Editing Hard power

{{Short description|The use of military and economic means to influence other political bodies}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2012}}
[[File:US Navy 070731-N-2193K-002 F-A-18E and F-A-18F Super Hornets fly by the USS Nimitz.jpg|thumb|[[USS Nimitz]] at sea]]
In politics, '''hard power''' is the use of [[military]] and [[economics|economic]] means to [[social influence|influence]] the behavior or interests of other political bodies. This form of [[political]] power is often aggressive ([[coercion]]), and is most immediately effective when imposed by one political body upon another of less military and/or economic power.<ref name="hard">{{cite web|author=Copeland|first=Daryl|date=Feb 2, 2010|title=Hard Power Vs. Soft Power|url=http://www.themarknews.com/articles/895-hard-power-vs-soft-power|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501050956/http://www.themarknews.com/articles/895-hard-power-vs-soft-power|archive-date=1 May 2012|access-date=26 April 2012|publisher=The Mark}}</ref>  Hard power contrasts with [[soft power]], which comes from [[diplomacy]], [[culture]] and [[history]].<ref name=hard/>

According to [[Joseph Nye]], hard power involves "the ability to use the [[carrots and sticks]] of economic and military might to make others follow your will".<ref>{{cite news|author=Nye|first=Joseph S.|date=January 10, 2003|title=Propaganda Isn't the Way: Soft Power|newspaper=International Herald Tribune|url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/propaganda-isnt-way-soft-power|access-date=June 19, 2021}}</ref> Here, "carrots" stand for inducements such as the reduction of trade barriers, the offer of an alliance or the promise of military protection. On the other hand, "sticks" represent threats - including the use of [[coercive diplomacy]], the threat of [[war|military intervention]], or the implementation of [[economic sanctions]]. [[Ernest J. Wilson III|Ernest Wilson]] describes hard power as the capacity to coerce "another to act in ways in which that entity would not have acted otherwise".<ref>
{{cite journal|author=Wilson|first=Ernest J.|date=March 2008|title=Hard Power, Soft Power, Smart Power|url=http://www.ernestjwilson.com/uploads/Hard%20Power,%20Soft%20Power,%20Smart%20Power.pdf|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=616|issue=1|pages=110–124|doi=10.1177/0002716207312618|s2cid=145117752|access-date=October 1, 2012}}
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==History==
While the existence of hard power has a long history, the term itself arose when [[Joseph Nye]] coined ''[[soft power]]'' as a new and different form of power in a [[sovereign state]]'s foreign policy.<ref name="Kayhan Barzegar">{{cite web|author=Barzegar|first=Kayhan|date=July 10, 2008|title=Joseph Nye on Smart Power in Iran-U.S. Relations|url=https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/joseph-nye-smart-power-iran-us-relations|access-date=19 June 2021|publisher=Belfer Center}}</ref>  According to the realist school in international relations theory, power is linked with the possession of certain tangible resources, including population, territory, natural resources, economic and military strength, among others. Hard power describes a nation or political body's ability to use economic incentives or military strength to influence other actors' behaviors.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Hard power encompasses a wide range of coercive policies, such as [[coercive diplomacy]], [[economic sanctions]], [[war|military action]], and the forming of [[military alliance]]s for [[Deterrence theory|deterrence]] and mutual defense.  Hard power can be used to establish or change a state of political [[hegemony]] or [[Balance of power (international relations)|balance of power]].{{cn|date=October 2024}}  Although the term ''hard power'' generally refers to diplomacy, it can also be used to describe forms of negotiation which involve pressure or threats as leverage.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

==Examples==
The [[United States]] has demonstrated a 'hard power' policy in regard to the [[Iraq War]], the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan War]] and its continued war on the [[Taliban]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Copeland|first=Daryl|date=Feb 2, 2010|title=When it comes to Afghanistan, mixing military might with diplomatic talk is easier said than done.|url=http://www.themarknews.com/articles/895-hard-power-vs-soft-power|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501050956/http://www.themarknews.com/articles/895-hard-power-vs-soft-power|archive-date=1 May 2012|access-date=26 April 2012|publisher=The Mark}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author=Godson|first=Roy|author-link=Roy Godson|date=Feb 6, 2012|title=Between Hard Power and Soft.|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/between-hard-power-and-soft|magazine=The Weekly Standard|access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref> To be more specific, the United States' attack on Iraq in 2003 was initially justified based on concerns about Iraq's possession of [[weapons of mass destruction]] (WMD). In part by referring to "[[War on Terrorism]]," [[George W. Bush]] administration used hard power measures to uproot Iraqi dictator [[Saddam Hussein]] and to handle subsequent crisis in Iraq. 

Joseph Nye has used the term to define some policy measures in regard to [[Iran]] as well.<ref name="Kayhan Barzegar"/> For instance, there are many sanctions against Iran passed by [[UN Security Council]] and numerous nations such as the United States and those of the European Union also impose bilateral sanctions against Iran. They impose restrictions on exports of nuclear and missile to Iran, banking and insurance transactions, investment in oil, exports of refined petroleum products, and so on. Such measures are taken by many nations to deter Iran's possible nuclear weapon programs because they wanted to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran is forced to negotiate a deal (p5 +1) in order to reduce its nuclear weapons programme which was steadily on its way to creating Iran into nuclear power. The economic sanctions imposed saw a major economic collapse of the Iranian economy in terms of inflation and GDP. This in may part was described as effective use of economic hard power compared to less effective attempts such as those on North Korea.<ref>{{cite news|author=Zirulnick|first=Ariel|date=24 February 2011|title=Sanction Qaddafi? How 5 nations have reacted to sanctions: Iran|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2011/0224/Sanction-Qaddafi-How-5-nations-have-reacted-to-sanctions./Iran|access-date=19 June 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{wiktionary}}
* [[Soft power]]
* [[Sharp power]]
* [[Smart power]]
* [[Power (international relations)]]
* [[Power (social and political)]]
* [[Hostage diplomacy]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Kurt Campbell and Michael O'Hanlon, ''Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security''.
*Joseph S. Nye, Jr, ''Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics''.

{{International power}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hard Power}}
[[Category:Diplomacy]]
[[Category:Power (international relations)]]
[[Category:International relations terminology]]
[[Category:Power (social and political) concepts]]