Power in World Politics [Paperback]

This book engages the view that students of International Relations need to break with the habit of defining power in terms of military capabilities of states.

Featuring contributions from both upcoming and distinguished scholars, including Steven Lukes, Joseph Nye, and Stefano Guzzini, it explores the nature and location of power in international politics through a variety of conceptual lenses. With a particular focus on the phenomenon of soft power and different types of actors in a globalizing world, fifteen chapters assess the meaning of power from the perspectives of realism, constructivism, global governance, and development studies, presenting discussions ranging from conceptual to practical oriented analyses.

Power in World Politicsattempts to broaden theoretical horizons to enrich our understanding of the distribution of power in world politics, thereby also contributing to the discovery and analysis of new political spaces. This is essential reading for all advanced students and scholars of international relations.

1. Thinking about Power Felix Berenskoetter  2. The Concept of Power: A Constructivist Analysis Stefano Guzzini  3. Realist Conceptions of Power Brian C. Schmidt  4. Structural Realism and the Problem of Polarity and War Joseph M. Grieco  5. Power and the Battle for Hearts and Minds: On the Bluntness of Soft Power Steven Lukes  6. Why Soft Power Isnt So Soft: Representational Force and Attraction in World Politics  Janice Bially Mattern  7. The Power of Persuasion RichardNed Lebow  8. Contested Credibility: Symbolic Power in British Exchange Rate Politics Wolf Hassdorf  9. Notes on a Soft Power Research Agenda JoseplÓ>