Approaches to Structural-Power in IR

Abstract

The study of power in International Relations (IR) can be seen as the search for the cornerstone of our discipline. Hardly any theory or approach of IR can claim evidence and explanatory power without at least implicitly addressing the question of the ontology of power. An enormous variety of approaches in IR have been developed to understand and uncover the mysteries of power in International Relations. Despite remarkable efforts have been made in social science to discuss power in structural terms, the majority of existing approaches to power in IR still focus on either an understanding of power conceptualised as power-as-possession/control of capabilities (Waltz) or power conceptualised as a relational concept defined as “the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance in a specific relation” (Weber and Dahl). Agreeing to a broad range of scholars that todays international relations are characterised by mutual interdependence, interaction and ongoing negotiations (Nye/Keohane, Zimmermann, Baldwin), this panel follows the belief that in order to understand the causes and effects of power in IR we also have to look at a third form of power named “structural power” to encompass the all the characteristic of power in todays world. Panelists will present different approaches and concepts of power with a special emphasis on structural power in light of their effectiveness to explain contemporary power related phenomena in IR. In doing so the panel aims at contributing to answering the following questions: How does structural power work? / How does structural power change the rules of the game? / How is structural power constituted? / Through which kind of transmission channels does structural power affect the power position of states? / What are the underlying power resources of structural power? What is the relationship between structural power and other forms of power?

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