A structural approach to alignment: A case study of the China‐Soviet‐U.S. strategic triangle, 1971–1988

This study probes the nature of inter‐state alignments. Alignment is argued to be one type of structural relation that follows the logic of structural balance (Heider, 1946, 1958;Cartwright and Harary, 1956). The findings from a case study of the superpower strategic triangle, 1971–1988, support the general hypothesis about the tendency toward balance in structural relations. The structural mechanism in this triangle appears to help balance the bilateral conflicts among China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and hence produced a war‐free era from 1971 to 1988 among the three countries. These results support the view that balance and stability can be better preserved in a multilateral rather than in a bilateral context. While it is premature to offer a definitive conclusion on the theory of structural balance, this study suggests some new ways to probe the nature of alignment relations.

Keywords:

• alignment
• relation
• structural balance
• superpower strategic triangle