The Exercise of State Power 151dif eren t outcomes. The NATO alliance’s victory over Slobodan Milošević ’s Yugo
slavian forces in 1999 and Libya in 2011 can be explained by the alliance’s overwhelm
ing natu ral sources of power coupled with its strong tangible sources of power. But
how can we explain Af ghan i stan’s victory over the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, or
the North Viet nam ese victory over the United States in the 1970s, or the Algerian vic
tory over France in the early 1960s? In each case, a country with limited natu ral and
tangible sources of power prevailed over those with strong natu ral and tangible power
resources. In these cases, the intangible sources of power, including the willingness of
the populations to continue fighting against overwhelming odds, explains victory
by the objectively weaker side.^10 Success involves using vari ous forms of state power.
Nye calls that smart power, the combination of the hard power of coercion and pay
ment with the soft power of persuasion and attraction, the appropriate combination
depending on context.^11
Constructivists, in contrast, ofer a unique perspective on power. They argue that
power includes more than the tangible and intangible sources. In addition, it includes
the power of ideas and language—as distinguished from ideology, which fueled the
unlikely victory of the objectively weaker side in the cases described earlier. State iden
tities and nationalism are forged and changed through the power of ideas and norms.
States have vari ous forms of power. But, as the case of India shows (see the Global
Perspectives box p. 152–53), whether they can utilize this power depends, too, on a
variety of factors, including a state’s domestic capacity.
the exercise of state Power
In all theoretical perspectives, power is not just to be possessed, it is to be used. States
use a variety of techniques to translate power potential into efective power; namely,
these techniques include diplomacy, economic statecraft, and force. In a par tic u lar
situation, a state may begin with one approach and then try several others to influence
the intended target. In other cases, a state may use several dif er ent techniques si mul ta
neously. Which techniques po liti cal scientists think states emphasize varies across the
theoretical perspectives. In addition, dif er ent types of states may make dif er ent choices.
the art of Diplomacy
Tr a d it ion a l diplomacy entails states trying to influence the be hav ior of other actors
by bargaining, negotiating, taking a specific action or refraining from such an action,
or by appealing to the foreign public for support of a position.
According to Harold Nicolson, a British diplomat and writer, diplomacy usually
begins with negotiation, through direct or indirect communication, in an attempt to