Foreign policy, ego-defense mechanisms, and balance-of-power vulnerability

The concept of balance-of-power vulnerability is proposed as a heuristic tool to understand the varying states of anxiety which occur when America's national integrity or security is threatened. Corresponding to the different states of vulnerability are the groups of ego-defense mechanisms which are arranged in a hierarchical pattern. These defense mechanisms are defined as spontaneous or premediated strategies for problem solving, containing elements of intrapsychic and social processes. The Vulnerability-Ego Defense construct is then used to compare America's foreign policy with respect to different nations and with respect to one nation over a protracted period of time.