The Struggle For Power: How Hard Power Creates Soft Power

            Power, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “the ability or right to control people or things; political control of a country or area”. The presence of power can determine whether the country is going to thrive or not. As discussed in class, two of the most prominent types of power are hard and soft power. Hard power is the more tangible form of power, such as military or economic power. Soft power is based in persuasion, where states seduce one another into following their ideals. In discussion, we talked about the separation between the forms of power. However, I believe that soft power is derived from a country’s hard power, where one could not have the first without the latter. States with strong hard power influence have the ability to both exert soft power pressures and trump the soft pressures of other states.

            One instance of a state with hard power using their soft power-influence is the United States. In discussion, we talked about relations between the United States as Mexico. The question was posed as to if the U.S. asked Mexico to do something (i.e. enact a domestic policy), whether Mexico would feel obligated to listen to the request. Some argue that the soft power influences the U.S. has would persuade Mexico to do what they see is fit because the Mexicans idealize the U.S. However, I believe that the penultimate reason the U.S. has the soft power over Mexico is because of their strong hard power influence. Mexico knows that the United States has the ability to cripple Mexico in a myriad of ways if they do not adhere to the U.S. wishes. This could include halting trade and closing the borders through military force. Although this may not be perceived as the source of power, the soft power the United States has over Mexico comes from the underlying hard power pressures.

            The struggle of hard versus soft power can also work in opposite directions, where the country holding the hard power ultimately prevails. An example of this is seen in with the United Kingdom. The U.K. is one of the perennial members of the European Union. When the EU attempted to introduce widespread integration among various policy areas, it was met with strong apprehension from the U.K. One particular area that saw negative feedback was in the common currency area. Although there were issues on both sides, the U.K. ultimately decided they did not want to join the currency union. Rather than try to persuade the U.K. to join the union through sanctions, the EU allowed the country to continue using its own currency. I believe that it is important to recognize that in this situation hard power trumps soft power. The EU possessed soft power in that it created economic stability in the region and it encouraged many countries to agree to a common currency. On the other hand, the U.K. possessed hard power of a strong economy that assists the countries it is allied with. If the U.K. were not in the EU, the union’s stability would diminish. The economic strength of the U.K. serves as a form of hard power that undermines the soft power of the EU.

            Finally, soft power would not exist without hard power because hard power makes a state seem more “seductive” (to use class terms). As discussed in class, the English media company Monacle has done research as to which countries have the highest amount of soft power. The names on the list include Germany, the U.S., Japan, and Switzerland. What all of these states have in common is that they all maintain strong forms of hard power, whether it be through booming economies or large military capabilities. The ability for these countries to maintain persuasion of soft power is through their hard power influences. States who do not have such power idealize these nations and want to be similar to them, so they are inclined to follow their influence. However, when push comes to shove, these nations also have the ability to exact their will on the smaller nations if need be.

            The struggle for power is one that can be seen across history, and has been the cause for almost all major conflicts. In International Relations, power is a large factor in deciding how nations enact policy both domestically and abroad. Many nations possess soft power influence, where persuasion is key to getting another nation to follow your beliefs. In the end, the access to this soft power lies in the country’s ability to garner hard power. Hard power ultimately is the underlying force behind a country’s power of persuasion and seduction over other nations