Hypothesis:
War was averted due to the awareness of the consequences of the use of …show more content…
The approach adopted is Realism. Realism emphasises the constraints on politics imposed by human nature and the absence of international government (Donnell, 2000, p. 9). The realist perspective, dominated all alternative theories in explaining the power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union. Realism amongst other things, involves the pursuit of power and, more importantly, a balance of power. Wendt (1992) believes states answer to no higher authority and so must look to themselves to protect their interests and to ensure survival. Waltz (2010, p. 103) argues that the structural condition of bipolarity forced the Soviet Union and US to act out roles assigned to them in the security order. Waltz also argues the relative equality of the power of the US and Soviet deterred the use of nuclear