Undoubtedly power acts as a major theme within the study of international relations, yet as a concept it is highly contested and difficult if not impossible to define.
The oxford concise dictionary of politics attempts to define power as the "ability to make people (or things) do what they would not otherwise have done." However power can be seen in many different forms be it that of economic, political, military or psychological.
Within the many different theories of international relations the concept of power features widely yet its interpretation and significance differs throughout. As there are so many theories within the study of international relations is impossible to focus on them all and so I have decided to predominantly look at the ideas within realism, .
In post war scholarship the starting point for most theorizing about international politics has been power and national interest, with power understood ultimately as a military capability and interest as an egotistic desire for power, security or wealth. The proposition that the nature of international politics is shaped by power relations is noted as a defining characteristic of realism. However this is not only a realist claim, neoliberals too see power as important along with Marxists, feminists and post modernists. Yet I will first start by looking at the concept of power in a broad sense, free of persific theoretical judgement in order to get a preliminary understanding of the term itself.
Within the contemporary international system the majority of nations collective domestic and external goals cannot be defended or achieved without influencing the behaviour of other states. Consequently goal attainment is dependant upon the reactions and actions of others. This is where the importance of power as a concept comes into the study of international politics because power includes the means by which all states influence the behaviour of others in order to protect and extend their own interests.
