Polarity and War: The Weak Case for the Bipolar Stability Theory

Abstract

The idea that bipolarity is more stable than multipolarity has become dominant in the last decades. However, few studies have used historical cases of bipolarity for supporting or contradicting this theory. This paper briefly describes all the known cases of bipolar systems in history, with their duration, the distribution of power, and major wars. It then compares the occurrence of major war under both bipolarity and multipolarity. The results of this study show that bipolar systems are more unstable than multipolar ones.