Contrary to conventional wisdom, the concept of power has not always been central to international relations theory. During the 1920s and 30s, power was often ignored or vilified by international relations scholars-especially in America. Power and International Relations explores how this changed in later decades by tracing how power emerged as an important social science concept in American scholarship after World War I. Combining intellectual history and conceptual analysis, David Baldwin examines power's increased presence in the study of international relations and looks at how the three dominant approaches of realism, neoliberalism, and constructivism treat power.The clarity and precision of thinking about power increased greatly during the last half of the twentieth century, due to efforts by political scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, philosophers, mathematicians, and geographers who contributed to "social power literature." Baldwin brings the insights of this literature to bear on the three principal theoretical traditions in international relations theory. He discusses controversial issues in power analysis, and shows the relevance of older works frequently underappreciated today.Focusing on the social power perspective in international relations, this book sheds light on how power has been considered during the last half century and how it should be approached in future research.

Preface ixChapter 1: Introduction 1
Power Analysis: Important, Difficult, and Recent 1
Purposes of the Study 3
Structure of the Study 4
Limits of the Study 5
Terminology 6
Implications of the Study 8
Chapter 2: Modern Power Analysis 11
Dahl and His Critics 12
Dahlian Power in Perspective: 50 Years On 26
Evaluating Dahl's Concept of Power 44
Chapter 3: Analyzing Power 49
Fundamentals of Power Analysis 49
Problems in Power Analysis 59
Chapter 4: Power Analysis and International Relations 91
Power and IR: The Evolution 92
Power and IR: Analytical Perspectives 102
Chapter 5: Realism 123
Realism 123
Neorealism 130
Offensive Realism 135
Chapter 6: Constructivism 139
What Is Constructivism? 139
Materialism versus Culture 143
Constructivism and Power 144
Constructivist Contributions to Power Analysis in IR 153
Chapter 7: Neoliberalism 155
Power and Interdependence: Contributions 156
Soft Power 164
Chapter 8: Conclusion 173
IR Theory and Power in Retrospect 174
Contemporary Relevance of a Dahlian Approach 176
Power and Military Statecraft 178
What Good Is Power Analysis? 188
Bibliography 191
Index 215