignments and voting power in international organizations are evidence of soft balancing (Art 2005(Art /2006). Yet observers differ as to the precise distinction between "hard" and "soft" balancing.…”

Section: The European Union: a Would-be Soft Balancer?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Still Not Pushing Back

Howorth

Menon

2009

Journal of Conflict Resolution

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A recent wave of scholarly literature has argued forcibly that the European Union's European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) represents an attempt on the part of the EU to "balance" against the United States. According to such analyses, the EU is reacting to American global preeminence by building up its military capacities to enhance its own ability to play a significant, autonomous role in international affairs. This article takes issue with such claims. It points, first, to significant theoretical and methodological shortcomings inherent in the work of the "soft balancers." Second, and more fundamentally, it subjects this work to careful empirical scrutiny and illustrates how the soft balancers have fundamentally misunderstood ESDP. Finally, it illustrates how such misinterpretations result from a failure to appreciate the profound impact that institutional structures wield over substantive outcomes in international security affairs.

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“…Latin American states had achieved these improvements using what Art calls "soft assets"-informal alignments and international organizations. 112 And they had done so "by assembling countervailing coalitions designed to thwart or impede specific policies," in a process that "accepts the current balance of power but seeks to obtain better outcomes within it," in Walt's definition of soft balancing. 113 The erosion of the Good Neighbor policy began during World War II, with deep interference in the internal affairs of many countries by U.S. pressure for them to deport their German and Japanese residents, continued with nonrecognition of governments that came to power in Argentina and Bolivia, and culminated in Assistant Secretary for Latin American…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898-1936

Friedman¹,

Long²

The SHAFR Guide Online

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Striking the Balance

Cited by 27 publications

References 3 publications

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898–1936

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898–1936

Still Not Pushing Back

Soft Balancing in the Americas: Latin American Opposition to U.S. Intervention, 1898-1936

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