| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Recent literature on soft balancing predicts an increased occurrence of soft balancing against Washington at times when the United States acts unilaterally in foreign policy. At the same time, realist literature in IR suggests that interest violations should trigger opposition by states whose interests are being violated, unless there are unacceptable costs associated with soft balancing. In contrast to these views, this article demonstrates that interest violation and unilateralism, both individually and together, are weak predictors of soft balancing. Instead, based on the cases analyzed, I argue that soft balancing is most likely to occur when interest violations go hand in hand with perceptions of predatory intentions.
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