Types of power (international relations)



Power in international relations is defined in several different ways.political scientists, historians, and practitioners of international relations ( diplomacy) have used the following concepts of political power: Modern discourse generally speaks in terms of state power, indicating both economic and military power. Those states that have significant amounts of power within the international system are referred to as middle powers, regional powers, great powers, superpowers, hegmons, although there is no commonly accepted standard for what defines a powerful state.
 * Power as a goal of states or leaders;
 * Power as a measure of influence or control over outcomes, events, actors and issues;
 * Power as reflecting victory in conflict and the attainment of security;
 * Power as control over resources and capabilities;
 * Power as status, which some states or actors possess and others do not.

Entities other than states can also acquire and wield power in international relations. Such entities can include tribal or nomadic confederations or federations,

Power as a goal
Primary usage of "power" as a goal in international relations  power is an inherent goal of mankind and of states. Economic growth, military growth, cultural spread etc. can all be considered as working towards the ultimate goal of international power.

Power as influence
Principally to use "power" in terms of a states ability to exercise influence over other states within the international system This influence can be coercive, attractive,cooperative, or competative. Mechanisms of influence can include the threat or use of force, economic interaction or pressure, diplomacy, and cultural exchange.

Spheres, blocs, and alliances
Under certain circumstances, states can organize a sphere of influence, bloc or alliance within which they exercise predominant influence. Historical examples include the spheres of influence

Power as security
Power is also used when describing states or actors that have achieved military victories or security for their state in the international system. This general usage is most commonly found among the writings of historians or popular writers. For instance, a state that has achieved a string of combat victories in a military campaign against other states can be described as powerful. An state that has succeeded in protecting its security, sovereignty, or strategic interests from repeated or significant challenge can also be described as powerful.

Power as capability
Power is the capacity to direct the decisions and actions of others. Power derives from strength and will. Strength comes from the transformation of resources into capabilities. Will infuses objectives with resolve. Strategy marshals capabilities and brings them to bear with precision. Statecraft seeks through strategy to magnify the mass, relevance, impact, and irresistibility of power. It guides the ways the state deploys and applies its power abroad. These ways embrace the arts of war, espionage, and diplomacy. The practitioners of these three arts are the paladins of statecraft. Power is also used to describe the resources and capabilities of a state.

Hard, soft, and smart power
Main articles: Hard power Soft power

Some political scientists distinguish between two types of power: Hard and Soft. The former is coercive while the latter is attractive.

Hard power refers to coercive tactics: the threat or use of armed forces, economic pressure,  assassination and subterfuge, or other forms of intimidation. Hard power is generally associated to the stronger of nations, as the ability to change the domestic affairs of other nations through military threats.

Soft power.refers to instruments used to include debates on cultural values, dialogues on ideology, the attempt to influence through good example, and the appeal to commonly accepted human values. Means of exercising soft power include diplomacy, dissemination of information, analysis, propaganda, and cultural programming to achieve political ends.

Power as status
Much effort in academic and popular writing is devoted to deciding which states have the status of "power", and how this can be measured. If a country has "power" (as influence) in military, diplomatic, cultural, and economic spheres, it might be called a "power" (as status). There are several categories of power.

Categories of Power
Main article: List of Ancient Powers
 * Super power: Used to describe a state that can project power and influence on a global scale.
 * Great power: The term refers to the states that have strong political, cultural and economical influence over nations around them and across the world.
 * Regional power: Used to describe a state that exercises influence and power within a region. Being a regional power is not mutually exclusive with any of the other categories of power.
 * Middle power: The term refers to states that could not quite be described as regional powers, but exert a certain strategic degree of in,,,,,fluence within their region.
 * Small Power:  Used to describe a state that are instruments of the other bigger powers and may at times be dominated; but they cannot be ignored.