Abstract:

Since the 1990s, discussions on the concept of soft balancing, which has frequently been referenced in foreign policy analysis, have flared again in recent years, especially with the rise of powers such as China and Russia. In the post-Cold War era, the rise of new power centres brought into question of the hegemonic superiority of the U.S. in the global system, and an important literature has emerged that discusses the external policies of rising powers towards the U.S. on the axis of soft balancing. The purpose of this article is to provide rethinking of the limitations of soft balancing concept by carrying out a critical analysis on the literature on Venezuela and soft balancing. The article has focused primarily on the radical change in Venezuelan foreign policy through the Bolivarian revolution process during the Chávez era by addressing the role of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). And then the article has examined the discussions that focus on the concept of soft balancing of Venezuela's foreign policy towards the U.S. The main argument of the article is that the concept of soft balancing cannot explain how the social transformation process in Venezuela affects foreign policy and radically transforms relations with the U.S., and that foreign policy of Venezuela can only be understood on the basis of counter-hegemony. Accordingly, the political crisis that developed after Trump’s recognition of Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela, has been examined in the article as an important example of rethinking the limitations of the concept of soft balancing.

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