different types of power

what are the sources of state power

economic, military, structural, regional power, natural resources, diplomatic, cultural, population

economic power

* often measured by GDP
* includes other factors: debt, growth, trade balances, influence over trade rules
* trading sanctions
* JCPOA- joint comprehensive plan of action- Iran nuclear deal 2015- sanctions against Iran for developing military

military power

* size of army, spending on defence, quality of army
* russia- second most powerful military- but questions of quality as arms are from the 90s
* most powerful military is the USA, third is China
* size of nations standing army
* global reach- a states ability to deploy anywhere at any time
* naval, airforce, technology, nuclear, cyber, intelligence

structural

intergovernmental organisations

regional power

* dominance in regions
* alliances with other countries
* structural power from regional/global organisations- IGOs
* sphere of influence-countries in your region that will fo what you want
* NATO in the US sphere of influence and Europe
* allied to countries in advantageous positions

natural resources

* Europe buying oil and natural gas from the Middle East and America
* US aren’t going to cause issues in Saudi Arabia as they provide them with oil

diplomatic power

* links between governments, deals, alliances
* media
* taking the lead on global issues
* brokering deals
* foreign policy-embassies
* elements of structural power
* the reach of states foreign policy and the global impression that state makes
* providing leadership on global issues: conflict resolution, environment, the economy, poverty and development

cultural power

* a country appears more attractive
* seeming like the ‘good guys’- eg by taking the lead on global issues, human rights
* Britain has a lot of soft power influence- scope of the language- most spoken in the world
* British empire- the after effect on the colonies
* a state global cultural outreach
* TV, film, music, food, fashion, celebrities and brand names
* expand influence through promotion of political values through culture
* region

what type of power is military and economic

hard power

what type of power is cultural and diplomatic

soft power

hard power

a states economic and military power. this involves threat and coercion

* ways in which nation state can compel obedience to its will
* the power to coerce or induce, in order to achieve desirable outcomes
* threats of coercions (‘sticks’); inducements or payments (‘carrots’)

soft power

a states diplomatic or cultural power. this can involve persuasion and attraction

* achieving outcomes because states want to follow you. objectives can be achieved through attractiveness of a states cultural or political system
* ‘whose story wins’- Joesph Nye
* non-economic and non- military ways in which a state can encourage other ways to emulate its world view
* co-opting rather than coercing

hard power examples

* trumps threat to North Korea “we will unleash fire and fury”

put measures in place to reduce the nuclear tension
* US/NATO/EU sanctions against Russia
* Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in order to prevent the spread of NATO
* Bush’s neoconservative approach during the war on terror. the US used its military power to lead a coalition of forces in Afghanistan and Iraq

soft power examples

* Americanisation- cultural globalisation. other states globalise as the other economies boost, people like Americanisation. Joseph Nye- suggests America won the Cold War because people wanted to be like them, wanted western culture
* China, Russia and India sharing vaccine sticks with poorer countries
* English is the most widely spoken language in the world
* lots of world leaders and influential figures attended university in the UK

hard power effectiveness

* without a strong military power, states fo not have the capacity to defend themselves , or to use military force as a threat
* economic power is essential to be taken on a global scale and to be influential in punishing other states’ eg economic sanctions
* hard power enables countries to be more self reliant and therefore less at mercy of the other states’ behaviours; they are more likely to act in their own national interest if they see fit

hard power is generally more effective at getting quicker results
* for democratic governments, hard power is appealing to their electorate, with many voters seeing importance in feeling economically secure and protected by a strong military. for autocratic states, hard power is important to maintain, or enforce, stability
* hard power can provide quick intervention

soft power effectiveness

* antagonistic behaviour can only get states so far without isolating themselves. the most powerful states tend to have strong alliances and therefore popularity in global politics
* soft power enables states to be more influential in the long term, with the spread of cultures, ideas and values. this can enable states to win over hearts and minds abroad too, creating a stronger leadership position
* avoiding the need for military intervention or economic sanction enables to grow stronger in other ways and focus their attention on other interests
* in an increasingly interlinked world, alliances are more and more important for fulfilling common interests. soft power is essential to this
* soft power needs to be built up over many years

IGOs affect on hard/soft power

UN have made soft power more important- UNGA is a chance to enhance soft power, voting in the UNGA is also soft power

smart power

using both hard and soft power methods to achieve its aims

* Joseph Nye

example of soft power

key feature of Obama’s administration. in 2009 Cairo speech- benefits of Islamic culture and emphasised the need for cooperation, shows he would use hard power as he will not tolerate extremist threats

hard power. realist

Hard power is by far the dominant form of power and is most significant in defining a states strength. They argue without sufficient hard power a states sovereignty is weakened.

Coercive force

soft power. liberal

soft power is the way in which nation states achieve influence through persuasion. this can be manifested through its cultural and diplomatic appeal. for liberals this is increasingly important form of power in an even more globalised world, where interconnectedness is a common feature and systems of global governance are a necessity.

used multilaterally

smart power. liberal/soft realism

mostly a liberal idea, although some softer realists may also see the merits of using soft power to reinforce hard power.