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Concerning foreign policy, “power” means a country’s ability to influence or change how other countries make decisions.
That may sound blunt because independent countries should be able to make decisions that suit themselves without interference. Though like all communities, there are opportunities to work together, but also opportunities to put your interests first.
You might also assume that the “bigger” the country, the more power it has – but that’s not always the case.
Power in foreign policy is broadly divided into two types: “hard power” and “soft power”.
This means forcing other countries to do things or act in a certain way. It’s a “carrot and stick” approach where “good behaviour” is rewarded and “bad behaviour” is punished. Types of hard power include:
- Use of sanctions.
- Tariffs (a tax on imports) and trade embargoes.
- “Show of force”/power projection (military parades, military exercises). This may or may not eventually lead to limited military action or a war.
- Cutting diplomatic ties (i.e. expelling ambassadors and embassy staff).
- Irredentism – claiming that the territory of another country is part of your own.
- Deterrence (i.e. nuclear weapons) and brinkmanship/threats.
- Spying/espionage, sabotage and cyber warfare.
- Non-linear warfare, such as destabilising countries from within (i.e. propaganda, bribery, supporting coups, election interference).
This is about influencing decisions by presenting the best possible image of your country to other countries. Types of soft power include:
- “Rolling out the red carpet” – state visits, international conferences and summits.
- Alliance-building through diplomacy and common interests.
- Foreign aid and international development.
- Culture (film-making, music, gaming, art).
- Tourism.
- Investment & job creation.
- Student and knowledge exchange programmes.
- International broadcasting (i.e. BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Voice of America).
- Hosting major sporting and cultural events (i.e. World Championships, Olympics, film and music festivals).
Countries often mix and match depending on their goals and foreign policy philosophy.
How much importance a country places on “hard” or “soft” power – or how they mix the two – depends on several things. In the US, for example, it changes with each president and what that president’s foreign policy priorities are.
International organisations like NATO and the EU are examples of both hard and soft power mixing and all member states benefit as a result.
For example, countries with a small military or weak economy can’t pursue “hard power” goals by themselves (risking coming across as a “paper tiger”) – though they might improve on those weaknesses by working with other countries.
There’s also the problem of formerly powerful countries – particularly countries that used to lead an empire – overestimating their hard and soft power based on what they’ve done in the past. This can cause a “post-imperial hangover” where politicians long for the glory days of the past and start making bad foreign policy decisions.
It’s worth underlining that “hard power” isn’t by itself bad and “soft power” isn’t by itself good.
One increasingly common example of “bad” soft power is sportswashing. Totalitarian and authoritarian countries financially dope sports teams or pay over the odds to sponsor or host competitions.
They aim to improve their image by tying themselves to sporting success and distracting from internal problems or human rights abuses. Supporters of teams and countries that benefit from sportswashing can also become a free PR army.
Likewise, supplying Ukraine with weapons and logistical support following the Russian invasion in 2022 – as well as imposing sanctions on Russia and its allies – is an example of “good” use of hard power. It not only helps a sovereign country defend itself against an illegal invasion but also eats into Russian resources, helping buy the rest of Europe time to get our defences in order.
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