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Lecture Four Power in International Politics

This document discusses key concepts in international politics related to the distribution and use of power among states. It covers topics like the balance of power, different types of state power (great powers, middle powers, small powers), the nature of great power politics, international systems theory, and factors that influence the current international system. The overall focus is on how states interact strategically based on their relative power capabilities and how the structure of the international system, such as bipolar or multipolar, shapes conflict potential.

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39 views

Lecture Four Power in International Politics

This document discusses key concepts in international politics related to the distribution and use of power among states. It covers topics like the balance of power, different types of state power (great powers, middle powers, small powers), the nature of great power politics, international systems theory, and factors that influence the current international system. The overall focus is on how states interact strategically based on their relative power capabilities and how the structure of the international system, such as bipolar or multipolar, shapes conflict potential.

Uploaded by

solhunter
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Power in International Politics

State Power/Power Politics


Balance of Power
International Systems
Key Concepts
Anarchy and self-help.
The security dilemma.
Security dilemma within a society of states.
Power Politics: whereas power is unequally distributed,
each state must provide its own security, and whereas
one state’s security is another’s threat, states
continually vie for power to be secure.
PP includes diplomacy, alliance, BoP, War, Peace,
even IL and IO. Primacy is Power.
Types of State Power
The form of PP changes, but the nature of state
relations remains the same.
Great Powers have five features. (Roman, Napoleonic,
British empires, USA/USSR post 1945).
Middle Powers: GPs value its resources, strategic
position and military value added. (Regional MPs:
France, Indonesia).
Small Powers: do not affect BoP (Netherlands), are
most insecure, can be flashpoints (Israel).
Nature of GP Power Politics

Status Quo vs. Revolutionary GP’s.


Tools: national power, alliances, diplomacy. (Classical
vs. Cold War: Structural Realism {K. Waltz})
GPs may seek concert for world domination.
GP may seek universal empire.
Former GPs may be submerged in power structure of
supplanter: Holland-England, A-H Empire-Germany,
UK-US, ?USA-China?
End of Part I
Balance of Power: various meanings
Historical/descriptive assessment of power.
BoP not as conscious state policy but as a function of systems
equilibrium.
Grotian (Liberal) Balance: enlightened self-interest makes near
equilibrium a founding principle of the society of states (eg: Concert of
Europe), used to limit conflict, grant compensation, and avert
hegemony, eventually overcome war.
Machiavellian Balance: BoP is inevitable. States only have permanent
interests: maintaining the scales in their favour. BoP is inherently
unstable.
Immanuel Kant: reject ‘the power trap’, both as practice and as
prescription.
Realist Rules for BoP

Always increase capabilities, but choose


diplomacy over war. (Morton Kaplan)
War rather than a loss in capabilities.
Oppose preponderance by one GP.
Avoid uncertainty of eliminating other GPs
(Versailles, Gulf 1991) or allowing a new order
not based on Power Politics.
Preponderance rather than Balance

Preponderance of Power school of thought. (balances


are unstable, benevolent hegemony is better {Cold
War}, war is likely when hegemon declines or
challenger closes the gap).
Hegemonic stability theory: hegemon underwrites rules
of trade and diplomacy which creates stability
Declining hegemons/stability causes war or systems
change
International Systems

The type of configuration of power in a time and


geographical framework.
Holsti’s five IS aspects: boundary, units,
interaction, norms, structure.
Structure: number of GPs, nature of their power,
alliances.
Neo-realism (K. Waltz) makes int’l structure the
key explanation of all international politics.
Types of Structure
Unipolar (tether pole). National or bloc power: Roman
Empire.
Multipolar (merry-go-round). National power and
alliances. (1648-1814 Europe), South Asia today.
Bipolar (see-saw). National power and alliance blocs.
Triple Alliance {Ge, It, A-H, 1882) and Triple Entente
{Eng-Fr-Rus. 1907}, and Cold War.
Each has its own type of dominant security problem:
challenger/assimilation; shifting alliances;
escalation/zero-sum conflict
Conflict Potential and Risk
calculation
Deutsch and Singer definition of stability (no dominant,
all GPs remain, no large-scale war)
Multipolar: potentially many conflicts, but also
countervailing alliances and BoP holder.
Bipolar: potential zero-sum and high risk of escalation,
but more political control.(offset by ideology and MAD)
Structure of IS is also contextual: rules of war and
diplomacy change.
Today’s International System

Boundaries: global strong points


Units: democracies vs. the rest
Interaction: eco, pol, mil, cult.
Structure: unipolar and multipolar mixed.
Complicating Factors
Non-state actors and intrastate wars.
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD).
Trade blocs vs. WTO
USA is not a traditional empire. It is a mixture of: primus
inter pares, benevolent hegemon, globocop, and
traditional GP.
‘Triumph’ of Liberalism and instant communication
challenges legitimacy of national interest and possibility of
limited war.
Conclusion
Does the end of territorial aggrandizement mean the
end of GP Power Politics?
Does the presence of Nuclear Weapons mean the end
of GP Power Politics?
Does Globalization?
Can regional or global organization (NATO/UN)
prevent/overcome GP politics?
Each GP has its own power and normative context.
Today’s Power Politics: The Role of one Hyper Power.
Future System Watch

Will a multipolar MAD be as stable as the Cold War


MAD?
Will missile defence replace deterrence?
Will WMD replace Nuclear Weapons?
Will rigid trade blocs emerge from globalization?
Will the state system weaken from quasi states and
global economics?
Will civilization/religion clashes replace inter-state war?

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