POLI 360 Lecture : POLI 360 - Lecture #3 (Jan. 17th)

• School: McGill University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLI 360
• Professor: T.V.Paul

Document Summary

Military power: the power to hurt, inflict pain and grief. Traditional notion includes tangible aspects such as territorial depth (russia), demographic power, economic power (industrial capacity, technological prowess), and weapons (quality and quantity. ) However, to determine success there are also intangible factors, such as leadership, morale, strategy and tactics. Loss of strength gradient the more countries extend away from their home base, the less powerful they are. This concept explains why only some countries have managed to create empires. Best overcame by technological innovations (genghis khan with horses; us with aircraft carriers, etc. ) Weaker powers are capable of winning wars against stronger powers when they are willing to suffer (david vs goliath article) Short wars are won based on mobilization capabilities (japan in russo-japanese war. ) Long wars are won based on staying power (us in wwii. ) However, in guerrilla warfare, often times the insurgents have greater staying power.