Hard power vs soft power pdf

Media Contact Internships. Menu Bar. Is Pluralism under Threat Today? In cooperation with:. Cambridge Union Society. Hard Vs. Conference Agenda The program for "Hard vs. Mr Nye said it was "the ability to use the carrots and sticks of economic and military might to make others follow your will". And just as economic incentives can be seen as a form of soft power, economic sanctions can be seen as a form of hard power.

This could be seen as a hard power approach by the US to continue influencing Afghanistan, albeit without the use of military force. From a UK perspective, CSG21 can potentially be seen as both a soft and hard power approach to foreign policy. In May, during an inspection of HMS Queen Elizabeth before she deployed, the Prime Minister said CSG21 will show China the UK believes "in the international law of the sea, and in a confident, but not confrontational way, we will be vindicating that point".

He went on: "We don't want to antagonise anybody, but we do think that the United Kingdom plays a very important role, with friends and partners — the Americans, the Dutch, the Australians, the Indians, many, many others — in upholding the rule of law, the international rules-based system on which we all depend, and that's one of the many things that this Carrier Strike Group will be doing.

The Prime Minister has said the Carrier Strike Group will project hard and soft power — but what's the difference between the two? Ironically, China is credited with bringing soft power back to the forefront of foreign policy. Perhaps a basic idea is necessary at this point. Hard Power literally connotes something hard or strong, something with great force, such as military or economic power. Soft Power, in contrast, is more mild and subtle. The term Hard Power is defined as a coercive approach to international political relations , one that involves the use of military and economic power to influence or control the behaviour or interests of other states or political groups.

Thus, states with a strong military and economic capacity will generally wield their influence on states that are not so powerful in such capacities.

The resounding theme of Hard Power is coercion. Therefore, the objective behind nations applying Hard Power is to coerce other states into doing their will. Generally, a country is recognized as a great power due to its size, capacity and quality of resources. This includes its population, natural resources, territory, military strength, and economic power.

There are many examples of Hard Power in practice. The invasion of Afghanistan in by the Soviet Union or the invasion of Iraq in by the United States and allied forces are classic examples of states applying Hard Power to achieve their outcomes.