The Rise of China from a Network Perspective

Abstract

Hans J. Morgenthau, one of the founders of classical realism, captured the essence of international politics in the words, "As long as the world is politically organized into nations, the national interest is indeed the last word in world politics." He also believed that national interest could be realized through military and economic power, these being the most influential sources of power seen from a realistic perspective. Joseph Nye, on the other hand, defines power as the ability to influence the behavior of others to realize the outcomes one desires, classifying the ways in which such influence is exercised into two categories: Command Power and Co-optive Power. Command Power is the ability to change what others do, which includes military and economic power, i.e. those valued from a realistic perspective. These forms of power are defined as Hard Power. Meanwhile, Co-optive Power is the ability to shape what others want, referring to non-material resources such as culture, ideology, and the ability to create an inter-national system. These are defined as Soft Power. Based on this definition of Hard Power and Soft Power, Nye claimed a shift was taking place in international politics from Hard Power to Soft Power.