This document discusses the concepts of hard power and soft power in international relations. Hard power refers to the use or threat of military and economic means to influence other states. Military hard power includes the ability to wage war or coerce others through threats of force. Economic hard power can involve sanctions, trade access, or foreign aid. Soft power arises from a state's culture, values and ideals that make other states want to emulate it. The US is cited as having significant soft power from its popular culture, education system and ideals of democracy. Some criticisms of soft power are discussed, questioning whether cultural attraction truly translates into political influence.

1. Fundamental Concepts of
International Politics
Spring 2015
Prof. H. Steven Green
Toyo University
Faculty of Law
CLASS 11, LECTURE 9
June 22, 2015
HARD POWER,
SOFT POWER

2. HARD POWER
The threat (active or passive) or use
of military or economic resources.

3. HARD POWER: Carrots & Sticks

4. HARD POWER: Military power
Military power
• People (Soldiers)
• Weapons (tanks, aircraft, ships etc.)
• And the infrastructure* that supports
these.
*infrastructure =兵器及び弾薬であつて軍の用
のインフラ

5. What can states do with military power?
• Fight Wars
– Offense (Attack)
– Defense
• Coerce 強制する
– Compel
• Use or threat to use force in order to make another
state change its behavior.
– Deter 抑止
• Threaten to use force in order to prevent another
state from doing something you do not want it to do.

6. Non-military uses of military power
• Coercive Diplomacy (sticks)
– Much of diplomacy is based upon coercion, either military
or economic
• Protection (carrots for friends; share your stick with friends)
– Allies 同盟国と友好国
– Some argue that US protection was necessary to start
project of European Union
• Assistance (not really a carrot, or a stick: not used to coerce)
– US military assistance after tsunamis in Southeast Asia and
Japan created a lot of goodwill (大いに友好を深める),
which may enhance another kind of power

7. Non-military uses of military power
US Military Security Umbrella over
Japan & South Korea (ROK)
*Protects Japan & South Korea. *China & ROK worry less about Japan.
*Japan and South Korea can develop *ROK & Japan worry less about China
their economies and spend less money or North Korea.
for defense.
Military power is not used but it helps
non-military goals.

8. Non-military uses of military power
Military power is not used but it helps
non-military goals.
The US military makes the security dilemma less
worrisome for most countries in East Asia.

9. Europe & Japan after World War II

11. AN EXAMPLE OF HARD POWER’S EFFECTS
BEYOND THE USE OF FORCE
Political Stability
(in devastated countries after WWII)
Reduces others’ fears of
Germany and Japan rising
again.
Reduces fears about the security
effects of uneven wealth levels
between countries and the
insecurity of being
interdependent.
Created solidarity of facing
common threat (USSR)
U.S. provides
security umbrella for
allies in W. Europe
and E. Asia
Necessary for
economic
cooperation
Decreases fears
of cooperation
Motivates states
to cooperate
Creation and
maintenance
of the int’l
economic
system
Diagram of Robert Art’s
argument for how force
undergirds the post-war
international economy.
(Shows spillover effects)

12. HARD POWER: Economic power
Economic power
Use of resources & wealth to influence behavior.
• Market access 市場参入 (access = carrots, take
away access = stick)
• Sanctions 制裁 (sticks)
• Aid 援助 (carrots)
REMEMBER: Economic power is HARD power

13. What can states do with economic power?
Similar to military power…
• Coerce 強制する
–Compel
• Use or threaten to use certain economic
instruments in order to make another state
change its behavior.
–Deter 抑止
• Threaten to use certain economic
instruments to prevent another state from
doing something you do not want it to do.

14. Market access 市場参入 (carrots usually))
NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement

15. Sanctions 制裁 (sticks)

16. Sanctions 制裁 (sticks)

17. Sanctions: Oil Embargo 石油貿易禁止
• 1973 oil embargo against West and Japan by
OPEC (オペック、石油輸出国機構)

18. Yom Kippur War
• Oct. 6, 1973: Syria &
Egypt attack Israel
(10 Middle East &
North African Countries
(+Cuba) support E. and S.)
• The US & Western Europe
support Israel
• Israel wins the war in less
than 3 weeks but…
• Took territory in Syria

19. OPEC Oil Embargo
• To punish the West for supporting Israel, the
Arab members of OPEC imposed an oil
embargo (原油輸出禁止措置を課す) on the US,
Western Europe and Japan
• On Oct. 16, 1973 OPEC raised oil prices by
70% and then raised it 5% several times until
March, 1974
• The US persuaded Israel to leave Syria.

20. 1973 Oil Crisis
• Price of gasoline increased by 400%
• There was not enough gasoline for consumers
• Unemployment and inflation were the highest
since 1945

21. HARD POWER: Economic power
REVIEW
Use of resources & wealth to influence behavior.
• Market access 市場参入 (access = carrots, take
away access = stick)
• Sanctions 制裁 (sticks)
• Aid 援助 (carrots)
REMEMBER: Economic power is HARD power

22. Soft power:
Getting others to WANT
what you want.
Soft Power

23. Hard power = carrots and sticks
Resources:
Wealth and weapons
Soft power = attraction
Soft power resources:
Values, ideas, culture

24. Admiration & emulation are basis for soft power.
If people admire you or want the same things you
want, then:
• They will not threaten you
• They will cooperate with you
• Populations will encourage their governments
to be like you
States want more soft power

25. EXAMPLES OF USA’s SOFT POWER
• Business, pop culture, education
• Google, Madonna, Hollywood, Harvard,
– economic creativity and success, fun music, movies
that show a dynamic, free society and excellent
education
– People around the world see democracy at all levels
of government, including women’s right to vote
– People see the ability for change to happen in the US
system
– People see all of this AND the world’s wealthiest
country

26. Soft Power and Gaventa’s
“Third Dimension” Power
Form of Power:
Third
Dimension:
Situated
Social
Power
A has power over B if A can
influence or create what B
wants indirectly.
•Idea- or culture-based power:
What B thinks it wants
is created by A.

