Chapter 2: Power, capability and instruments Flashcards
Why is Power important in FPA
The international system
→ Continuous competition for security and wealth
→ Cooperation and alliances remain strategic
→ Prevalence of ‘security dilemma’, which perpetuates insecurity
A security dilemma
→ Actions to increase own security cause reactions, which – in turn – decrease rather than increase own security
→ In this understanding of an international context, ‘power’ significantly affects the sustenance of a successful foreign policy
Why is power important, from a realist and other thories perspective?
A realist lens
→The anarchic international system guides foreign policy decision-making
→ Assumption of rationality and self-interest
→ Power is tool and goal of foreign policy
→ Power equates to ‘national interest’ (Morgenthau)
Different theoretical lenses
→ Others argue ‘balance of power’ is primary mechanism that orders international system
→ Question then becomes, how to achieve equilibrium
→ Short-term provisions vs. long-term institution building
What is the definition of Power?
State’s ability to influence other states’ actions
→To the first state’s advantage
→Latter state might not pursue otherwise
Direct (force, coercion) or indirect (influence or persuasion)
Wide variety of sources
→military and economic capabilities, geographic position, material resource, size of its population, economic development, pervasiveness of new technologies, etc
What are the different Dimensions of power?
Power as a goal: Maximise power; blurred lines between personal and state power
→States range between ‘pole of indifference’ and ’pole of power’
Power as a means: A tool to obtain something else; only valuable if also recognised by others; not necessarily zero-sum
Power as a structure: Environment where power cannot be disregarded; critical for all social relations
→4 principal structures where dominance could be decisive (Susan Strange): Security, money, trade and information
Distinguish Hard vs. soft power in FPA
“Hard power is that which is targeted, coercive, often immediate and physical. Soft power is that which is indirect, long-term and works more through persuasion than force. It has been defined as
’getting others to want what you want’, through co-optation” (Hill 2003: 135)
Hard power focuses on target:
For example: Diplomacy (negotiations, mediation, withdrawal of official recognition, formal notes of protest), economic measures (sanctions, trade restrictions), subversion (intelligence gathering, espionage), military instruments
Soft power changes target’s environment:
For example: Promotion of values through governmental (educational exchange, scholarships) and non-governmental actors (human rights groups, trade union support, electoral assistance)
What is Diplomacy in FP and what are its three different of diplomacy?
“The art and science of maintaining peaceful relations
between states or individuals”
“Actions seeking to affect events in the international system”
Crucial element of international stability
Reactionary, as well as indispensable
Three types:
→Public diplomacy: State strategy to communicate directly and openly with other countries (e.g. branding, advocacy)
→ Economic diplomacy: Helps economy thrive, country prosper
→Cultural diplomacy: Exchange of arts and culture that aims to increase understanding between different countries (also dollar diplomacy, gunboat diplomacy)
What are the key functions of Diplomacy?
Communication
Negotiation
Participation in multilateral institutions
Promotion of economic goods (promote national prosperity and conduct foreign economic policy)
How can Economic measures be instrumentalized as a form of Power in FP?
The extent to which an actor can pursue its goals through the use of economic instruments
→ Content of the goal is not centrally (or necessarily) economic
Slow-moving in their impact
→Profound impact in long-term
Relatively complex to operate in contemporary capitalist world
Differentiated normative tools
→Positive: For example, trade, investment or developmental aid
→Negative: For example, boycott of imports, embargoes on exports, restrictions on private business and travel or imposition of price rises through punitive duties.
How can the use of force be instrumentalized as a form of Power in FP?
Power relations can be more coercive than cooperative
→Junction between diplomacy and violence: Coercive diplomacy (high-risk, low success)
Force can be implicit or actual
Use of violence – even when it succeeds – is usually failure of foreign policy
→May have harmful and unforeseeable long-term consequences
→Relatively crude instrument
Different forms:
→Subversion
→Defence
→Deterrence
How can culture be instrumentalized as a form of Power in FP?
The promotion of values through
→Governmental actors (educational exchange, scholarships)
→Non-governmental actors (human rights groups, trade union support, electoral assistance)
Considered a soft/er power or foreign policy tool
Often intertwined with propaganda as a foreign policy tool
→Propaganda has little cultural value, often coercive
→Culture is more spontaneous, independent of political exploitation
