Power in the Changing Global Order: The US, Russia and China

by Martin Abbott Smith

Power has been compared to the people discuss it all the time, but very few really understand it. This book seeks to demystify this complex concept by providing students with an incisive and engaging introduction to the shifting configurations of power in the contemporary global order. Drawing on the work of leading international relations scholars, philosophers and sociologists, the analysis goes beyond simplistic views of power as material capability, focusing also on its neglected social dimensions. These are developed and explored through a detailed examination of the changing international role, status and capacities of the United States, Russia and China since the end of the Cold War. Far from achieving multipolarity, the book concludes that the contemporary world remains essentially unipolar; America having moved to correct the mistakes of George W. Bush’s first term in office, while China and Russia have, in different ways, limited their own abilities to challenge American primacy. This book will be essential reading for students of international relations and politics, as well as anyone with an interest in the shifting balance of power in the global system.

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2012

Reviews

[Ariadna73 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The actual factor that attracted me to this book is that the first question it asks is about the nature of power itself, instead of  engaging in the description of ordinary fantasies of "what could you do if you had the power"
It is clear since the beginning that the message the author wants to convey is the idea that power is a social currency, just like money, and inherently valueless by itself. Just exactly as the saying goes, "you can't eat money", you can also have all the power in the world, but if you do not have social interactions with others, then you have nothing.
After establishing that fact (which is quite difficult to fathom, the author goes on to describing how power and its correct employment is a delicate game of balance and precision. He explains how a powerful country like the United States has broken that balance many times through its history, and how every time the balance has been broken, all the might of the country had proven useless.
Finally, the author describes two particular examples that illustrate two opposite ends of the spectrum when power has been exerted without correct social interaction, and when it has been a lot of the latter, and thereby, in both cases, the power has been rendered useless.
This is the cover and editorial information of the book I read:

This is the table of contents, where the author outlines his plan for the book: first, understanding what power really is, then showing how the US has failed in several cases of trying to use its loads of power, when seen as just a currency of little value by itself. And then describing the imagined future, under different hypothetical social configurations.

Here, the acknowledgements and part of the introduction, where the author explains his intentions with his own words:

A few fragments from the text. It is clearly written, so easy to understand that it makes a really good read to relax:

And finally the fascinating conclusion, so very logically derived from the preceding arguments, so clean and clear that they are worth a second, or even a third reading.

In conclusion, a fascinating book that I enjoyed dearly and would keep on my shelves for a very long time to return to it when facts unravel, so I can tell myself "I have read about this before"


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