National Power

 National Power is an important component in international politics. Amidst absence of a central, regulatory international mechanism, every state secures its national interests by asserting national power. Hans Morgenthau defines national power as “A psychological relation between those who exercise it and those over whom it is exercised. It gives the former control over certain actions of the latter, through the influence that the former exerts over the latter’s mind.” Georg Shwarzenberger explains further: “The power is the capacity to impose one’s will on other by reliance on effective sanctions in the case of noncompliance.” Here, he adds the idea of punishment in case of noncompliance. A.F.K. Organski explains national power as “the ability to influence the behaviour of other in accordance with one’s own end.” Charles says power is “The ability to make a man to do what one wants and not to do what one does not want.

In brief, National Power is the ability or capability of a nation to secure the goals and objectives of its national interests in relation with other nations. It involves the capacity to use force or threat of use of force or influence over others for securing the goals of national interest. National power of a country depends on myriad factors. Frankel calls these factors as capabilities or capability factors.

2.2.1 Elements of National Power Hans Morgenthau has grouped elements of national power under permanent and temporary elements. Organski has classified it into two: natural determinants and social determinants. Natural determinants include geography, resources and population; and social determinants include economic development, political structures and national morale. Palmer and Perkins and several others make a distinction between tangible and intangible elements of national power. Tangible elements are composed of elements that can be assessed in quantitative terms like economic development, resources, geography, population and technology. And intangible elements are non-quantitative such as ideational and psychological factors like ideology, morale, leadership, personality and quality of diplomacy.

 A) Geography: Geography is the most stable, tangible, permanent and natural element amongst the determinants of national power. Highlighting the importance of geography, Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “The foreign policy of a country is determined by its geography.” To understand geography as an element of national power, we need to understand importance of size, location, climate, topography and boundaries of a state.

 Size: A large sized country is beneficial in defending frontiers by retreating during an attack, offers better natural resources, can accommodate larger population and establish important industrial complexes. But a large sized country can also be a hindrance in development as it may lack natural resources, have inhospitable climate and topography. Size of a country may not matter much in international relations. USA is more powerful than Russia despite having a smaller territory. Israel, despite being small in size, has a powerful defense mechanism. Location: Location of England helped it in becoming a big naval and imperial power. USA was able to follow its policy of isolationism due to its location; whereas location of Canada, being so close to US, has prevented it from becoming a superpower. Climate: Climate is important for production of food, economy and culture of a nation. Cold Arctic Zone and excessive heat of Sahara have prevented their development. Topography: Plain and artificial boundaries of a country can make it vulnerable to expansionism. Atlantic and Pacific oceans have provided strength to the USA while the Himalayas are generally seen as protecting India’s northern borders. Boundaries: Natural and settled boundaries are a source of friendly and cooperative relations among countries. Unsettled boundaries are a source of conflict that weakens national power. 

B) Natural Resources:Self-sufficiency in natural resources helps in the development of a country. Self-sufficiency in resources allows a nation to develop agriculture including self-sufficiency in food, develop industrial establishments, and build military might. Morgenthau discussed the significance of natural resources in two parts viz. raw materials and food. Raw materials are further subdivided into three parts – minerals such as coal, petrol, iron, copper, zinc, manganese etc; secondly, natural products such as rubber, jute, bamboo etc; and finally animal products like meat, eggs, milk, silk etc.On ‘food’ as a deciding factor in National Power, Morgenthau once said, “Nations self sufficient in food are better placed than nations which import food.” Food shortage in India in 1950s and 1960s made Indians dependent on the USA. Western world used food aid as a tool to leverage Indian foreign policy. Green Revolution in 1970s created food self-sufficiency and enabled India to develop its national power.