‘Hard Choices” (2): the key elements in international relations
I’m started reading “Hard Choices”, the memoir of Hillary Clinton’s four years as US Secretary of State.
Early on in the book, she outlines the key elements in international relations:
- Architecture: this is the system of institutions (such as the United Nations and the World Bank), alliances (such as NATO and the European Union), and norms (such as international law and treaties).
- Hard power: this is the military assets of the army, navy and air force, including special operations and espionage, and the threat or use of such forces.
- Soft power: this is trade and aid plus diplomatic, economic, financial, humanitarian and cultural influences.
- Smart power: Clinton coins this term to mean the right combination of different elements of hard and/or soft power for each particular situation.