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Hedley Bull’s paradox of the balance of power: a philosophical inquiry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2007

Abstract

This essay examines the complex relationship between international law and the balance of power which Hedley Bull claims is paradoxical. Bull argues that the balance of power is an ‘essential condition’ of international law and that the actions required to preserve the balance ‘often involve’ violation of international law. It is shown that what seems to be a paradox is not a paradox but essentially a normative problem related to the difficulties in regulating power within international society, and that the perceived paradox does more to obscure than to clarify the fundamental normative problem to be dealt with.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British International Studies Association 2007

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