Types of power

Thinkers and defenitions

Hard power

The use of force and threats of force to influence the decision-making of those in charge

Soft power

Achieving aims through persuasion or influence (i.e the power to get others to want what you want)

Lies more in the realm of negotiation, promises of aid, cooperation and other non-military means of influencing change

Smart power

The combination of hard and soft power – the ability to use both when called for, or one or the other when necessary

Multilateral power

Through IGOs, smaller states can cooperate with other states to become more powerful than they would be alone

Economic power

Political and economic unions (e.g EU) can establish a single currency zone that aims to maximize their Economic power

Military power

Military resources (i.e land, air or sea) are the ultimate means to force another group or state to comply or to change their behavior.

The most powerful states are often thought to be those with the largest armies, the most advanced weapons (comprising nuclear), and the technology/willingness to use this power.

It is dangerous to draw firm conclusions about military power from statistics and resources alone. What matter is whether military resources are actually used and whether they are successful when they are used (success should be measured in terms of the objective of the use of military power

Structural power

the means by which states affect global politics, usually by promoting a model of politics that they favor, such as democracy or capitalism.

Some states may wish to push others towards a more democratic, capitalist, free market economic model (i.e the ideological struggle between capitalist and communist models of economic development).

In recent times, Western powers have tried to remove authoritarian regimes and build up the democratic models of government (i.e regime change in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan) through hard military power and regime change.

Relational power

is when a state has a relationship with another state and uses this relationship to influence the other state to change its behavior; using military, economic, hard, soft power or a combination of such.

Three types of relational power (Nye)

-          Threats and rewards – likely to encourage the state to achieve their desired goal

-          Controlling the agenda – limiting the choices of the other state in order to achieve the desired goal

-          Establishing preferences – getting the other state to want the same goals as your state

Social and cultural power

globalization has given rise for some states to export their cultural resources across the world.

Global brands (e.g Simpsons, Facebook, BBC, Apple) are universally known and popular. However, it’s difficult to know whether this brand popularity has any soft power benefit for the states from which the brand originates

Just because BBC is popular in Pakistan, it does not mean that the UK is perceived positively

Thus, cultural power connects diverse populations around the world at a more human, rather than strategic, level