Why do defensive realists focus on security rather than gaining as much power as possible?

Defensive realists focus on security rather than maximizing power because they believe that an excessive pursuit of power can be counterproductive to a state's survival. Within the anarchic international system, where no central authority exists to enforce order, states must rely on self-help to ensure their safety.12

Defensive realists argue that when a state attempts to gain too much power, it often triggers a security dilemma. In this scenario, actions taken by one state to increase its own security—such as rapid military expansion—are perceived as threatening by other states. These neighbors, fearing for their own survival, typically respond by increasing their own military capabilities or forming alliances to balance against the rising power.3

Consequently, this cycle of competition can lead to an arms race or conflict, which ultimately leaves the original state less secure than it was before. Therefore, defensive realists maintain that a stable international equilibrium is possible and preferable, as it allows states to achieve security through balancing rather than through the risky and often self-defeating pursuit of hegemony.1