Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.9, 2014

 

The Balance of National Will in the Course of the Transfer of Power—Resolution of the Venezuelan Crisis of 1895

(Abstract)

 

Han Zhaoying and Yuan Weihua

 

The international relations community has proffered many explanations for the transfer of power arising from changes in the balance of power among great powers, but they still have no satisfactory answers to the question of the peaceful transfer of power. Having consulted and drawn on existing research, we hold that the key factor influencing the peaceful transfer of power is the contest of national will between dominant and emerging nations, or in other words, the balance of national will. Among the few historical examples of the peaceful transfer of power is the classic case of the resolution of the Venezuelan crisis in 1895. The checks and balances in national will are critical factors in examining this historical course.