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59Principle · Group 8

Six Measures

Kautilya’s sixfold policy

“Whether peace, war, staying put, marching, seeking shelter or a double policy is right depends on the balance of strength, not on your wishes.”

In dealing with others, your choice is not just between fighting and giving in.

Group 8: Interaction, Alliances and NegotiationT2 Eastern Strategy
Go to the in-depth section ↓
A balance made of fine lines holds a golden circle on the left and a teal one on the right; beneath it lies a disk with six fields of simple signs made of dots, lines, arcs and frames. When the balance tips, the disk turns and clicks into place at the matching field, which lights up in gold while the other fields stay teal and mist-blue.
In short

Whether peace, war, staying put, marching, seeking shelter or a double policy is right depends on the balance of strength, not on your wishes.

What it’s about: In dealing with others, your choice is not just between fighting and giving in. The Arthashastra names six measures: making peace, waging war, staying put, marching, seeking shelter with someone stronger, and the double policy, in which you keep the peace with one party and move against another. Marching here means gathering your resources and getting into position. Which measure fits depends on how strong you are compared with the other side.

In depth

The principle in detail

Three steps through the principle: grasp it, place it, put it to work. Open each topic on its own.

The core messageCore statement and 3 clarifications
In essence

There are more than two options, and the best one changes with the balance of strength. If you are weaker, you tend to make peace; if you are stronger, you can seek confrontation.

It does not say
That staying put means doing nothing. If you stay put, you prepare for the moment when the situation turns.
It does not say
That every measure is permissible today. Under international law, war is no longer a matter of free choice, and a double policy, once discovered, destroys trust.
It also says
If peace and war bring the same gain, choose peace.
The explanationMost people and organizations have a favorite measure.
  • Most people and organizations have a favorite measure.
  • Some always attack; others always back away.
  • The principle demands the reverse order: first examine the situation, then choose your response.
The question

How strong are you really here, and which of the six responses fits that?

The signs3 signs when you heed it · 3 when you overlook it
When you heed it
  • Before a conflict, you soberly assess how strong both sides are, including partners and backing.
  • Depending on the situation, you choose differently: sometimes agreement, sometimes patience, sometimes open confrontation.
  • When the balance of strength shifts, you change your response.
When you overlook it
  • You answer every situation with your usual tool: attacking or backing away.
  • You fight a battle you cannot win because you want to win it.
  • You keep waiting until the favorable moment has passed.
The backgroundTradition T2 Eastern Strategy
  1. 150 BC–AD 300
    OriginKautilya

    Arthashastra, Book 7, Chapters 1 and 2

  2. 1979
    SupplementedKenneth N. Waltz

    Theory of International Politics

  3. 1987
    SupplementedStephen M. Walt

    The Origins of Alliances,

  4. Tradition T2
    TraditionEastern Strategy

    Sun Tzu, Kautilya, the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the Tao Te Ching, Miyamoto Musashi, François Jullien

    See the tradition on the Origin page
Read more: the full background

From Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Book 7, which took shape in layers between about 150 BC and AD 300, in Rudrapatna Shamasastry’s translation (1915). Supplemented by the distinction between balancing and bandwagoning in Kenneth N. Waltz (1979) and Stephen M. Walt (1987).

The research4 sources: 1 classic, 1 review, 1 theory, 1 primary study · 1979–2013 · with limitations of the research
4 sources1979–2013 period1 classic1 theory1 primary study1 review
Strength of evidence
  1. weak
  2. moderate
  3. strong

A classical rule without measurement; modern alliance research examines only some of the six responses.

  1. 150 BC–AD 300trans. 1915
    Classic
    Kautilya

    Arthashastra, Book 7, Chapters 1 and 2: the six measures, how they correspond to the balance of strength, and the priority of peace when the advantages are equal.

  2. 1979
    Theory
    Kenneth N. Waltz

    “Theory of International Politics”: states balance against superior power because a system without any higher authority pushes them to do so.

  3. 1987
    Primary study
    Stephen M. Walt

    “The Origins of Alliances,” chapter “Balancing and Bandwagoning”: states are more likely to ally against a threatening power than to join it.

  4. 2013
    Review
    Patrick Olivelle

    “King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India”: dates the layers of the Arthashastra to between about 150 BC and AD 300.

Where the research reaches its limits
  • The six measures take only power into account; law, morality and trust hardly feature.
  • Under international law, war is no longer a matter of free choice today.
  • A double policy destroys trust when it is discovered, and in repeated relationships that costs more than it gains.
  • The balance of strength is also hard to measure: if you misjudge yourself, you will choose the wrong measure even with the right rule.
  • Applying the rules to companies, churches or families is this page’s own inference from a teaching meant for rulers.
Read more: what research shows

The doctrine appears in the seventh book of the Arthashastra. In Rudrapatna Shamasastry’s translation (1915), it opens with the statement that the circle of states is the source of the sixfold policy. Clear rules follow: whoever is inferior should make peace; whoever is superior should wage war. Whoever is neither vulnerable nor strong enough should stay put; whoever has the necessary means should march. Whoever cannot defend themselves should seek shelter, and whoever needs help should keep peace with one party and move against the other. If the advantages are equal, peace is to be preferred. None of this has ever been measured. Modern international relations theory offers related responses: Kenneth N. Waltz and Stephen M. Walt distinguish between states balancing against a power and bandwagoning with it.

