Size and stability in the modern great power system
- 1 April 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in International Interactions
- Vol. 10 (3-4) , 341-358
- https://doi.org/10.1080/03050628408434620
Abstract
The theoretical question under consideration is the relationship between the size of the international system and its stability. After several alternative conceptualizations are examined, size is defined as the number of individual Great Powers and stability is conceptualized as relatively infrequent and limited wars. Hypotheses linking stability to size are then tested for the last five centuries of the modern Great Power system using the author's compilation of war data. Neither the frequency, magnitude, nor severity of war indicators show any increasing, decreasing, or curvilinear relationship with the number of Powers, demonstrating that the stability of the modern Great Power system has been independent of the size of the system.Keywords
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