The spiral model is a concept in international relations that describes how well-intentioned, defensively motivated states can find themselves in an unintended arms race or even war with other similarly motivated states because of the difficulty of assessing state intentions in the absence of a supranational government. This dilemma is caused by the fact that the means one state uses to make itself more secure often have the unintended consequence of making other states less secure. [Source: Encyclopedia of Power; Spiral Model]
power and international relations
key debates in power
spiral model
concepts