in which a weaker state deters attack by bolstering its defensive capabilities enough to render attacking infeasible

Deterrence theory

Conspicuous (including nuclear development)

weapons development

Pre-emptive strikes

Blackmail

of foreign political or military leaders

Assassination

The massing of military units on a border, whether for stationing or for

exercises

The imposition of or economic sanctions (possibly to initiate a trade war)

tariffs

Proxy warfare

and "bloodletting" tactics

Bait and bleed

and soft balancing

Hard

in which a state attempts to coerce another state to confront a threat, in order to preserve its own capabilities and possibly intervene later

Buck-passing

The use of to subvert another state's capabilities from within

espionage

and clandestine military operations, in which states obscure their role in an operation or conduct the operation in secret, respectively

Covert

in which a state uses a real (or played-up) show of force to deter potential attack

Shock and awe

in which a state uses unconventional warfare methods in order to exploit another's weaknesses

Asymmetric warfare

in which a state or its agencies use adverse inaccurate information to weaken another's reputation.

Propaganda

Great power

Colonialism

Expansionism

(Trans-National Corporation)

Extractivism

Global policeman

Imperialism

Power (social and political)

Power Politics (Wight book)

Realism (international relations)

Realpolitik