Power and Wealth

• Hans Morgenthau argued that international politics, like all politics, is a struggle for power
• While politics and power are inseparable, they are not always synonymous
• Politics involves conflicts and the strategies involved to resolve those conflicts
• But power is used by the state to decide who gets what of valued resources in the society. Those with more power get more of their interests fulfilled

Definition of Power

• Karl deutsch defined power as the ability of an individual or group to mobilize appropriate resources to get other to do things that they would not otherwise do
• Kenneth Walts defined power as the inadvertent impact of individuals or groups on others
• Power is often defined as a currency
• States want something– they use power to buy it-could be more power

Power

• Power is relative – the power of a nation depends on that of others with whom a nation may have conflicting interests
• American economic power has continued to grow but at slower rate, so its overall power has declined
• Power also relates to a country’s perception and ability to achieve its national interests
• If a government becomes too ambitious, and desires to expand territory or expansive economic growth and cannot get it, then it is relatively powerless
• How is power asserted? Some people consider power’s bottom line as simply the ability to hurt others worse than they can hurt you, or the ability to successfully wage war
  
  
• In reality, power is asserted and is manifested in many ways – military force is perhaps the least cost effective in advancing national interest
• Powers spans everything from persuasion, influence, and outright force
• States can offer others incentives—alliances, open markets, economic aid, technology, -- all to influence them to change their behavior
• Power can also be wielded through logic, bribes, and threats
• Logic involves persuading others to concede through the force of argument or emotion
  
  
• Bribes involve money given to the other side to change their behavior
• Threats are made and sometimes acted upon to force the opponent to yield
• The more of these means a country employs in a conflict, the greater its chances of prevailing
• Assertion of power requires several ingredients
• A state must clearly communicate what it wants in a conflict
  
  
• It must be clear about the means it intend s to use
• State must demonstrate both the capacity and the will to employ the power it claims to posses
• Success is more likely when the opponent is required to make minor changes
• The credibility of a state’s capacity and the will to act, must be communicated in a way that weakens the opponent’s resolve
• Example: Iraq disregarded US warning not to invade Kuwait in 1990---WHY?
  
  
• Power is both a means and ends – winning in a conflict increases one’s power
• How is power measured? It is rarely absolute, and is often offset by other powers
• There is a relationship between a states human and material resources and its ability to achieve its goals
• A state's potential power may differ greatly from the power it actually uses in a conflict
• Power cannot be truly measured until it is used
  
  
• Scholars often equate economic and military size with potential power
• Some states measure power in terms of total population, steel production, energy consumption, military personnel, and military budget