Bandwagoning

Bandwagoning in international relations refers to the connection of one or more states / states to a state that has a higher power potential. It can therefore also be understood as a kind of follow-up effect in international relations. Examples can be found above all in the Cold War, when blocs were formed on both the US and the Soviet side and in which smaller states joined one of the two larger states out of self-protection.

The term bandwagoning was first used by Quincy Wright in his book A study of War (1942) and introduced as a general scientific term by the American political scientist Kenneth Waltz , a proponent of neorealism , in his Theory of International Politics (1979).

literature

• Stephen M. Walt: The Origins of Alliances. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 1987. ISBN 0801420547 .