correlation of forces
세력균형(상관력)
“Correlation of forces,” also rendered as the “correlation of world forces,” was a Soviet analytical concept for comparing the political, military, economic, and social capacities of actors, including the socialist and capitalist camps, in order to judge the direction of world history and the possibilities for policy. It was not merely a numerical balance of military power, but a framework in which the relative relationship of forces could change over time and inform Soviet threat assessments and foreign and military strategy.
In depth
Scope of the concept
In Soviet writing, the expression treated the distribution of international power not as a fixed military ranking but as a relationship changing within class struggle and world politics. Its objects could include states and military alliances as well as economic capacity, political influence, the appeal of social systems, national-liberation movements, and networks of international support. Thus, a claim that the correlation of forces had shifted in socialism’s favor was both a broad interpretation of the global political landscape and a language for legitimizing policy.
In military usage, “correlation of forces and means” had a more specific operational sense. It focused on assessing the military balance between opponents at global, regional, and local levels, overlapping with but not identical to the broader analysis of world forces.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (describes the Soviet ideological use of “correlations of forces” as a framework for judging the global struggle between capitalism and socialism)
- rand.org (defines the related Soviet/Russian correlation of forces and means as a balance assessed at global, regional, and local levels, and discusses its broader strategic applications)
- journals.sagepub.com (Julian Lider, “The Correlation of World Forces: the Soviet Concept,” 1980, analyzes the Soviet concept’s actors, forces, and character)