ABSTRACT
Inis L. Claude's Power and International Relations 1 is an analysis of the role of international organization in securing peace among the great powers, particularly in a world of bipolar confrontation and nuclear weapons. He compares three international systems for maintaining the peace: the balance of power; collective security; and world government. He concludes that the balance of power is the most realistic, but that its reliability as a mechanism for maintaining the peace is enhanced by being embedded in the United Nations (UN), which provides both an institutional structure for and a symbolism of pacific dispute resolution. As such, the argument is clearly realist in its focus and assumptions, but more sympathetic to international institutions and international cooperation than are most realist arguments.
