Power in Global Politics and International Relations Notes

Power 1.1: Create a painting in the socialist realism style symbolizing POWER in Global Politics.

Power Defined: The ability to influence other groups in global politics and achieve desired outcomes, such as material gains in trade, politics, or territorial expansion.

Power Dynamics: Power is not fixed; it can change hands or fluctuate.

China's 5G and Cyber Threat: The U.S. and Europe view economic relations with China as a trading partnership, but China may see the U.S. as an adversary.

Power Players: States, Multinational Corporations (MNCs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs).

Economic Influence - Taylor Swift Example: Taylor Swift's U.S. tour could generate $4.6 billion in consumer spending, exceeding the GDP of 35 countries.

Defining Hard, Soft, and Smart Power: Creating a universal definition is difficult; utilizing Justice Potter Stewart's “I know it when I see it” approach.

• Hard Power: Military force and sanctions.

• Smart Power: Payments, diplomacy, and trade.

• Soft Power: Outreach and cultural ties.

Hard Power: Coercion by a state or group to force others to act against their will; targeted states are aware of the coercion and are usually less powerful.

• Cersei Lannister's (fictional) book Power is Power suggests a realist perspective on power.

Soft Power: Persuasion or influence.

• Example: China’s use of development aid in Africa to secure favorable deals for natural resources.

Soft Power Challenges: Requires consistency and patience; can be easily lost and is hard to apply due to ingrained cultural values.

Smart Power: A balanced approach using both hard and soft power.

• Effective diplomacy employs smart power by combining persuasion with the threat of coercion.

US Diplomacy: Typically employs smart power by using hard and soft power elements. An example is US interventions in the Russia-Ukraine war utilizing economic sanctions and promotion of democracy.

Incoherent Marketing Diminishes U.S. Influence: More than 20 U.S. government bodies disburse foreign aid, each using its own branding, which diminishes U.S. influence amid rising competition from China.

Dumb Power: Exercise of power that is counterproductive.

• Example: China's withdrawal of pandas from the Washington National Zoo to punish the U.S. for hostility, leading to increased annoyance and hostility.

Defense Spending: Comparative data on defense spending by the United Kingdom ($61.8B$), Russia ($70.0B$), Saudi Arabia ($80.8B$), China ($129.4B$), and the United States ($596.9B$).

Defense Spending as Percentage of GDP: Iraq ($8.1$%), South Sudan ($8.8$%), Saudi Arabia ($10.4$%), Oman ($12.0$%), and Afghanistan ($14.6$%).

Armed Forces: China ($2,333,000$), United States ($1,433,000$), India ($1,346,000$), North Korea ($1,190,000$), and Russia ($771,000$).

Military Power - Declining or Not: Military intervention is sometimes unsuccessful, and developed nations are increasingly unwilling to support military action. However, military force remains essential in combating non-state groups, intra-state wars are increasing, and military force is essential in protecting vulnerable civilian populations.

Military Power and Soft Power: Military resources are often mobilized for humanitarian aid.

The Use of Economic Power: Can be coercive (hard) or persuasive (soft), and is measured by GDP and per capita GDP.

Realism & Liberalism Theoretical Foundations: Application of a theoretical foundation in global politics is essential.

Paul Poast suggests an approach to International Relations.

Structural Power: The means by which states influence global politics by promoting their preferred model, such as democracy or capitalism.

Joseph Nye and Relational Power: Applying power (hard, soft, smart) to a country with which it has a relationship: threats and rewards, controlling the agenda, and establishing preferences.

Cyber Power: The

Case Study: The Russian War Against Ukraine

• Actors Involved: Russia, Ukraine, NATO (US, Germany, France, UK, etc.), ICJ, ICC. Others.

• Background and Current Events: Ukraine is a country roughly the size of Texas with a population of around 44 million and shares a border with Russia to the east. It was once a part of the Soviet Union. More recently Ukraine has attempted to forge stronger economic and political connections with Europe, specifically exploring future membership in the European Union and NATO. In late February 2022 those forces invaded Ukraine leading to significant violent conflict between the Ukrainian military (as well as mobilized civilians) and Russian forces and the flight of more than three million Ukrainian refugees. Many states and MNCs rejected this as a violation of the international norm of sovereignty and responded with punishing economic sanctions against Russia. Several NATO countries began shipping additional military resources to Ukraine. In March of 2023 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Goals / Conflicts / Motivations:

  • Putin’s stated goal is the “denazification” of Ukraine and the protection of ethnically Russian citizens from genocide.

  • Ukraine’s immediate goal is to reestablish sovereignty with continued integration with Europe and eventual membership in the EU and, potentially, NATO. The EU, NATO and the United States all emphasize the long established international norm of sovereignty and the right of Ukraine to determine its own fate.

• Connections to Key Concepts / Theories / LOAs:

  • This conflict lends itself to multiple levels of analysis, from the local impact of fighting on individual towns and communities to the international aspect of a conflict among multiple states.

  • Realism and liberalism are both relevant here. Realists would argue that Putin’s attack was intended to increase the security of Russia. The response of the US and NATO member states to defend Ukrainian sovereignty could be characterized as a robust liberal response.

  • Power: Russian hard power is being used against Ukraine and given Russia’s disproportionate nuclear power, nations supporting Ukraine are limited in their willingness to exert their own hard military power against Russia for fear of escalating the conflict beyond conventional weapons. Those states have mostly utilized coercive economic power.

  • Russian military attacks on civilians and the resulting stream of refugees are clear examples of gross violations of human rights.