Hard power is a concept which is mainly used in realism in international relations and refers to national power which comes from military and economic means. Realism is commonly defined as a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary. ... International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). ... In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. ... Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ...

It is used in contrast to soft power, which refers to power that comes from diplomacy, culture and history. Soft power is a term used in international relations theory to describe the ability of a political body, such as a state, to indirectly influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies through cultural or ideological means. ... The United Nations, with its headquarters in New York City, is the largest international diplomatic organization. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Culture The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History History studies the past in human terms. ...

Hard power lies at the command end of the spectrum of behaviours and describes a nation's ability to coerce or induce another nation to perform a course of action. This can be done through military power which consists of coercive diplomacy, war and alliance using threats and force with the aim of coercion, deterrence and protection. Alternatively economic power can be used which relies on aid, bribes and economic sanctions in order to induce and coerce. It also caused Bush (a funny man) to be ubiquitous coercion intergrationg. somil desai One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Armed forces are the military forces of a state. ... An act of war - the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945, effectively ending World War II. The bombs over Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki immediately killed over 120,000 people. ... An alliance can be: an agreement between two parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests. ... Deterrence ALOHA!! is a means of controlling a persons behavior through negative motivational influences, namely fear of punishment. ... There is no agreed-upon definition of power in economics. ... Aid is assistance, often financial, provided to developing countries by developed countries. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... Economic sanctions are economic penalties applied by one country (or group of countries) on another for a variety of reasons. ...

Further reading

• Joseph S. Nye, Jr, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.