Power:
1. My notion would be, that anything which possesses any sort of power to affect another, or to
be affected by another, if only for a single moment, however trifling the cause and however
slight the effect, has real existence; and I hold that the definition of being is simple power. ----
Plato, Sophist, 247
2. Kenneth Boulding said, power is "the ability to change the future."
3. Power is the ability to cause or prevent change" [May, 1972, p. 99].
4. "its inner reality, the thing without which it cannot be: that essence is command" [Jouvenal,
1962, p. 96].
5. "For the assertion 'A has power over B.' we can substitute the assertion 'A's behavior causes
B's behavior' " [Simon, 1957, p. 5].
6. "Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are
endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a
particular society."
7. ‘Power is everywhere’ and ‘comes from everywhere’ so in this sense is neither an agency nor
a structure (Foucault 1998: 63).
8. power produces; it produces reality; it produces domains of objects and rituals of truth. The
individual and the knowledge that may be gained of him belong to this production’ (Foucault
1991: 194).
9. Power is the ability or capacity to control others and get them do what one wants them to do.
It is the ability to control the behavior
10. Power is a trick! A puzzling zigzag
.Characteristics Of Power
a. Power is relative
b. Power is dynamic. Not a static phenomena
c. Power is multi-faced
d. Power is situation based
.Ingredients Of Power
a. Force
b. Influence
c. Authority
NATIONAL POWER:
It is a mean by which states implement their policies internally as well as externally
All states possess power with different amounts, size, and volume. It is a power of a nation as a
whole
It is a measureable phenomenon of a nation-state by economic
output,population,area,military,skills et
It is the civic devotion, flexibility of institutions, technical know-how , capacity to endure and
sustain worst and good times, its reputation and manipulative skills, all combine together form it.
It symbolizes anything that establishes and maintain the control of a state over other states or
keep the peace for every state or prevent from total chaos and destruction.
Prof Hnas Morgenthau defines power as a ‘ A relationship between two political actors in which
actor A has the ability to control the mind and actions of actor B. OR
‘A psychological relation between those who exercise it and those over whom it is exercised
ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER
1: TANGIBLE (perceptible by touch)
1.Geography
2.Population
3.Natural resources
4.Military strength
5.Technology
2: INTANGIBLE (unable to be touched; not having physical presence)
1. Leadership
2. National character/Morale
3. Ideology
4. Socio-Political culture
5. Diplomacy
Soft Power vs. Hard Power
SOFT POWER:
DIGITAL: A country’ s digital infrastructure and its capabilities in digital diplomacy
CULTURE : The global reach and appeal of a nation’ s cultural outputs, both pop-culture and
high-culture
ENTERPRISE: The attractiveness of a country’ s economic model, business friendliness, and
capacity for innovation
EDUCATION: The level of human capital in a country, contribution to scholarship, and
attractiveness to international students
ENGAGEMENT: The strength of a country’ s diplomatic network and its contribution to global
engagement and development; GOVERNMENT: Commitment to freedom, human rights, and
democracy, and the quality of political institution
