Bandwagoning for profit pdf

Bandwagoning occurs when weaker states decide that the cost of opposing a stronger power exceeds the benefits. The Faces of Power: Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, Project MUSE is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Conversely, if states gravitate to expanding power, then bandwagons will roll, dominoes will fall, and great powers will find it wise, even at the cost of blood and treasure, to defend remote areas of little or no intrinsic value to their national interests.

Theory of International Politics. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. The bandwagoning image of international politics pictures the proofit order as a complex machine of wheels within wheels. Bandwagoning is opposed bxndwagoning balancingwhich calls for a state to prevent an aggressor from upsetting the balance of power.

Our credibility would collapse, our alliances would crumble and the safety bandwgoning our homeland would be put at jeopardy. Contact Contact Us Help. In contrast, the balancing image sees a world composed of many discrete, self-regulating balance-of-power systems.

In this highly interconnected world, small local disruptions quickly grow into large disturbances as their effects cascade and reverberate throughout the system. Bandwagoning for Profit Bringing the Revisionist State Back In often with the weaker or with the stronger side in D o states ally more a conflict?

A Study of War. A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Cambridge University Press, ,p. Schweller is a John M. US Government Printing Office. Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, Project MUSE is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves. The Soviet Union and the Third World: Waveland Press published Our credibility would collapse, our alliances would crumble and the safety of our homeland fog be put at jeopardy.

Watershed in Great Power Policy. Because balancing is the prevailing tendency among states, prudent powers should limit their commitments to places where their core interests are at stake. The excessive accumulation of power by one state or coalition of states elicits the opposition of others. Because unlimited-aims revisionist powers cannot bandwagon they are the bandwagon , offensive bandwagoning is done exclusively by lesser aggressors, which I call limited aims revisionist states.

Typically, the lesser aggressor reaches an agreement with the unlimited-aims revisionist leader on spheres of influence, in exchange for which the junior partner supports the revisionist leader in expansionist aims. However, as has already been argued, the deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel is not well-concealed anti-Semitism but a straightforward political choice by Ankara in order to underpin its strategic role in the Middle East for the US.

In this context, Israel, to a certain extent, can be compared to Ancient Sparta in the way it perceives its position in the Middle East. As Sparta was surrounded by an ever-growing number of potential adversaries on top of the current ones, Israel faces an analogous reality.

Furthermore, as Sparta relied on an exemplary self-help system for its survival, managing to produce an unquestionable hard power might, Israel follows the same path without ignoring the necessity of constructing close alliances with other states in the region.

The main goal of a status quo bias state is to maintain the existing status quo. Contrary to claims of several political analysts, Israel does not promote a revisionist agenda in the Middle East.

With the exception of the Sinai Campaign in , Israel is a status quo bias state. The fact that the region is of increased geographic, strategic, and cultural importance is the main trigger for the recent Turkish — Israeli rift.

Ankara is fully aware that, by expanding its influence within the region, its power capacity also continues to be strengthened beyond. During such a critical period in the Middle East, with its socio-political physiognomy under metamorphosis due to the Arab upheavals, the possibility for Turkey to appear as the privileged interlocutor among the Islamic regimes only adds to its value, not least for US foreign policy.

During a period when Washington is committed to narrowing the level of its direct involvement in the Islamic nucleus, Ankara presents itself as the strategic factor able to lift the burden off its shoulders and eager to accept the rewards for its initiatives. The jackal tries to move closer to the lion in order to take an active part in the sharing of the spoils.

The Mavi Marmara incident proved that although the jackal imitates the lion, it still understands that it takes more than roaring like a lion to behave like one. At first glance, the concept of strategic depth does not pose a direct threat to US interests. According to some analysts, the gradual dissociation of the US from Israel due to the Palestinian Question would benefit every involved side.

For Downloaded by [ For one thing, it will have to explore ways and means to establish routes of open communication with both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank when the two Palestinian entities are neither able nor willing to interact with each other. For it gives it a brilliant opportunity to further advance its role as a pivotal factor for the United States while strengthening its diplomatic ties with the Arab states and the Islamic world.

Washington faces serious challenges as well. Through the bandwagoning for profit strategy Turkey lays the groundwork for upgrading itself as a geographically peripheral yet key political actor in the Middle East. However, this is just the first step.

Therefore, should Turkey manage to become the major peripheral power in the Middle East it would no longer be satisfied with the role of the obedient jackal. The main hypothesis of offensive realism supports the Downloaded by [ Whether this is feasible or not is of no importance for our analysis. The emphasis must be given to the revisionist process that would eventually destabilize the region.

In other words, the analysis cannot highlight the true capacity of a power to implement a global dominance stratagem. In such a case, the study of the international phenomenon would be limited to a sterile analysis of the global dominance chimera since no power has the required amount of power to eradicate the anarchic status of international system and construct a global hegemony.

