Introduction: There are many ways to categorize the multitudinous elements of power. One common way is to group power assets into various functional categories. Two such categories, the national core and the national infrastructure, are central to the power of all countries because they serve as a foundation for the more utilitarian categories of national power, specifically military power and economic power. Below you will find analysis of these two categories and their substantive parts. Just click on each term to learn more. I. The National Core - The national state forms the basis of this element of power. The essence of a state can be roughly divided into three elements: national geography, people, and government. (1) Geography Geographic factors that influence a country's power status include location, topography, size, and climate. The location of a country, particularly in relation to other countries, is significant. The Israelis would almost certainly be better off if their promised land were somewhere—almost anywhere—else. And the Kuwaitis probably would not mind moving either, provided they could take their oil fields with them. A country's topography—its mountains, rivers, and plains—is also important. The Alps form a barrier that has helped protect Switzerland from its larger European neighbors and spared the Swiss the ravages of both world wars. The rugged mountains of Afghanistan bedeviled British and Soviet invaders in the past, and since 2001 they have frequently frustrated the efforts of U.S. and other coalition troops to corner and capture or kill remnants of the al Qaeda and Taliban forces. Topography can also work against a country. For example, the southern and eastern two-thirds of Iraq is a broad plain that provided a relatively easy invasion avenue for the mechanized U.S. and British forces in 2003. A country's size is important. Bigger is often better. The immense expanse of Russia, for example, has repeatedly saved it from conquest. Although sometimes overwhelmed at first, the Russian armies have been able to retreat into the interior and buy time in exchange for geography while regrouping. A country's climate can also play a power role. The tropical climate of Vietnam, with its heavy monsoon rains and its dense vegetation, made it difficult for the Americans to use effectively much of the superior weaponry they possessed.
(2) People A second element of the national core is a country's human characteristics. Tangible demographic subcategories include number of people, age distribution, and such quantitative factors as health and education. There are also intangible population factors such as morale. Population: As is true for geographic size, the size of a country's population can be a positive or a negative factor. Because a large population supplies military personnel and industrial workers, sheer numbers of people are a positive power factor. It is unlikely, for instance, that Tonga (pop. 112,000) will ever achieve great-power status. A large population may be disadvantageous, however, if it is not in balance with resources. India, with 1.1 billion people, has the world's second-largest population, yet because of the country's poverty ($530 per capita GNP), it must spend much of its energy and resources merely feeding its people. Age Distribution: Further, it is an advantage for a country to have a large percentage of its population in the productive years (15–64 by international reporting standards) particularly as many countries are "aging," with a geriatric population segment that consumes more resources than it produces. Countries like Italy that have such low birthrates that they are in a zero or even a negative population growth pattern are also disadvantaged as they experience progressive demographic graying. This occurs when a growing proportion of the population is of retirement age. Studies have found, for example, that a relatively large working-age population is positively correlated with per capita GDP growth and an increasing share of elderly citizens is negatively correlated with economic growth (1). In addition to being a drag on the economy, a growing geriatric population also challenges a country's ability to pay the cost of providing pensions and other services to retired citizens. Demographic graying is already pronounced in the economically developed countries and is projected to increase. An educated population is also important to national power. Education: Although there are education variations among all countries, LDCs are especially disadvantaged compared to EDCs. Namibia in southern Africa spends a greater percentage (7.9%) of its GNP on public support of education than does the United States (5.6%). Nevertheless, Namibia's relative poverty means that its efforts amount to only about $150 a year per student while the U.S. expenditure is nearly $10,700 per student. Health: Health problems can also sap a country's power, with Russia providing a disturbing example. Among other health problems, Russia is experiencing a health crisis among its men due to widespread alcoholism and smoking. Drug addiction is also on the rise. Two-thirds of all adult Russian males smoke (2.5 times the U.S. rate), and the lung cancer death rate is twice that of the United States. To make matters worse, about 60% of all Russian men are alcohol abusers, with the average Russian male drinking a quart of vodka every two days, supplemented by other alcohol. The effect is lethal. Longevity for Russian males has declined to less than 59 years (compared to 73 years for Russian women). The threats to Russia's national strength are numerous. There are immense economic costs from lost productivity, added treatment, abandoned families, and other byproducts of alcoholism. Morale: World War II demonstrated yet another population-based element of national power, civilian morale. Early in the war, Great Britain and the Soviet Union reeled under tremendous assaults by the Nazi forces. Yet the Allies hung on. In October 1940 during the darkest days of the war Winston Churchill told the British people, "Death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey; hardship our garment; constancy and valor our only shield. We must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be inflexible." The British answered Sir Winston's call. They remained undaunted; they held; they prevailed. Conversely, low national morale can lead to civil unrest and even topple governments. The end of the USSR in 1991 provides an example. As the country's economic system went from bad to worse, the populace was increasingly disheartened. A 1990 poll found 90% believed that the country's economic situation was dire, and 57% expressed no confidence in the future. This profound pessimism led to an almost total collapse of support for the government of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and, indeed, the country's political system. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned and dissolved the Soviet Union. The "evil empire," as President Reagan called it, had been brought down by a vacuum of public support, not by the opposing superpower.
(3) Government A third power element associated with the national core is the quality of the government. Administrative effectiveness is one aspect. It involves whether a state has a well-organized and effective administrative structure to utilize its power potential fully. For example, U.S. power has been undoubtedly undermined by problems in the country's intelligence agencies. Intelligence failures led, among other things, to the expenditure of vast amounts of U.S. power in a war with and occupation of Iraq, launched primarily to destroy weapons of mass destruction that in fact did not exist. Leadership ability is a second aspect of government that adds or detracts from a country's power. For example, Prime Minister Winston Churchill's sturdy image and his inspiring rhetoric well served the British people during World War II. II. The National Infrastructure - National power also rests on a country's infrastructure, which might be roughly equated with the skeleton of a human body or to a building's foundation and its framing or girders. To examine the infrastructure of the state as an element of national power, the following sections will discuss technological sophistication, transportation systems, and information and communications capabilities. Each of these factors is related to a country's power capacity. (1) Technology Air conditioning modifies the impact of weather, computers revolutionize business and education, robotics speed industry, synthetic fertilizers expand agriculture, new drilling techniques allow for undersea oil exploration, microwaves speed information, and lasers bring the military to the edge of the Star Wars era. Needless to say, business, education, science, and other key elements of national power depend on computers, and, as Figure 8.4 shows, there is a vast disparity in national capabilities.
(2) Transportation Systems The ability to move people, raw materials, finished products, and sometimes the military throughout its territory is another part of a country's power equation. For example, one of the major hurdles that Russia must overcome to invigorate its economy is its relatively limited and decrepit transportation systems. As one standard, for every 1,000 square miles of its land territory, the United States has 14 times as many miles of paved roads and four times as many miles of railroad track than does Russia. Inadequate transportation systems are also a problem for LDCs.
(3) Information and Communications Systems A country's information and communications capabilities are becoming increasingly important (2). Satellites and computers have accelerated the revolution begun with radio and television. Photocopying machines, then fax machines, and now the Internet have dramatically changed communications. Enhanced communications technology increases the ability of a society to communicate within itself and remain cohesive. It also increases efficiency and effectiveness in industry, finance, and the military. Here again, the gap between LDCs and EDCs is wide. There are, for example, approximately three times more television sets, six times more radios, three times more telephones, and 19 times more Internet users per capita in the United States than in China.
References: (1) United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Annual Editions, Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press. (2) Rothkopf, David J. 1998. "Cyberpolitik: The Changing Nature of Power in the Information Age." Journal of International Affairs. 51: 325-360. |
