Gulick: Europe's Classical Balance of Power

Gulick, E., 1955. Europe's classical balance of power: a case history of the theory and practice of one of the great concepts of European statecraft, New York: Norton.

Ch. 1: Assumptions:

Writers on balance of power issues have made a variety of assumptions. “They have assumed, for example, the initial existence of the state, a unit of power based upon land and people, which was capable of exerting influence beyond its own borders; they have assumed also that power existed; that it could be measured by men; that men, having measured it, could balance it; that their balancing policies could affect the lives of states and the movement of history; and that the state system could be, and would be, perpetuated through human analysis, direction, and action” (3-4).

Gulick then explores four of these assumptions.

State System:

The state system is an assumption about the world, and it is a relatively new assumption, all things considered. Gulick warns not to under emphasize the relative importance of this assumption.

Relative homogeneity:

Kant assumed relative homogeneity in the interactions of states in a state system. This was important for instrumental purposes. This provided a kind of uniformity of assumptions and a standardization of practices. “The absence of homogeneity…could be described more accurately as crippling to the balance of power, not destructive of it” (24).

Rational System of Estimating Power:

“By and large, a statesman in 1750 or 1815, if he possessed in formation on the size of armies, on the men who led them, and on the relative wealth of the rulers, probably had a better chance of estimating the power of a foreign state than he would have today” (28).

*missing some pages and thus the fourth assumption

Ch. 2: Aims:

Preserve Independence and Secure Survival

“The basic aim of the balance of power was to insure the survival of independent states” (30).

Preserve the State System

Best way to preserve the state was to preserve the system.

No One State Shall Preponderate

Straight forward.

*skipped rest of chapter

Ch. 3: Means:

“We can now discern the basic assumptions and aims of the balance of power, and we have scraped off some of the obscurities which encrusted it. Given the assumptions and aims, it is possible to enumerate the means and show their proper relationship to the foregoing, must as the Euclidian geometrist, having made assumptions with regard to points, lines, p-lanes and numbers can build with corollaries and entire theoretical system, self-consistent and demonstrable” (52).

Vigilance

Alliances

Intervention

Holding the Balance

Need for Mobility

Reciprocal Compensation

Preservation of Components: Moderation

Coalitions

War