The anarchical international system refers to an
international order without a centralized political
authority that is capable of imposing international
rules and restraining the use of force by states (Waltz,
1979; Wendt, 1992). As such, wars occur in the
system “because there is nothing to prevent them”
(Waltz, 1959: 232). The anarchical international
system is, in fact, a self-help system that consists
of states who seek to maximize their relative
power and secure their sovereignty through either
increasing their own material capabilities (internal
balancing) or aligning with other states (external
balancing). In the absence of a central authority and
of collective security, each state is responsible for
its own survival in the system. According to Waltz,
under anarchy, states need to ensure that there does
not exist a single state (a hegemon), which would
dominate the international system and determine
the rules of the system. In such an anarchical
system, t is difficult to achieve cooperation among
states and severe power differentials among them
may lead to a major war.