Power and International Relations: a temporal view

Abstract

International Relations scholars are certain about two facts: power is the defining concept of the discipline and there is no consensus about what that concept means. One explanation for this problematic state of the field is that most International Relations scholars freight their analyses of power with hidden assumptions about time. Temporality is an essential component of political analysis, as a burgeoning literature has begun to explore. This paper argues that there are two latent presumptions about time that fundamentally affect how scholars conceptualize power in world politics. First, scholars are rarely explicit in defining the temporal scope of their key causal processes. The longer the implicit temporal scope, the more expansive their definition and operationalization of power can be. Second, there is considerable variation of beliefs about the temporal returns to power: does exercising or accumulating power generate positive or negative feedback effects over time? Relying on canonical works in the field, this paper examines the hidden assumptions that different paradigms make about power and time. Illuminating these assumptions clarifies the root of cross-paradigmatic disagreements about international politics and suggests some interesting pathways for future theoretical and empirical work.

The Relations of Economic-Political Power to the Development of Digital Economy in Asia

“…Additionally, it is rarely explicitly stated how this power interacts with other forces nearby. Many variations of beliefs about power produce positive or negative feedback effects and their relationship to economic power (Drezner, 2021).…”

“…The financial and political landscapes of different countries can differ greatly based on their political ideologies. Political actions have an impact on a country's economy, and how well the economy is performing is frequently considered as a direct reflection of political policies and the effectiveness of the government in power (Drezner, 2021).…”

Coalitions in international relations and coordination of agricultural trade policies

“…To specify a LASSO model to learn the determination of international relations with China of each country, we consider an extended autoregressive function following the pathdependency and interdependency theory of international politics (Drezner, 2021). Obviously, international relations are determined by a complicated process with influences of ideology, military confrontations and international security, racial and gender issues, international organizations, as well as global issues like trade, environmental challenges, and poverty alleviation (Baylis et al, 2020).…”

Peace needs constant reproduction: The temporality of the diplomatic system

“…In international relations, time is usually treated as a duration, meaning that temporality is measurable with clocks and calendars in a linear regularity of hours, years or decades (e.g. Drezner, 2021). But is this chronometric understanding helpful for approaching practices of peace, that is, for approaching diplomatic happenings?…”