Power in World Politics

Abstract

Goethe's Faust, who after years of tireless studying realizes that he still has not grasped the essence of the world. Frustrated with the limit of his own knowledge, he enters a pact with the devil in the hope to find the answer. Although scholars working in the field of International Relations (IR) generally do not harbour Faust's ambitions the question of how to grasp 'world politics' remains a formidable challenge. Perhaps the most prominent and most enduring answer is to focus on 'power', that is, to conceive of the world of politics as one that is held together by power relations. Yet doing so does not provide analysts with an essence. As the literature tells us, ‘power’ is an essentially contested concept, with different interpretations held together more by a family resemblance than a core meaning. And because the meaning we choose determines which relations we consider relevant and where we locate political spaces - in short, how we conceptualize 'world politics' it is pertinent to be aware of the different ways ‘power’ can be defined. In short, we need to think about power.