Article
Hard, Soft and Sustainable Power in International Relations
Pathways to Peace
(2024)
Abstract
Global developments of a decade and a half since the 2010s have caused many to question the pacification of international affairs and proclaim a renaissance of hard power. Indeed, trends both at international and domestic levels have served to decouple nations, sending out a cacophony of calls for the need of a re-globalization in the international system. Domestic politics in Western nations have moved to the right, thus rigidifying borders against the flow of people and goods. This reactive mercantilism and nativism have broken down the momentum toward the rise of the “global village”. Moreover, major international violence has reappeared on the scene. It appears that conventional force is not only useful, but usable. Tensions have proliferated as North Korea and China have adopted more assertive postures in their foreign policies. The advent of a de-globalizing wave has caused scholars to question the role of soft power in light of this greater decoupling and resort to confrontation and military force. The article seeks to take a deeper look at the relation between soft and hard power in the context of these processes. It compares advantages and disadvantages of hard and soft power and employs the economic theory of X-efficiency to assess the often opaque benefits of soft power. It argues that both hard and soft power are required to maximize a nation’s influence in the global system in a sustainable way.
Keywords
- soft power,
- hard power,
- sharp power,
- sustainable power,
- confrontation,
- realism,
- neoliberalism,
- globalization,
- global village
Disciplines
Publication Date
2024
Citation Information
Giulio M Gallarotti. "Hard, Soft and Sustainable Power in International Relations" Pathways to Peace Vol. 1 Iss. 66 (2024) p. 169 - 178 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/giulio_gallarotti/74/