Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
Bill,

Wondering aloud late PM. Doesn't history show that 'old' powers rarely understand the 'new'?

The 'old' powers in Europe (France, Spain & UK) watched the US Civil War, some in the UK even thought of intervening on the Confederate side. Only in 1917 did France & the UK really learn the power of the USA, although it took time to mobilize effective military power.

Do the BRICS have all-round power? With one exception, the 'old' power, Russia; the others have very different capabilities. Brazil and South Africa might want to exert power, there's not much indication all-round they can.

I think that as the UK, once Great Britain and before that the British Empire, has steadily declined in being a power.

Will achieving power - in whatever mode - always follow the same pattern? South Africa for a several years had moral power when Mandela strode into power. What about non-state power?

Enough for now.
I am not downplaying the value of hard power, but as you suggest there are other forms of power that also shape behavior of states and non-state actors. Not all countries have the means to challenge us militarily. However, some have the means to provide alternative economic models that pull states away from our sphere of influence. In a sense they are subverting our power, by making our economic power less relevant. I'm still wrestling with ideas of non-state actor power. Of course that exists, but is it more powerful today than yesteryear? Does social media really enable non-state actors to effect change more effectively, or is it just the ability to network and make more collective noise that has little influence on states?