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School of Politics and International Relations · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This course has been replaced by POLS3126 from 2025 onwards. For more information, please visit https://cass.anu.edu.au/recent-changes-cass-programs Why is clear military superiority, such as that enjoyed by the United States, seemingly unable to influence the behaviour of targets in many instances? Does China's rapidly growing economy endow it with a potent economic instrument of power? Is the soft power of the West declining amid global financial crisis and domestic political turmoil? Who is winning the contest of great powers in the 21st century? This course focuses on puzzles like these, examining how power is accumulated and wielded in international relations, and the conditions under which its use can be successful. States are the primary focus of the course, and five primary modes of power will be studied: military power, economic power, technological power, soft power and hegemonic power. The objective of this course is to provide the student with a broad and deep understanding of how power can be conceptualised, measured, and deployed in international relations, and the conditions for its successful use. The course considers a wide range of contemporary issues and case studies and will analyse both the capacity of and limitations on states to wield different types of power successfully.
In-class quizzes (4 x 30 mins)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 4
Take-home exam, 1,600 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Research essay, 2500 words:
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 35 hours of lecture content (25 hours) and in-person interactive seminars (10 hours) over a two-week period. b) 95 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Not applicable Preliminary Reading David Baldwin, 1985, Economic Statecraft (Princeton). Daniel Byman and Matthew Waxman, 2002, The Dynamics of Coercion: American Foreign Policy and the Limits of Military Might (RAND). Joseph Nye, 2004, Soft Power: The Means to Succeed in World Politics (Public Affairs). Felix Berenskoetter and M.J. Williams (Eds.), 2007, Power in World Politics (Routledge). David Baldwin, 2016, Power and International relations: A Conceptual Approach (Princeton).