Chapter 6

Power and the National

State:
The Traditional
Structure

State
Units of government that
exercise legal authority over a
specific territory and the people
in it and that recognize no
legitimate higher authority.

State
States share all or most of the
following 6 characteristics:
1.Sovereignty
2.Territory
3.Population
4.Diplomatic recognition
5.Internal Organization
6.Domestic support

Sovereignty
Most important characteristic of
state
Means states have supreme legal
authority
Sovereignty different from
independence

Territory
Physical boundaries
Disputes over borders can and
do exist (example: Israel)

Population
People
Range from 921 inhabitants
(Vatican City) to 1.3 billion
(China)
With growth of NGOs and IGOs,
issue of who to count in
populations

Diplomatic Recognition
Recognition of state by existing
states
A lack of recognition even by a
majority does not mean state is not
a state
Only states can fully participate in
the international system
Economic issues

Internal Organization
States must have some level of
political and economic structure.
Failed states and conflict may
not end state status (examples:
Sierra Leone, Afghanistan)
Transitional governments

Domestic Support
Social Contract
People give legitimacy

Purposes of the State

1. Individual Betterment
2. Security
3. Basic Rights (see John Locke and
Thomas Hobbes)
4. Domestic Tranquility

National Power
Power is hard to define
Power is key determinant in
international system
Power is goal
Balance of Power=current
distribution of power

Power
Asset as well as goal
Types of Power
1.Hard Power: rests on negative
incentives (threats) and on positive
incentives (inducements)
2.Soft Power: ability to persuade
others to follow by leading a good
example

Measuring Power
Difficult b/c of intangibles
Size issue
Attempts to measure continue

Characteristics of Power
1. Dynamicspower in flux, cycles,
balance of power, internal
conditions
2. Absolute vs. Relative power
3. Power as Capacity and Will
4. Objective and Subjective
5. Situational

Political Organizations:
Theories of Governance
Authoritarian: A type of restrictive
government where people are
under the rule of an individual,
such as a dictator or king, or a
group, such as a party or military
junta
Theocracy: Rules by spiritual
leaders (authoritarian)

Theories of Governance
Monarchism: One form of
secular authoritarianism,
although the theory that God has
granted kings divine to govern
touches upon idea of theocracy

Theories of Governance

Theories of Governance
Fascism: Ideology that
advocates extreme nationalism,
with a heightened sense of
national belonging or ethnic
identity (authoritarian)

Theories of Governance
Democracy: concept of modern
liberalismbasic concept
describes the ideology of a body
governed by and for the people
Democratic Peace Theory:
Spread of Democracy = peace

National Diplomacy
Direct Diplomatic Application of
Power: includes the use of economic
sanction or inducements as well as
threatening/offering them.
Indirect Diplomatic Application of
Power: more subtle; involves a
communications process of a state
skillfully advancing its policy
preferences, arguing the merits of its
position.

National Diplomacy
Examples:
1.US-North Korea Confrontation over
nuclear weapons program
2.China-Taiwan tensions
3.Afghanistan and the United States
4.US and Iraq

Diplomacy
Ever-evolving process
Expansion of geographic scope
Bilateral and multilateral diplomacy
(number of countries involved)
Leader-to-Leader diplomacy (example:
summits)
Democratized diplomacy (legislatures,
interest groups, public opinion involved)

Newer Types of Diplomacy

Parliamentary Diplomacy:
includes debate and voting in
IGOs as a supplement to
negotiation and compromise.
Open diplomacy: process widely
reported and contents of
international agreements widely
documented.

Diplomacy
Public Diplomacy: process of
creating an image that enhances
a countrys ability to achieve
diplomatic success by increasing
its soft power. (get support of the
people if not the govt)

Conduct of Diplomacy
Types of Diplomacy

Communications
process
Direct Negotiations
Indirect Negotiations
High Level
Low Level
By Word
By Deed

Coercion
Rewards
Precise
Vague
Linking Issues or not
Maximizing or
minimizing issues at
hand

Role of States
Examine trends in IGOs and
NGOs
How will world look in 100 years?
50? 25?
National interests