In international relations, the criteria of power are customarily presented as a question of numbers, mass, surface area, economy, diplomatic alliances, military might and so on. However, beyond this inventory of ways and means, the essential element is to be found in the meaning accorded to identity and purpose. This is not to propose a corrected version of the inventory, rather to draw attention to the relativity of traditional factors. To gauge capabilities it is not enough to draw up a framework or sketch a format: power lies more in renewed ambition and shared aims: alongside an organised and armed entity, there must already exist a shared sense of purpose, directed to a common destiny.
This assertion is illustrated by recent reflections on defence in France: more than just a matter of having the organisations and equipment for the relevant activity, defence must also, and perhaps above all, be based on a shared identity and a will to work together, if it is to be a durable and consolidated power rather than just a reservoir of capabilities.
Recent studies and work on the subject of defence, not simply as a tool, but as a concept, have acted as both accelerator of progress and generator of uncertainties, leading to a questioning of the paradigm of ‘power’.
This notion of power is at the heart of international relations. From the inventory of capabilities, of ways and means, it is a part of the definition and the hierarchy of international actors and of sovereignties: power remains the essential condition of existence, of being recognised and of carrying weight on the international scene. It is not, nonetheless, a very explicit concept;(1) it is too often characterised by the traditional references to numbers, weight, surface area, whereas power reveals something more than mere quantity or strength. Nor can it be explained by any single factor, and it rests on the crystallisation of determining criteria. Its usual definition is basically directed towards an inventory of causality, whereas it could be better apprehended transversely. From this perspective, the least traditional and the most immaterial parameters appear more and more significant, in acknowledgement of the clairvoyance of Thucydides: ‘The strength of a city is not in its walls, but in the will of its citizens.’
This observation is valid for France and its defence: beyond the material manifestations, an identity and energy must emerge and govern. This approach blends perfectly with the physical concepts of strength, the application of strength, power and energy. Looking to the future, we can decry the crumbling of traditional criteria and in parallel, the highlighting of renewed centres of gravity, notably in the complex and volatile world of today.
