Types of power

Power

Ability to define, influence and shape the outcomes of events in a way that coincides with a state’s national interests

Hard Power

The use of or threatened use of violence or force to influence the actions of a global actor (or other coercive means)

• Military-capable infrastructure SCS

Soft power

Military power

Use of a state’s military to exert influence over the actions of other global actors

• South China Sea dispute

Cultural power

Desirable and transportable culture that states can use to achieve ends that might not be achieved through military and political means

Economic power

Often determined by figures such as the gross domestic product (GDP), which indicate the wealth of a state and its economic activity

Diplomatic power

Power accrued by states through their relationships with others in the form of alliances, alignments and international standing

Political power

Ability of a state to use internal mechanisms such as judiciaries, laws and propaganda to pursue its objectives