At the end of the day, the actual tragedy that derives from the notional nucleus of the offensive realism is not the possibility of the realization of a global hegemony but the stage- by-stage effectuation of the whole process.

As Glenn Snyder noted: In a multipolar system there is almost always a degree of uncertainty about who is friend and who is foe. Alliance agreements reduce the uncertainty but can never eliminate it, because they are ultimately unforceable. A corollary is that of flexibility: states can readily defect and realign if their interests require it.

Hence no one can discount the possibility that sometime in the future it might abandon the lion and bandwagon for profit with the bear Russia ,45 the dragon China ,46or any other member of the systemic fauna. Litsas It is always important to remember that Julius Caesar was not betrayed by sworn enemies but by his closest associate, Brutus.

The Brutus theorem can be defined as the violent end of the bandwagoning for profit through the weaker element in order to break free from the overwhelming shadow of the most powerful factor and re-emerge as an autonomous systemic revisionist component. In the Middle Eastern arena the possibility that Washington could be a modern Caesar and Ankara a contemporary Brutus can by no means be excluded.

As Edward Erickson noted: Turkey is clearly moving towards becoming a regional power in the next ten years. At the heart of this relationship is the issue of convergent or divergent interests. If American and Turkish interests converge, there would be no real need for Turkey to become a Downloaded by [ Quoted in ibid.

David G. In Article 1 of the Franco-Bavarian treaty of alliance August 24, , Napoleon pledged "to seize all occasions which present themselves to augment the power and splendour of the House of Bavaria," in return for support by 20, Bavarian troops. See ibid. Napoleon also offered Russia control over Eu- ropean Turkey and Finland, and he encouraged further Russian conquests in Asia.

In exchange, the tsar was asked to join the Continental System against England, use his influence to compel Denmark and Sweden to follow suit, and send the Russian Navy to aid France in the capture of Gibraltar. After crushing the Prussian army at Jena, Napoleon was determined to exact his pound of flesh from King William Frederick for inciting war against him.

The real reason is. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon, p. Henry F. Mowat, The Diplomacy of Napoleon, p. Norton, , p. International Security Z 92 I the occupation of French garrisons on Prussian soil pending full payment of a war indemnity. Napoleon held all of Prussia by right of conquest and would not consider admitting Frederick William as a third party.

The Allied coalition, whose forces doubled those of France by February of , would never have come together in the first place, much less held together, had Napoleon not attacked his own allies and neutrals. By repeatedly thwarting the bandwagoning strategies of Russia, Prussia, Spain, and Austria, Napo- leon finally succeeded where the British had failed in creating a coalition with the strength and resolve to defeat Imperial France.

Like a ball rolling down an incline, initial success generates further success, not greater resistance. In the language of systems theory, bandwagoning is a form of positive feedback. By contrast, the purpose of balancing behavior is Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon, pp. Lefebvre, Napoleon, p. For more on this point, see Paul W. Holland, Italy, and the maritime states of Scandinavia, Denmark, and Portugal were similarly coerced into bandwagoning with the French Empire.

Bandwagoning fur Profit 93 I to prevent systemic disequilibrium or, when deterrence fails, to restore the balance. Balancing is a form of negative feedback.

If it is characterized by conflict, bandwagoning behavior may enhance the prospects for a more durable peace. Other forms of bandwagoning may have varying effects on system stability. What all these forms of bandwagoning have in common, however, is that they are motivated by the prospect of making gains. Herein lies the fundamental difference between bandwagoning and balancing. Bal- ancing is an extremely costly activity that most states would rather not engage in, but sometimes must to survive and protect their values.

Bandwagoning rarely involves costs and is typically done in the expectation of gain. This is why bandwagoning is more common, I believe, than Walt and Waltz suggest. Specifically, revisionist states bandwagon to share in the spoils of victory. Typically, the lesser aggressor reaches an agreement with the unlimited-aims revisionist leader Whatever had been his fears and toils in the passage of the first crusade, they were amply recompensed by the subsequent benefits which he derived from the exploits of the Franks.

None of these authors specif- ically refer to jackal behavior. International Security 94 I on spheres of influence, in exchange for which the junior partner supports the revisionist leader in its expansionist aims. Aside from the desire to acquire additional territory, the motivation for jackal bandwagoning may also be security from the lion itself.

In such cases, the revisionist leader does not require the active assistance of the junior partner. Because the jackal is a scavenger and not a true predator, this type of bandwagoning is a form of predatory buck-passing: the jackal seeks to ride free on the offensive efforts of others.

