An Appraisal of Hard Power in Contemporary Practice of Diplomacy.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue II, February 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

An Appraisal of Hard Power in Contemporary Practice of Diplomacy.

Nyam Elisha Yakubu
Department of International Relations, Skyline University Nigeria, Kano

Abstract
While power is an ever-present part of international relations; state’s success in achieving its interest in the anarchical and self-help international system is a function of the available power in her possession. Before now, states are regarded as the sole most significant actors in international system, and brute force otherwise known as hard power – where military might is used to achieve a particular objective – rules the day, the situation has changed. The end of cold war in the 1990s saw many changes in international system where globalization is rapidly bringing states closer than ever before which resulted in interdependence on each other. Therefore, the use of hard power in diplomatic practice has to be scrutinized to determine its efficacy. The purpose of the study was to analyze the effectiveness and or the utility of hard power in the conduct of diplomacy in contemporary international relations. The study was hinged on the theory of Complex Interdependence. To guide the study, three research questions were raised. Content analysis was the method adopted where secondary data from research findings, articles in journals, textbooks etc. were consulted and mixed with the writer’s observation in drawing conclusions. The study revealed that globalization today has increased the interdependence of nations in so many ways such that applying hard power by one state, comes with lots of consequences. Evidence is seen in United States’ (U.S.) usage of hard power in Iraq, Kosovo, Somalia and Libya and how it negatively affected its other interests in the international system. The study concluded that soft power, though regarded as the newest and alternative form of power to be used in international relations, is also limited in its effectiveness. To balance the inadequacies of hard and soft powers, smart power is recommended where components of hard and soft powers are combined.

Keywords: Power, Hard power, contemporary diplomacy, globalization and complex interdependence

1. INTRODUCTION

The relationship of states across border is not only important but necessary because no state can exist in isolation, not even the most developed state like the United States of America. The nature of the relationship may take many forms including diplomatic, economic, trade, educational, cultural, technical, military and political. Inter-state relations are akin to symbiotic relations in animal environment where the benefits of relating with one another could be for both states, or sometimes one state benefit at the other’s expense, and in other cases neither states benefits. Mutualism is when both states benefit in the relationship; best described as a win-win relationship. Parasitism refers to the kind of relationship when one state benefits, the other is harmed; a win-lose relationship. A relationship could also be commensalism when one state benefits, the other is not harmed nor gained. When a relationship is competitive, neither state is benefiting, but strives to have edge-outs or counter one other. Neutralism is a form of relationship when both states relate for no just specific purpose of themselves but for possibly others.
Since it is necessary for states to relate with each other worldwide, it is imperative for nation-states to consciously formulate policies that would guide their actions and inactions in the international system in other to maximize their gains. Foreign policy is defined by Jean-Frédéric and Jonathan (2018) as a set of actions or rules governing the actions of an independent political authority deployed in the international environment. Thus, “foreign policy is aimed at determining and identifying the decisions, strategies, and ends of interaction of a state with another” (Bojang, 2018). In effect, no nation can meaningfully conduct its external relations without articulating ambitious foreign policy. Also, the manner of a state’s behavior in the international arena is a function of its foreign policy style. Foreign policies are tailored and crafted towards achieving national interest.

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