27. Chinese protesters’ Statue of Liberty in
Tiananmen Square, 1989

28. Pope John Paul II visits Poland, 1979
(Pope = ローマ法王)

29. SOFT POWER
The attractiveness of values, political ideals,
and culture…
• Soft power can be nice 
– Asians like the image of Japan they see in manga
and anime: wealthy, creative, dynamic, equality
for men and women
– Asians’ image of Japan has become good

30. SOFT POWER
The attractiveness of values, political ideals,
and culture…
• Soft power can be nasty. 
– Osama Bin Laden’s followers liked his idea of a
religious-based tyranny

31. SOFT POWER
Soft power  Cooptation  Admiration &
emulation
Soft power 反対者の取り込み  感心と競争心

32. SOFT POWER
According to Nye-
• Hard power is necessary to fight terrorists
• Soft power is necessary to persuade people
who might be sympathetic with terrorists

33. SOFT POWER
Admiration & emulation are basis for power.
If people admire you and want to be like you, or
want the same things you want, then:
• They will not threaten you
• They will cooperate with you
• Populations will encourage their
governments to cooperate with or be like you

34. CRITICISMS OF THE SOFT POWER IDEA
• No one doubts the idea of hard power.
• The only question is whether it is used
well or used morally.
But…
• Critics say “soft power” is NOT really a
kind of power (it does not influence
others to change).

35. CRITICISM 1
Soft Power has never made a friend out
of an enemy. It makes allies closer.
• Germany and Japan became close to the
United States AFTER they were defeated in
war.
• Germans and Japanese wanted democracy
and American cultural values AFTER their
governments were defeated by HARD POWER.

36. CRITICISM 2
The popularity of a country’s images does not
make the country’s policy popular.
• Hollywood, & other products from American
culture have always been popular but Vietnam
and Iraq wars were very unpopular.
• Love of American culture and values does not
mean support for American policies.
• Anime and manga are popular in China: Chinese
people are angry about territorial and war issues,
anyway.

39. Soft Power and Gaventa’s
“Third Dimension” Power
3rd Dimension power strongest within a state
States can control education policy,
media, and political rules within its
own borders.
Difficult for state to control another
state’s culture and values.

40. CRITICISM 3
Soft power might help undermine* an enemy’s
population but the threat of hard power
is what makes states change.
• People in USSR admired American culture, wanted
freedom like Americans but…
• Without threat of US power, USSR government could
not change.
*弱体化する

41. CRITICISM 4
Even if it does work, soft power cannot be
easily created, nor can it be easily deployed:
• The president cannot call up the State Department
and say “Deploy our soft power! Send hip-hop
musicians and Coca-Cola to subvert al Qaeda!”
(deploy 配置する subvert 覆す)

42. ATTEMPTS TO USE SOFT POWER
• Radio Free America during Cold War: Music, news, ideas
• Confucius (孔子) Institutes created by People’s Republic
of China
• Li Changchun: An “important
part of China’s overseas
propaganda set-up”.

43. ATTEMPTS TO USE SOFT POWER
2010 “New Growth Strategy” of Japanese
government:
“Strategies for intellectual property and
standardization and exporting ‘Cool Japan’.”
NHK “Cool Japan”
http://www.nhk.or.jp/cooljapan/

46. • 日本の憲法第9条 “Peace Constitution”
“The world will admire Japan.”

48. Hard power & the “Peace
Constitution”
US Military Security Umbrella over
Japan & South Korea (ROK)
*Protects Japan & South Korea. *China & ROK do not worry about Japan.
*Japan and South Korea can develop *ROK & Japan do not worry about
China
their economies and spend less money or North Korea.
for defense.
PLUS: Japan can promote Article 9 as soft power, but
keep own military.

49. SOFT POWER
• Promoting trade is NOT soft power
• Promoting cultural products IS soft power.
• Promoting soft power is inexpensive and is a bit like a
company’s PR (public relations) work.
QUESTION: Does soft power actually work?
Is it POWER or is it just PR?
PR might get people to like you but can it make them
do something they might not do otherwise?

50. POWER: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Coercion:
(Military
OR
Economic)
Compel
Deter
War-fighting:
(Military)
Attack
Defend
Hard Power
Soft Power
Repellant
Pre-emptive
Preventive
Denial
Punishment
Denial
Risk
Punishment
Admiration & Emulation
Type Mode Goal Mechanism Variants
You do not need to know
these now, they are a
preview of future issues
•General v. Immediate
•Nuclear v. Conventional
•Primary v. Extended
Cooptation
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THIS PART
RIGHT NOW: MAKE SURE YOU
UNDERSTAND THE OTHER PARTS-
THE TYPES, MODES and GOALS
of POWER.

51. AN EXAMPLE OF HARD POWER’S EFFECTS
BEYOND THE USE OF FORCE
Political Stability
(in devastated countries after WWII)
Reduces others’ fears of
Germany and Japan rising
again.
Reduces fears about the security
effects of uneven wealth levels
between countries and the
insecurity of being
interdependent.
Created solidarity of facing
common threat (USSR)
U.S. provides
security umbrella for
allies in W. Europe
and E. Asia
Necessary for
economic
cooperation
Decreases fears
of cooperation
Motivates states
to cooperate
Creation and
maintenance
of the int’l
economic
system
Diagram of Robert Art’s
argument for how force
undergirds the post-war
international economy.
(Shows spillover effects)

52. See you next week!