Measuring National Power in the Postindustrial Age


Book Description

The arrival of postindustrial society has transformed the traditional bases of national power, and thus the methods used to measure the relative power of nations should be reassessed as well. Appreciating the true basis of national power requires not merely a meticulous detailing of visible military assets but also a scrutiny of larger capabilities embodied in such variables as the aptitude for innovation, the soundness of social institutions, and the quality of the knowledge base--all of which may bear upon a country's capacity to produce the one element still fundamental to international politics: effective military power. The authors reconfigure the notion of national power to accommodate a wider understanding of capability, advancing a conceptual framework that measures three distinct areas--national resources, national performance, and military capability--to help the intelligence community develop a better evaluation of a country's national power. The analysis elaborates the rationale for assessing each of these areas and offers ideas on how to measure them in tangible ways. An analyst's handbook, RAND/MR-1110/1-A, is also available.







Economic Security: Neglected Dimension of National Security ?


Book Description

On August 24-25, 2010, the National Defense University held a conference titled “Economic Security: Neglected Dimension of National Security?” to explore the economic element of national power. This special collection of selected papers from the conference represents the view of several keynote speakers and participants in six panel discussions. It explores the complexity surrounding this subject and examines the major elements that, interacting as a system, define the economic component of national security.




Comprehensive National Power


Book Description

In the book Comprehensive National Power A Model for India an attempt has been made to quantify and describe those attributes that most accurately portray India s capability to exert its national will. An effort has been made to access how various powers compared in this study could exert their national power to leverage the international environment to their national advantage. This study has been carried out in the backdrop of the rise and fall of countries and empires, and an assessment of the inbuilt longevity to power. This well researched book is a result of the project study allocated by Headquarters Army Training Command to the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi. This study is likely to be a foundational work for future studies on the subject. This would eventually lead to more awareness of the concept of Comprehensive National Power. As a result a national consensus is likely to emerge on the steps India would need to take to further hone its Comprehensive National Power in order to realise the national aspirations.




Power Of Nations Paper


Book Description

Written under the auspices of the Center of International Study, Princeton University.




Measuring National Power in the Postindustrial Age


Book Description

The arrival of postindustrial society has given rise to the suspicion that the traditional bases of national power have been fundamentally transformed and, as such, that the indices used to measure the relative power of national should be reassessed as well. This suspicion has special resonance given the fact that countries like the Soviet Union and Iraq, classified as relatively significant powers by some aggregate indicators of capability, either collapsed through internal enervation or proved utterly ineffectual when their capabilities were put to the test in war.




Interpreting China's Grand Strategy


Book Description

China's continuing rapid economic growth and expanding involvement in global affairs pose major implications for the power structure of the international system. To more accurately and fully assess the significance of China's emergence for the United States and the global community, it is necessary to gain a more complete understanding of Chinese security thought and behavior. This study addresses such questions as: What are China's most fundamental national security objectives? How has the Chinese state employed force and diplomacy in the pursuit of these objectives over the centuries? What security strategy does China pursue today and how will it evolve in the future? The study asserts that Chinese history, the behavior of earlier rising powers, and the basic structure and logic of international power relations all suggest that, although a strong China will likely become more assertive globally, this possibility is unlikely to emerge before 2015-2020 at the earliest. To handle this situation, the study argues that the United States should adopt a policy of realistic engagement with China that combines efforts to pursue cooperation whenever possible; to prevent, if necessary, the acquisition by China of capabilities that would threaten America's core national security interests; and to remain prepared to cope with the consequences of a more assertive China.




Securitizing Balance of Power Theory


Book Description

Securitizing Balance of Power Theory: A Polymorphic Reconceptualization by Ilai Z. Saltzman presents a cutting-edge attempt to re-conceptualize one of the fundamental concepts of International Relations theory--balance of power theory--by examining insights from historical analysis of interwar and post-Cold War cases.




China's Grand Strategy


Book Description

This book aims to build the ideal model of China's grand strategy framework, which is based on three key variables: national power, strategic concept and international institution. Taking the rise of China as an opportunity, this book adopts the assessment of national strategic resources as the beginning, focuses on the evaluation of strategic capability, the choice of strategic orientation, the establishment of strategic objectives, the planning of strategic content and the implementation of strategic means. Further, following this main line, this book establishes a China's grand strategy framework based on active participation and integration-transformation-shaping process. This book emphasizes that to achieve the goals of China's grand strategy; China should uphold this strategic attitude: It should not be seduced by praise and should not be made aggressive by criticism. It should learn to be glorious but remain humble, maintain a wealthy, influential but modest position by restraint. This book can be regarded as the essence of the author's 20 years long-term focus and research on the China's grand strategy. The author's postdoctoral tutor Professor Hu Angang’s comment of this book can hit the nail on the head: "This book is a pioneering theoretical study of China's great strategic research and makes a significant contribution to this research field. The basic arguments of this book have been submitted through various approaches to decision-making references or published in academic papers, and have received numerous positive responses and resonance. In my opinion, the basic ideas and important findings of this book will provide imperative reference to long-term strategy decision-making process. In addition, the fundamental theory and analysis method of the book will have an important influence in both domestic and international academic field."




Political Science and International Relations


Book Description

Many important questions in the study of international relations are connected with the theory and practice of sovereign statehood which, as indicated, is the central historical institution of world politics. But there are other important issues as well. That has led to ongoing debates about the proper scope of international relations. At one extreme the scholarly focus is exclusively on states and interstate relations; but at other extreme international relations almost everything that has to do with human relations across the world. It is important to study these different perspectives if we hope to have balanced and rounded knowledge of International relations. This book has been designed to unravel the complexities of political science and international relations in a way that allows student a clear idea of, how the theories work and myths that are associated with them.