Reconsidering Power in International Relations

2013

As we have seen in the last part, the contribution made by Barnett and Duvall with histaxonomy of four dimensions of power is very helpful as theoretical framework; nevertheless, it is still weak to implement as a methodological tool it is very difficult to distinguish in a real case what is originated through the structure or the actor, as well as to measure if the specificity is direct or diffuse.

World Politics, 1979

Recent refinements in social science thinking about power could be used to revitalize this approach to understanding international relations. The relevance of scholarly work on the causal concept of power is explored with regard to the following topics: potential vs. actual power, interdependence, military power, positive sanctions, the zero-sum model of politics, and the distinction between deterrence and compellence. The tendency to exaggerate the fungibility of power resources, the propensity to treat military power resources as the1 “ultimate” power base, and the emphasis on conflict and negative sanctions at the expense of cooperation and positive sanctions, are still common in international relations scholarship. The most important need is for recognition that the absence of a common denominator of political value in terms of which different scopes of power can be compared is not so much a methodological problem to be solved as it is a real-world constraint to be lived with.

National power is an important concept in international relations not only because it decides potentials of a state but also how much a state can influence other states. A state is branded as having “national power” not merely because it has either economic power or military power. A state’s national power is decided by a myriad of different elements whose collective possession equips a state with national power. However the relative importance of elements of national power has largely changed with time. Globalization and advancement of technology have interconnected the states dispersed worldwide while changing the power position of states as well as the significance of each element of national power. However various tools of controlling national power are also existent lest a state may wield excessive national power that could be unfavourable for the international system.

SAIS Review of International Affairs, 2020

for their contributions to this project. They would also like to thank its group of advisors at Johns Hopkins SAIS and other institutions who provided valuable feedback and commentary in the development of this research program. This article is part one of two, where the second part will be published by the Foreign Policy Institute in Fall 2020 and will present an abbreviated diplomatic capacity index of fifteen to twenty countries. For more information on the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, visit https://www.fpi.sais-jhu.edu.

2007

The balance of power has been a central concept in the theory and practice of international relations for the past five hundred years. It has also played a key role in some of the most important attempts to develop a theory of international politics in the contemporary study of international relations. In this 2007 book, Richard Little establishes a framework that treats the balance of power as a metaphor, a myth and a model. He then uses this framework to reassess four major texts that use the balance of power to promote a theoretical understanding of international relations: Hans J. Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations (1948), Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society (1977), Kenneth N. Waltz's Theory of International Politics (1979) and John J. Mearsheimer's The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001). These reassessments allow the author to develop a more comprehensive model of the balance of power.

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