In this five-part series, I clarify discussions of power across centuries and dozens of disciplines, forming a novel framework for understanding and discussing the often misconstrued concept. I demonstrate how this framework aids in discussion of the power of everything from brooches to nuclear weapons, from the United Nations to your local bowling league.
My work provides a conceptualization of power which will change how researchers, politicians, and governments interact with the world. It will teach you how to think about power, how to systematically achieve your goals and prioritize your efforts, and ultimately how you can create change.
power is the ability to create and/or sustain a change from the status quo.
I argue that
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To reach that conclusion, I reviewed thousands of years of scholarship on power, contrasting scholars’ thoughts to find out what it isn’t. I go over this process in the first paper of this series:
My experience as a combat photographer informs how I approach my research and how I communicate it.
When thinking about power, especially in international relations, many often first think of the military. The images shown here represent an array of abilities that allow the military to create change in various environments and with varying resources. Above, U.S. Marines prepare an AH-1Z Viper (the helicopter) for flight. This aircraft provides a unique ability; it’s the only attack helicopter with fully-integrated air-to-air missile capabilities.
Next, I examine the forms of change, or manifestations of power. Through an examination of interpersonal and international interactions which demonstrate how power is manifested and exercised and a review of theories of human interaction with outgroups, I develop a system for understanding power. In this paper, I frame power as abilities which manifest through the physical, social, or cultural world.
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Above is a photo of a friend of mine, taken during a training exercise in Alaska. As a Joint Fires Observer, his job was to direct artillery, aircraft, and other long-range fires from the ground. To do this in a real combat scenario, his small team would enter enemy territory, sometimes camping there for days, observing the target location undetected.
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Here, I suggest that international relations scholars shouldn’t just consider findings from writings on interpersonal relations, international relations is interpersonal relations. I discuss the implications for international relations scholars going forward and the disciplinary divides that hinder academic progress in the social sciences.
In this photo, U.S. Marines conduct a ceremony for the Marine Corps Birthday on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Though the ceremony holds no particular significance for Japan (except perhaps the Marine Corps’ involvement in the Pacific Campaign in WWII), the Japanese flag is flown alongside the American and Marine Corps Flags, a symbol of Japanese power.
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In this paper, I build a frame for empirical analysis of power using the theory I’ve developed above. This discussion not only provides the first step to building comprehensive empirical analyses of power, but demonstrates why power has proven so difficult to measure, and why measures of power have failed to perform reliably across a variety of scenarios.
Above, pilots prepare to land a cargo plane on a runway on an island in the pacific. The cargo capabilities presented by units like this are vital to the power of the U.S.
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Using the framework elucidated in the previous works, I examine power in a case study, the power competition between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea. Though this analysis hardly captures all manifestations of power in this case, it provides a novel look at the abilities great powers use in competition with one another. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a demonstration of the proposed framework for discussing and measuring power in international relations.
Here, U.S. Marines showcase their ability to operate small boats during a training exercise. This ability is essential to success in many operations, like intercepting pirates and human traffickers or recovering aerial surveillance systems intentionally downed in the water.