Power, Threat, or Military Capabilities assesses two mainstays of international relations, balance of power and balance of threat, using the case of US balancing against the Soviet Union in the later Cold War. It also proposes balance of military capabilities, which uses offense-defense theory to argue that countries balance against the ability of others to conquer or compel them. Power, Threat, or Military Capabilities finds that the US was more powerful than the Soviet Union so US behavior is not explained by balance of power. The US did not perceive the Soviet Union as likely to initiate war or to run risks that might lead to war so US behavior is not explained by balance of threat. This book determines that the US was concerned about its ability to defend Europe and the Persian Gulf so US behavior is explained by balance of military capabilities.

"Taking the period 1970 to 1982 as his set of cases, Carmel Davis looks at how well U.S. perceptions of the extent of the danger posed by the Soviet Union can be explained by one version of balance of power theory, balance of threat, and what he calls the balance of military capabilities. This is an important period of the Cold War, and the summary of the relevant facts, figures, and intelligence judgments is useful. The exposition of the theories . . . raises interesting and important issues. In just 114 pages, the book covers quite a bit of ground very concisely." - Journal of Cold War Studies