As part of the Munich agreement of September 30, , a German-ltalian court of arbitration pressured the Czech government to grant a broad strip of southern Slovakia and Ruthenia to Hungary. Then, when the Germans carved u p the rest of Czechoslovakia in March , Hitler, in a deliberate attempt to gain further favor with the Hungarian government, ceded the remainder of Ruthenia Carpatho- Ukraine to Hungary.

Bandwagoning for Profit 95 I doing, the Fuhrer forced into creation the only coalition powerful enough to prevent a German victory in Europe.

States typically bandwagon with the victor to claim an unearned share of the spoils. When this is the motive, piling on is simply jackal bandwagoning that takes place at the end of wars. Contrariwise, states may pile on because they fear the victors will punish them if they do not actively side against the losers. Whatever the motivation, either opportunity or fear, piling on is a form of predatory buck-passing with regard to the winning coalition.

Historically, most major wars have ended with piling-on behavior. In World War 11, the Soviets wanted a fight to the finish with Japan to get in on the kill and thereby share in occupying Japan. In contrast, Turkey wanted to remain neutral but was coerced by the Allies into declaring war against Germany and Japan on February 23, Ankara did so because of the Allied decision to exclude from the organizing conference for the United Wolf, Louis XIV, pp.

For similar reasons, on August 16, , Sweden also acceded to the Grand Alliance. More recently, the overwhelmingly superior coalition arrayed against Iraq in the Gulf War exemplifies piling-on bandwagoning behavior.

Consequently, they did not have to be coerced or bribed to join the Sino-Soviet bloc; they did so voluntarily.

Third World elites as well as the masses were attracted to communism for rational reasons: they thought they could profit by it, as had the Chinese and the Soviets. Likewise, states across the globe have recently abandoned communism in favor of the newest wave of the future, liberal democracy.

The same can be said about the massive decolonization of the s and s. Both trends are instances of benign positive feedback; that is, they altered the course of international politics in a more stabilizing direction. Wave-of-the-future bandwagoning is typically induced by charismatic lead- ers and dynamic ideologies, especially when buoyed by massive propaganda Bandwagoning fur Profit 97 I campaigns and demonstrations of superiority on the battlefield.

Hosoya writes: The rising prestige of Germany in the eyes of the Japanese resulted in resurrecting pro-Nazi sentiment from its demise following the conclusion of the Nonaggression Pact. This change in public opinion naturally affected the balance of power between the Anglo-American and Axis factions in Japan. Second, the existence of the French and Dutch colonies in Indochina and the East Indies now swam into the ken of the Japanese people, and a mood to seize the opportunity to advance into Southeast Asia spread to all strata of society.

The Venetians might then have seen the effects of their te- Ralph G. Also see Steven J. Robertson, eds. Bartels, Presidential Primaries, pp. The Truman administration employed the contagion metaphor to justify intervening in Greece in "Like apples in a barrel infected by one rotten one, the corruption of Greece would infect Iran and all to the East.

In each case, the bandwagon is set in motion by an external force, which touches off a chain reaction, fueling the bandwagon at ever-greater speeds. Thus, the domino theory posits revolutions as "essen- Does It Matter?

Studies in American politics also use the metaphor of spreading disease to describe bandwagoning effects among voters. See Larry M. Also quoted in Slater, "Dominoes in Central America," p. Quoted in Slater, "Dominos in Central America," p.

For a similar critique of the domino theory, see Robert H. Consider, for instance, the land-for-peace accord between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. In response to the agreement, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon are each reportedly seeking similar arrangements with Israel. An Alternative Theory of Alliances: Balance of lnterests I have argued that states tend to bandwagon for profit rather than security and that contemporary realist theory, because of its status-quo bias, has underestimated the extent of bandwagoning behavior.

In order to bring the revisionist state back in to the study of alliances, I propose a theory of balance-of-interests. The concept of balance of interests has a dual meaning, one at the unit level, the other at the systemic level. At the unit level, it refers to the costs a state is willing to pay to defend its values relative to the costs it is willing to pay to extend its values. At the systemic level, it refers to the relative strengths of status quo and revisionist states.

For a good overview of the empirical literature on the spread of wars through diffusion or contagion effects, see Benjamin A. Most, Harvey Starr, and Randolph M. Midlarsky, ed. We may conceptualize this range of state interest in the following way. Let x be the costs a given state is willing to pay to increase its values; and y be the costs the same state is willing to pay to defend the values it already has.

Figure 1. Where the status quo outweighs revision where n is negative , states are satiated; where revision outweighs the status quo n is positive , states are revisionist. Glaser uses the concepts of myopia and greed. Lions are states that will pay high costs to protect what they possess but only a small price to increase what they value.

The primary goal of these states is consistent with contemporary realism's assumption of actors as defensive positionalists and security-maximizers.