GP- Power & Developments: Different types of power Flashcards
Q: What is “power” as defined in the provided text?
A: Power refers to the ability to achieve the outcomes that actors in global politics want.
Q: Who does this definition of power apply to?
A: Both states and non-state actors.
Q: What is a recurring theme in global politics, according to the text?
A: Power.
Q: What determines how much influence states, regional organizations, IGOs, and non-state actors wield in international relations?
A: How much power they possess.
Q: Who defined two types of power in a 1990 essay on foreign policy?
A: US foreign policy expert Joseph Nye.
Q: What are the two types of power defined by Joseph Nye?
A: Hard power and soft power.
Q: How did Nye define “power”?
A: “Power is the ability to affect others to get the outcomes you want, and that can be done by coercion, payment or attraction.”
Q: What is “smart power”?
A: When soft and hard power are deployed together.
Q: What is “hard power”?
A: Hard power is where states use coercion to achieve desired outcomes.
Q: What are examples of hard power resources?
A: Military power, or the threat of the use of military power, and economic power.
Q: How can economic power be exercised?
A: By powerful nation states or regional organisations in trade negotiations through offering inducements or disincentives.
Q: What is a powerful example of economic hard power?
A: The threat of tariffs.
Q: What are economic sanctions?
A: Measures such as trade bans or freezing bank accounts that can impose economic hardship on states and individuals.
Q: What is “structural power”?
A: Power that further increases hard power, such as the USA’s dominant position on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Q: What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative and leadership of the Asian Infrastructure Bank (AIB) provide it with?
A: Enormous structural power, enabling it to spread its economic influence globally.
Q: Can all states rely on hard power?
A: No, less powerful states do not have enough military or economic power to be able to threaten other states.
Q: Why can’t even powerful states always rely on hard power?
A: Because they may need to maintain friendly economic relations with some states, and military force is not always a sensible option.
Q: What was the outcome of Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war (2015)?
A: The ruthlessness of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, including the sustained bombardment of the rebel-held Aleppo, was crucial in enabling the Assad regime to maintain its power.
Q: What happened on 24 February 2022?
A: Russia invaded Ukraine, having amassed up to 190,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.
Q: What was the outcome of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
A: Russia’s military intervention did not achieve the speedy successes President Putin had anticipated, and the war soon became one of attrition rather than swift victory.
Q: What have EU sanctions on Russia included?
A: A ban on Russian crude oil, gas and coal and Russian flights to or over EU countries.
Q: What is a problem with using tariffs as economic hard power?
A: They can provoke a trade war.
Q: What is “soft power”?
A: Soft power is where powers utilize the appeal of their culture to achieve the outcomes they desire.
Q: How is soft power best delivered?
A: When a state or regional organisation is attractive to and trusted by other powers.
