Peace through strength

"Peace through strength" is a phrase which suggests that military power can help preserve peace. It is quite old and has famously been used by many leaders from Roman Emperor Hadrian in the first century AD to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980's and current U.S. President Donald Trump. The concept has long been associated with realpolitik. The idea has critics: "'Peace through strength' easily enough becomes 'peace through war'" according to Andrew Bacevich.

The phrase and concept date to ancient times. Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 76–138) is said to have sought "peace through strength or, failing that, peace through threat".Hadrian's Wall was a symbol of this policy.

Peace Through Strength (1952) is the title of a book about a defense plan by Bernard Baruch, a World War II adviser to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, published by Farrar, Straus and Young. During the 1964 American Presidential campaign, the Republican party spent about $5 million on "Peace through Strength" TV spots. For supporters of the MX missile in the 1970s, the missile symbolized "peace through strength".

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