Realists have long debated how the polarity of a system impacts the choice of tactics however, it is generally agreed that in bipolar systems, each great power has no choice but to directly confront the other. Other alliance tactics include buck-passing and chain-ganging. When threatened, states may seek safety either by balancing, allying with others against the prevailing threat or bandwagoning, aligning themselves with the threatening power. Some realists maintain that a balance-of-power system is more stable than one with a dominant state, as aggression is unprofitable when there is equilibrium of power between rival coalitions. If one state becomes much stronger, the theory predicts it will take advantage of its weaker neighbors, thereby driving them to unite in a defensive coalition.
The balance of power theory in international relations suggests that states may secure their survival by preventing any one state from gaining enough military power to dominate all others. 1866 cartoon by Daumier, L’Equilibre Européen, representing the balance of power as soldiers of different nations teeter the earth on bayonets
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