POWER

Defining power

• Ability to get another actor to do what it would not otherwise have done. A variation on this idea is that they affect others more than others affect them.

• Power explains influence, influence measures power.

• Capabilities – size, income level, armed forces.

• The best single indicator of a state’s power may be its total GDP.

• A state’s tangible capabilities represents material power.

• Soft Power.• Power of ideas.• Relative Power – Ratio of the power that two

states can bring to bear against each other.

Estimation of power

• Total GDP – total size of each nation’s economy.

• With a healthy economy, a state can buy a large army, popular support and even allies.– Eg. US invasion of Iraq in 2003

Elements of Power

• State power is a mix of– Natural resources– Industrial capacity– Moral legitimacy– Military preparedness– Popular support

Long term Elements

• Tangible– GDP– Population– Territory– Geography– Natural resources

• Less tangible– Political culture– Patriotism– Education of the

population– Strength of the scientific

and technological base

Short term elements

• Size, composition and preparedness of military• Military industrial capacity• Quality of state’s bureaucracy• Support and legitimacy• loyalty

Fungible

• The extent that one element of power can be converted into another.

• The international system exists in a state of anarchy.

• Sovereignty - govt. has the right, in principle, to do whatever it wants in its own territory.

• Security dillema

Balance of power

• One or more state’s power being used to balance that of another state or group of states.

• Alliances play a big role in balancing power.

Bandwagoning

• Small states “jump on the bandwagon” of the most powerful states opposed to balancing.

The great powers

• States that can be defeated by another great power.

• They have world’s strongest military forces and strongest economies to pay for military forces and power capabilities.

• Large economies based on– Large populations– Plentiful natural resources– Advanced technology– Educated labor force

The current great powers

• United States• China• Russia• Japan• Germany• France• Britain

Middle powers

• Below great powers in terms of capabilities• Have regional dominance• Large but not highly industrialized• Specialized capabilities but small.

The two World Wars