3. Realism

This chapter examines the realist tradition in international relations (IR), which is best seen as a research programme with several approaches using a common starting point. It highlights an important dichotomy in realist thought between classical realism and contemporary realism, including strategic and structural approaches. After describing the elements of realism, the chapter discusses the international thought of three outstanding classical realists of the past: Thucydides, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. It then analyses the classical realist thought of Hans J. Morgenthau, along with strategic realism, neorealism, and neoclassical realism. Special attention is devoted to the defensive realism of Kenneth Waltz and the offensive realism of John Mearsheimer. Furthermore, the chapter looks at the recent theoretical debate among realist IR scholars concerning the relevance of the balance of power concept and it shows that realists often disagree among themselves. The chapter concludes with an overview of how the different realist theories treat international and domestic factors.

Protean Power Concept in International Relations: Origins and Prospects

In contrast to the representatives of other directions in International Relations Science, constructivists have long distanced themselves from the notion of power, but in the 2000s and 2010s, due to the increasing interest in conceptualizing this phenomenon, the first attempts of the constructivist interpretation of the concept of power started to emerge. Such interpretations received their fullest expression in the concept of Protean power, developed by a group of researchers under the informal leadership of Peter Katzenstein. The article analyzes the main features of the Protean power, as well as the emerging practices. The author shows that this type of power is less associated with specific actors and their intentions than other types of power, since it is aimed at overcoming uncertainty under the conditions when it is impossible to calculate risks. This formulation of the question allows one to reconsider the role of the creativity principle in international interactions and provide it with a higher ontological status. According to the author’s conclusion, the concept of Protean power continues the line of revising the ontological foundations of the studies of world politics, which has emerged within constructivism in the last decade. Similarly to some other constructivist concepts, this concept implies a holistic interpretation of the phenomenon of power in international relations and reflects the desire to move away from the classical (Newtonian) worldview. Although today it provides many reasons for criticism and, perhaps, needs further elaboration and reinterpretation, its contribution to the scientific discussion of the ontology of power in international interactions is beyond doubt. Protean power is paving the way that allows bypassing the neo-positivist consensus that has so far set the tone in the International Relations Science.

Investigating the Effect of Graduate Business Programs of the Schools of Business in Jordan in Forming Soft-Power Leadership Conceptualization among MBA Students

The main objective of the study is to explore the extent of the conceptualization of soft-power leadership among graduate business students, and the degree to which they apply the concept in their study programs in the Jordanian universities. In precise, to explore the effect of curriculums and courses, learning style, and the way the business program is managed in forming the concept of soft power leadership in students. The analysis was extended to investigate the variation in the relationship between curriculums, learning style, and program management as independent variables and soft-power leadership concept as dependent variable due to the moderating variables gender, background education, and work sector. A sample of 350 students was drawn from two representative universities in Jordan. Data were collected by a self-designed questionnaire based on literature, Amos 21 was used in the analysis, and findings were as follows: Students have positive attitudes toward soft-power leadership conceptualization with a satisfactory level of belief. Learning style and curriculums have been found to be of significant effect in soft-power conceptualization. This indicates that the American Model of Management Education (AMME) is applied in both curriculums and learning styles in business schools in Jordan. With regards to the moderating effect of gender, background education, and job sector of students it was found that gender significantly affects the relationship between learning style and soft-power concept, and it does affect the relationship between program management and soft-power concept, Background education significantly affects the relationship between both curriculums and program management, and soft-power concept, while the job sector that students belong to in their work only affects significantly the relationship between program management and soft-power concept.  

When Abstract Concepts Rely on Multiple Metaphors: Metaphor Selection in the Case of Power

The study examines metaphor selection for the same abstract concept when multiple concrete dimensions are available for use. Drawing on the power concept, four studies investigated the roles of attention and visual features of concrete dimensions in metaphoric mapping. In Studies 1 and 2, two concrete dimensions (vertical space and size) were visually connected to power-related target words simultaneously, and one was salient. Attention driven by stimulus saliency allowed the attended concrete dimension to have a higher activation level and to be used. In Studies 3 and 4, the attended and the non-attended concrete dimensions were presented separately, and the latter was visually associated with power-related target words. This time, the attended dimension did not have an activation advantage, allowing the non-attended dimension to be used for metaphoric mapping simultaneously. The findings suggest that attention is important, but not necessary, and that features of concrete dimensions can guide metaphor use.

