(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
Theoretically, countries could choose to rely upon multinational and global institutions (6.6.5 and 6.6.6) to protect them – but most countries have decided that these are insufficiently robust to guarantee the safety of their inhabitants. They want to be able to protect themselves: a form of ‘realpolitik’ (6.7.7.4). Although the need for national armed forces might be expected to diminish, it is politically inconceivable in the short to medium-term that countries will feel able to manage without them.
Governments can lessen some risks by gathering intelligence, to be able to intervene before the threat becomes overwhelming, although intelligence-gathering is controversial – as discussed later (7.3.4.1). When threats are detected, action needs to be taken.
As described in the following sub-sections, countries can act to protect themselves independently or they can act collaboratively – by using formal legal agreements (7.2.7.1) or by creating ad hoc coalitions (7.2.7.2). Whether alone or in concert, they have several ways of putting pressure on other countries (7.2.7.3).
If self-protection measures fail, countries have several ways of using ungoverned force against each other, as discussed later (7.3), but many problems arise in consequence (7.4).