Ha, yeah - that term has a formal meaning in pol-sci to this day and was part of the curriculum when I was at uni, when we looked at how England had acted throughout history whenever Scandinavia was attempting unification, by diplomacy or by war.

Or whenever a central continental power tried to rise, really.

The point of the exercise was to understand how diplomay is played and to understand that powerful nations do not have friends nor allies, only enemies and contenders.

Something the USA seems Hell-bent on not learning about themselves, some days.