The related principles08 Relative Superiority · 26 Deception · 42 Rhythm and Timing · 58 Mandala of States
Mandala of StatesRelative Superiority

To go deeper, see 58 Mandala of States (the map of neighbors, friends and enemies to which the six measures refer) and 08 Relative Superiority (how to assess the balance of strength correctly)

Rhythm and Timing

42 Rhythm and Timing shows when staying put has to turn into action

Deception

26 Deception is the tool without which a covert double policy cannot work

Read more: the full text

To go deeper, see 58 Mandala of States (the map of neighbors, friends and enemies to which the six measures refer) and 08 Relative Superiority (how to assess the balance of strength correctly). 42 Rhythm and Timing shows when staying put has to turn into action; 26 Deception is the tool without which a covert double policy cannot work.

The action steps5 action steps: Write the six measures on a card and put it in front of you before you decide in a conflict.

  1. Write the six measures on a card and put it in front of you before you decide in a conflict.

  2. Assess the balance of strength: people, resources, backing and partners on both sides. Get a second opinion if you are involved yourself.

  3. Ask yourself which measure you prefer, and check whether the situation actually calls for it.

  4. If you stay put, decide how you will notice that the situation is turning and what you will do then.

  5. Before any double policy, check whether you could defend it openly. In lasting relationships, what works only in secret costs more than it gains.
The reflection questions3 questions: Which of the six measures do you reach for most readily, and when did it last do you harm?
  1. Which of the six measures do you reach for most readily, and when did it last do you harm?
  2. In which conflict do you assess your strength according to your wishes rather than the situation?
  3. What are you waiting for right now, and how will you recognize that the time to act has come?

Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.

To finish
The picture to rememberThe animation once more, with an explanation
  1. A balance made of fine lines holds a golden circle on the left and a teal one on the right
  2. Beneath it lies a disk with six fields of simple signs made of dots, lines, arcs and frames
  3. When the balance tips, the disk turns and clicks into place at the matching field, which lights up in gold while the other fields stay teal and mist-blue
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In context

Group 8: Interaction, Alliances and Negotiation

Guiding question: How do you act when others are in the game too?

Stage 4 of 5: Act with others

Where the 92 principles come from: eight traditions of strategy, from classical war theory to dealing with uncertainty.

More about the origin

Background: WEGVISOR’s own selection from the strategy literature · More about the origin

Examples

The principle in practice

From the different spheres of society.

Government

Finland in 1948 and the Six Measures

In 1948, after losing two wars against the Soviet Union, Finland faces the question of how a small country can remain free next to a world power. President Juho Kusti Paasikivi chooses neither resistance nor submission but limited reliance on the stronger power. With the friendship treaty, Finland remains independent throughout the Cold War.

Six Measures
Culture & Sports

Steven Bradbury and the Six Measures

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Australian short-track speed skater Steven Bradbury knows that he is the slowest man in the 1,000-meter race. He does not attack; he stays at the back and waits. When the favorites crash in the final turn, he skates to gold.

Six Measures
Government

Otto von Bismarck, the Reinsurance Treaty and the Six Measures

In 1887, the German Empire is allied with Austria-Hungary. Nevertheless, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck secretly concludes a treaty with Russia, Austria’s rival. The double game is meant to prevent Russia from allying itself with France. After Bismarck’s fall in 1890, the treaty is not renewed, and the situation turns.

Six Measures
Government

Series: Shōgun

In the series “Shōgun” (2024), Lord Yoshii Toranaga faces a council that wants to bring him down. He does not simply attack. He waits, prepares a campaign, seeks alliances and apparently surrenders. He chooses each measure according to the situation, and in the end he has outmaneuvered his opponents.

Six Measures
FAQ

Questions about the Six Measures

What do the Six Measures say?

In dealing with others, you can choose between peace, war, staying put, marching, seeking shelter and a double policy. Which measure is right depends on the balance of strength.

Where do the Six Measures come from?

They come from the seventh book of the Arthashastra, an ancient Indian textbook of statecraft attributed to Kautilya. According to current research, the text took shape in several layers between about 150 BC and AD 300.

What are some examples of the Six Measures?

Examples include Finland’s friendship treaty with the Soviet Union in 1948, Steven Bradbury’s Olympic victory in 2002 and Otto von Bismarck’s Reinsurance Treaty of 1887. In the series “Shōgun,” Lord Toranaga changes his measure as the situation demands.

How well is the Six Measures supported by research?

Evidence: weak – a classical rule without measurement; modern alliance research examines only some of the six responses.

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