POWER

APPROACHES
GLOBALIZATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

By Manuel Alejandro
Morales Márquez
Basic Concepts
• What is power?

• Power. “The totality of a country’s international capabilities.

It’s based on multiple resources, which alone or in concert
allow a country to have their interests prevail in the
international system.” (Rourke, 2008, G-10).
• Anarchy
• Sovereignty
• Great and middle powers
•The security dilemma. Vicious circle of
security and power accumulation.
•Balance of powers.
•Polarity
•Hegemony
POWER THEORIES
1. Unipolar system
2. Bipolar system
3. Multipolar system
 What is a power system?
• International systems are define, in part, by how many
powerful actors it has. Such actor(s) is the hegemon or
power pole, and there can be different types:
– A single country or empire.
– An alliance.
– A global inter-governmental organization.
– Regional inter-governmental organizations.
 Unipolar system
or Hegemony Small power

Large power
1. The central power establishes Dominant and
and enforces rules and lasting link

dominates military and

economic instruments.
2. The central power settles
disputes between subordinate
units.
3. The central power resists
attempts by subordinate units Traditional hegemonic World federal
to achieve independence or dominance system

greater autonomy.
 Short-term or
potential link

Bipolar system

• Acute hostility between the two poles.

1. Try to eliminate the other bloc by undermining it if possible
and by fighting it if necessary and if the risks are acceptable.
2. Increase power relative to the other bloc by bringing new
members into your bloc and preventing others from joining the
rival bloc.
 Two possibilities:

Multipolar system
BRICS: (Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and South
Africa)
MINT: (Mexico,
1. Oppose any actor or alliance that Indonesia, Nigeria, and
threatens to become hegemonic. Turkey)

2. Increase power or at least

preserve it. Do so by negotiating
if possible, by fighting if
necessary.
3. Even if fighting, do not destabilize
the system by destroying another
major actor.
 Power in the civic arena
• Watch the video projected by your teacher.
• TedEd by Eric Liu
• Answer the quiz!
Sources
• Rourke, J. (2008). International politics on the world stage (12th ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Shiping Tang (2009) The Security Dilemma: A Conceptual Analysis,
Security Studies, 18:3, 587-623. Retrieved from:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09636410903133
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