Hard Power in International Relations

Hard power is power that is commanding. With hard power, you are able to make someone do as you
usually want through the use of the carrot or stick approach. This refers to the idea that if one
complies with your wishes they will be rewarded, and if one does not do as you wish they will be
punished. Hard power is usually associated with a country's military and economic capacity.
In contrast, Talcott Parsons (1967) offered a conceptualization of power, which did not define it in terms
of conflict, but rather views it as a system resource. Parsons (1967: 208) argued that power is a capacity
to secure the performance of binding obligations by units in a system of collective organization, when
obligations are legitimized with reference to the collective goals, and where in case of recalcitrance,
there is a presumption of negative sanctions. In this regard, Anthony Giddens (1968: 264) stated that,
among other things, the Parsonian definition does not take into account that power is exercised over
someone and by treating power as necessarily legitimate and assuming a consensus between power
holders, Parsons ignores the hierarchical character of power.