A definition of the "reactive power" concept

A definition of the "reactive power" concept needs to be clarified, since in the literature it is often given extremely vaguely, which causes difficulties in students' perception and is not entirely clear to the general public. Analysis of numerous sources shows that the physical meaning of this concept almost escapes the definitions given in these sources. Moreover, the formula by which the reactive power is calculated raises no objections. However, it does not explain the physical meaning of the concept. The need for a capacious definition that reflects the physical meaning is long overdue. Analysis of literature sources allows us to conclude that reactive power corresponds to the energy that goes from the source to the consumer and returns back, moreover, the process of circulation of this energy proceeds without dissipation. This energy is stored in inductors, keeping the current constant, and in capacitors, because they charge and discharge, keeping the voltage constant. The inductance and capacitance of the circuit consume and return reactive power. The power transferred to the inductor is stored in the magnetic field when the field expands and returns to the source when the field collapses. The power supplied to the capacitor is stored in an electrostatic field when the capacitor is charged and returned to the source when the capacitor is discharged. This power supplied to the circuit by the source is not consumed. It all returns to the source. Thus, the active power, which is the consumed power, is zero. We know that alternating current is constantly changing; thus, cycles of expansion and collapse of magnetic and electrostatic fields constantly occur. The following definition is proposed: non-dissipated electrical energy of alternating current, which excites the magnetic or electric fields, respectively, in inductive and capacitive elements and, coming from them back to the network, is called reactive power.

A Powerful Tool for Optimal Control of Energy Systems in Sustainable Buildings: Distortion Power Bivector

In the field of building constructions, there is undeniably a growing need to optimize the energy systems which are a key target in new modern constructions and industrial buildings. In this sense, energy systems are being traced for the development of energy distribution networks that are increasingly smart, efficient, and sustainable. Modern generation and distribution energy systems, such as microgrids control systems, are being affected by the presence of linear and nonlinear loads, resulting a distorted voltage and current waveforms. Thus, it is stated that industrial and residential building heating and cooling loads behave essentially like sources of harmonics. This paper presents a new framework based on geometric algebra (GA) to the definition of a multivectorial distortion power concept, which is represented by a bivector that is geometrically interpreted to distinguish the rotated distortion and distortion power bivectors in these kinds of loads. Both bivectors, and their relations to the phase angles of distorted voltage are the main subject of this paper to interpret an optimal control of building energy. Numerical examples are used to illustrate of the suggested distortion power concept, as well as the information it provides for energy control in new buildings in a more sustainable way.

From channel management towards network coordination – changing perspectives on distribution arrangements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the transformation of the perspective applied to distribution structures in the late 1900s. This change implied that the previous focus on channel management by a channel captain was abandoned because of changes in the business reality. This perspective was replaced by models and concepts featuring collaboration and joint coordination between actors and relationships embedded in networks. Design/methodology/approach Changes of perspectives on phenomena are assumed to occur through the dynamic interplay between business reality, the conceptualisation of this reality and the managerial recommendations derived from this conceptualisation. The study is based on a thorough longitudinal literature review. Findings Shifts of perspectives occur when there is an increasing mismatch between the current business reality and mainstream conceptualisations. In this transformation, new constructs are required to illustrate new aspects of the business reality, exemplified in the study by interaction and networks. Some established concepts lose their significance, illustrated by the channel captain. Others may be re-interpreted, as is the case with the power concept. The study also shows that “forgotten” conceptualisations can be re-wakened, exemplified by the view of distribution structures as network constellations. In turn, these changes in the conceptualisation of distribution impact the managerial recommendations. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no previous studies analysing how the perspective on a certain phenomenon changes through the dynamic interplay between business reality, conceptualisations and managerial recommendations.

PORTRAYAL OF POWER DYNAMICS IN BAPSI SIDHWA’S NOVEL ‘THE PAKISTANI BRIDE’

This research paper spotlights Michel Foucault’s concept of power in BapsiSidhwa’s Novel ‘The Pakistani Bride’.The paper draws our attention to the fact that ‘power is everywhere’ and ‘comes from everywhere’ as stated by theFrench Postmodernist- Michel Foucault. The work will portray that it is the power that controls one's brain, body,conduct, and the choices that one makes. The accepted practices and norms are the result of power. The paper exhibitsthe traces of power concept especially the normalizing power in the novel ‘The Pakistani Bride’ and how it is used asa form of social control by taking few incidents from the novel.

THE «POWER» CONCEPT IN PUBLIC SPEECHES OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTS: SEMANTICS, SYNTAGMATICS AND PRAGMATICS

The idea of power is crucial in political communication in general, and in American political communication, in particular. The article presents the analysis of the «power» concept as the key concept embodied in political discourse. Public speeches of two American presidents - Barack Obama and Donald Trump - over the time period from 2004 to 2019 were chosen as the material for this study. The analysis of the speeches from the viewpoints of lexical-semantic variants of the word power, its typical colligational (morpho-syntactic) and collocational (lexico-phraseological) peculiarities against the background of communicative strategies and tactics employed enabled to identify and describe the characteristic patterns of verbalizing the «power» concept. As a result, it was discovered that Obama’s discourse was characterized by integrative, informational and agonal strategies while Trump employed agonal and integrative strategies in his speeches. In the three meanings of the lexeme - 'authority, possession of control', 'strength, force', 'country, influential people', - invariant and variable morphological, syntactic, lexical, phraseological patterns were found. Among the invariant patterns, there was the use of the vocabulary representing American values and a number of tropes.