An anarchic system inhabited by survival-obsessed agents with unknowable intentions generates mutual, inter-agent fear (Mearsheimer, 2014). This fear, coupled with an inherent offensive capacity, forces agents to realise the surest way to maximise their security is to maximise their power relative to potential competitors (Rosato, 2014). This concept of relative power underlies an important system dynamic: the balance of power. The distribution of power within the international system underlies all state interaction because power is zero-sum. As power only exists to oppose the power of others, any increase in one agent’s strength necessarily decreases that of the rest F. What distinguishes great powers is that by their definition, they possess