It is a concept in international relations that involves the use of military and strategic measures to balance or limit the power and influence of a dominant or threatening state. The Warsaw Pact against NATO during the Cold War is an example of hard balancing.

• Paul, T. V. (2004). Undermining adversaries: Unipolarity, threat perception, and negative balancing strategies after the Cold War. International Security, 29(3), 9–43.