PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Key Concepts in International Relations
“The notion of balance of power is notoriously full of confusion.’ In the light of this quotation, do you think that the concept of balance of power is relevant?
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
| – lia oeimeien R1 realist device against domination, works in multipolarity → Wight’'s “confusion” conceded, but located in definition, not use * R2 concept notoriously confused → Inis Claude “too many meanings,” Morgenthau’s four / Haas’s eight → confusion definitional, not fatal
Body flow
sources of confusion (power hard to measure, interpretations differ, relations unpredictable) → yet practical worth intact: prevents hegemony, manages security competition, explains alliances / power transitions → Waltz’s structural pull (“abhors unbalanced power”) → US-China, NATO-Russia, Quad → concept adapts not dies: Walt’s balance of threat, Paul’s soft balancing (direct balancing of US too costly)
Counter-view
liberals: entrenches rivalry → stops operating under unipolarity → globalisation + transnational threats defy balancing
Conclusion routes
es R1 confused in definition but resilient in practice * R2 survives in altered forms → relevant, not redundant
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
