IAFF 1005 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Human Capital, Great Power, Information Revolution
13 Jun 2018
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Thursday Lecture: Power, Polarity, and Acting Bodies
Today’s topics:
● Power
● Polarity
● Non-violent action
Power: the ability to achieve one’s goals (Nye); the ability to get other to do what they otherwise would not do
(Dahl)
● Power is relative, not absolute; situational
● Is difficult to observe/measure → focus on things that can be observed
● Power and international actors
○ States
○ Non-state actors
○ International organizations
● Sources and types of power
○ Geography
■ Country’s size and location
■ Neighbors; external barriers/buffers (US is in a relatively benign neighborhood and don’t
have to worry about Canada or Mexico invading)
■ Internal transportation/communication (US has Mississippi river for transportation and
communication
■ Natural resources (Russia has lots of oil and gas, not Japan who is dependent on imports)
■ Climate and climate change
○ Demography
■ Population parameters
■ Human capital
● Education, skill level
● Having a good ratio of workers:retirees → economic prospects (China and
Japan are aging rapidly)
● Mobilization and organizations (states, NGOs, IGOs) → the ability to attract
and recruit great people
● Economic and military potential
○ Economic
■ Inputs: natural resources, financial investments, population
■ Outputs: GDP/GDP per capita, accumulated wealth, military potential (China’s more
robust economy helping them increase military capabilities)
■ Economic leverage: carrots (aid/finance, trade) sticks (tariffs, quotas, sanctions)
vulnerabilities (resource needs)
○ Military
■ Inputs: money, people
■ Outputs: forces, capabilities
■ Spending
● US spends more than the next 7 countries combined
● US/allies/friends: 75+% of global total
● China: 12% of global total
● Russia: 5% of global total
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Power: the ability to achieve one"s goals (nye); the ability to get other to do what they otherwise would not do (dahl) Is difficult to observe/measure focus on things that can be observed. Neighbors; external barriers/buffers (us is in a relatively benign neighborhood and don"t have to worry about canada or mexico invading) Internal transportation/communication (us has mississippi river for transportation and communication. Natural resources (russia has lots of oil and gas, not japan who is dependent on imports) Having a good ratio of workers:retirees economic prospects (china and. Mobilization and organizations (states, ngos, igos) the ability to attract and recruit great people. Outputs: gdp/gdp per capita, accumulated wealth, military potential (china"s more robust economy helping them increase military capabilities) Economic leverage: carrots (aid/finance, trade) sticks (tariffs, quotas, sanctions) vulnerabilities (resource needs) Us spends more than the next 7 countries combined. Power-projection capabilities important (how troops are moving, etc) Us command of the commons (command of the oceans, air power)
