Hard, soft and sustainable power in International Relations

33

Columbia University, New York, USA

Wesleyan University, Connecticut, USA

Hard, soft and sustainable power in International Relations
// Pathways to Peace and Security. 2024. No 1 (66) . P. 169-178
DOI: 10.20542/2307-1494-2024-1-169-178

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


About author

Giulio M. Gallarotti (USA) is a Professor of Government, Wesleyan University, and an Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Columbia University, New York.


For citation:
Giulio M. Gallarotti Hard, soft and sustainable power in International Relations // Pathways to Peace and Security. 2024. No 1 (66) . P. 169-178. https://doi.org/10.20542/2307-1494-2024-1-169-178



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2024, No. 1 (66)
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