Understanding the Instruments of US Power

508 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: DiplomacY foreign policy

The instruments of power are resources the United States use to secure national security and drive the United States’ agenda. The instruments include diplomatic, information, military, and economics, but not in any particular order. These instruments of power can be used in different ways including all at once, or one at a time. Each of the instruments works in a very different ways although they all serve the U.S. ultimate goal of security. Diplomacy includes ambassadors, treaties, and general foreign policy. Information is used as military intelligence, public speaking forums, and the media. The military is used as an instrument by a show of force, military operations, and the size of force. Economic powers are demonstrated by embargoes, …show more content…

Some countries do not flinch when economic powers are used against them, we could see this from an already very poor country. One tool that is brought into some of these specific powers is the weapon of mass destruction or WMD. The WMD can be utilized as a nuclear weapon, biological weapon, radiological weapon, or chemical weapon. These tools can be dispersed within the powers to compel compliance at different levels.

In diplomatic powers the WMD can be used as a way to show diplomacy with a prior adversary, an example of this is post war disarmament of some of the U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons (Sarkesian, Williams, Cimbala, 2013). This reduction in weapons by both sides showed each other they were willing to compromise, this also sent more calm across different parts of the world.

The information that was spread about these weapons also played a big part in the Cold War. Both sides were engaged in an intelligence race in attempts to learn more about the others WMD capabilities. The intelligence community saw a large expansion during this time and still commands a large portion of the instrumental powers. The more intelligence that is obtained the more the United States can analyze potential threats. This can also be used as a deterrent to future attacks and be rolled into diplomacy and

Show More
Related

  • DBQ: Cold War

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, the Arms Race and forming alliances between the two main powers were important weapons for competition and rivalry in the Cold War. Both the superpowers have made use of the propaganda to fight the Cold War. Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. Especially, the USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics efficiently manipulated the propaganda.... ...

    Read More

  • Interviews of Korean Veterans

    2244 Words  | 5 Pages

    A. The three United States Instruments of Nation Policy and they are: Political, Economical and Military. We are presently using the Political and Economical Instruments with the Military Instrument in the area as a force to show our resolve.

    Read More

  • Essay On War Powers

    2436 Words  | 5 Pages

    War powers refers to the powers exercised by Congress or the president during times of war or other crises affecting national security. Article 2, Section 2 of the US Constitution declares that the president is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. He may direct the military after an official declaration of war from Congress. There is a lot of disagreement and confusion about what exactly the president has the power to do under the Constitution. The purpose of this paper is to determine what war powers the constitution and Congress give the president, domestically and abroad during times of war, and what the scope of those powers is.

    Read More

  • Models Of Presidential Power

    2075 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Constitution lays out power sharing amongst the President and Congress. However the Constitution is not always clearly defined which leaves questions to how the laws should be interpreted and decisions implemented. There are three major models of presidential power within foreign policy; the first being the presidential model in which decisions abroad are made by the president and his or her top aides and advisors. This model is accepted amongst many because during times of urgency and crisis the president must make quick decisions. The president unlike congress is provided various sources of intelligence information, which is a benefit in analyzing situations globally and making sound decisions.

    Read More

  • The Significance of the Use of Espionage During the Cold War

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Significance of the Use of Espionage During the Cold War During the Cold War there was an increase in the amount of funding and resources devoted to espionage which was helpful to both the USA and USSR. Because there was no fighting, spies became the main use in the battle for the supremacy. The definition of espionage is the act or practice of spying or of using spies to obtain secret information, such as about another government. It is whereby governments gain the systematic use of spies to get military or political secrets. It was used to gain information on the enemy as well as to increase the influence upon areas where conflicts of ideologies being fought over.

    Read More

  • COLD War and the Arms Race

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

    Read More

  • The Allusion of Power

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    The image and influence of power has plagued society since the day of its creation. Starting with Adam and Eve yearning to be like God, cultures across the world have desired to be recognized for the power that they possess in any possible way. In the instance of “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the arrogance of extreme power is shown in ruins as far as the eye can see. Through a peculiar point of view, desolate setting, situational irony, and stark symbolism, Shelley, provides the reader with a distinct way to view the power that so many people and nations look to possess.

    Read More

  • Hiroshima Bombing Essay

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also today is the danger that life is extinguished on earth through such a horrible weapon , not over. Many states are in possession of nuclear bombs , because that means for them power. Even dictatorships and unjust regime like China and North Korea have nuclear weapons.

    Read More

  • Foreign Policy Essay

    1487 Words  | 3 Pages

    To understand the power struggle relating to foreign policymaking, it is crucial to understand what foreign policy entails. The Foreign Policy Agenda of the U.S. Department of State declares the goals of foreign policy as "to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community." While this definition is quite vague, the actual tools of foreign policy include Diplomacy, foreign aid, and military force.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast of the Three Faces of Power

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.

    Read More

  • Stricter Laws In The United States

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    power is the ability to take arms and defend the nation in a time of crisis or invasion of another

    Read More

  • The Human Race Cannot Coexist with Nuclear Weapons

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    Should all countries in the world be able to develop their own nuclear weapons? More importantly, if so, can these countries be trusted? Richard Rhodes, the author of the essay entitled “Living with the bomb,” believes that they can. With cooperation and negotiations Rhodes believes nations can secure the deadly materials from which weapons of mass destruction are made of (Rhodes). He also believes that this will help reduce arsenals which will help eliminate possible future risks (640). The author somehow believes that regardless of the tensions in the Middle East and its surrounding countries, they are worthy of our trust in a matter as great and serious as their development of nuclear weapons. Throughout his essay, Rhodes cites several cases throughout history where there have been direct threats due to the fact that certain countries simply cannot be trusted. Nuclear weapons are an extremely big deal in our world today, especially when it comes to terrorism. The idea of relying only on cooperation to secure the materials required to build nuclear weapons is outrageous, and the only program that would eliminate all threats would be by disarming all countries of their nuclear programs.

    Read More

  • The Nature of Power

    3754 Words  | 8 Pages

    In 1948, the OECD was formed by several European nations in what would become the first step toward the formation of the European Union. The creation of the EU was revolutionary in that nations gave up unprecedented amounts of their sovereignty, resulting in such acts as voluntarily subjecting themselves to monitoring of war materials (coal and steel) and culminating in the institution of the Euro and integration of European economies and societies, and politics. The success of the EU in the last few years is amazing not just because of its economic achievements, but because it signifies the first successful surrender of nationalism and the transfer of loyalty to a regional level, notions which would have been considered impossible at the beginning of the 20th century.

    Read More

  • Power Manipulations: The Power Of Power Manipulation

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    As children we always had that desire to have some sort of extradinary power or ability and use it in whatever way we wish so. Shamefully, this fantasy could only be briefly lived in our dreams and imagination. Despite of this, that didn't stop our heroic journey to keep on trying to fly, read minds or move object with our minds. If, by any chance I could gain any superpower in an instant I wouldn't hesitate to ask for the superpower of power manipulation. To be brief, power manipulation is the ability to control any sort of energy, alter the structure or composition of myself and others, and absorb any sort of energy.

    Read More

  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    Furthermore, with all the bans and parameters in place, the use of a weapon of mass destruction by any country or group of people would be greatly condoned by the rest of the world unless it is under extenuating circumstances.

    Read More

More about Understanding the Instruments of US Power

Open Document