Why the German Risk Fleet strategy failed

Could Germany build a fleet costly enough to deter Britain from fighting?

Only if Britain stood still; British wealth, shipbuilding, and the two-power standard let it enlarge the fleet and preserve the margin Germany hoped to erase.

Risk Fleet theory aimed to make even a British victory costly enough to leave Britain vulnerable to France, Russia, or the United States. That calculation depended on Britain accepting the existing balance instead of building more ships. British wealth, shipbuilding capacity, and the two-power standard made a larger response possible. Germany's hope that naval pressure would bring Britain into an alliance instead helped provoke British counter-building. The criticism also extends to Britain's own initial construction choices, which helped turn the competition into a prolonged and expensive struggle.