0 the use of a country's military power to persuade other countries to do something, rather than the use of cultural or economic influence: --
Hard power refers to coercive tactics: the threat or use of armed forces, economic pressure or sanctions, assassination and subterfuge, or other forms of intimidation.
Hard power is generally associated to the stronger of nations, as the ability to change the domestic affairs of other nations through military threats.
This influence on the internal affairs of other countries is generally referred to as soft power, as opposed to military hard power.
Although realpolitik is commonly equated with hard power, and seemingly noopolitik with soft power, both are broader in their embodiment of a form of organization.
These indices take into account both military factors (known as hard power) and economic and cultural factors (known as soft power).
National brand today reflects the image of a country (soft power) more than its military or economic influence (hard power) in the international world.
Employing only hard power or only soft power in a given situation will usually prove inadequate.
Others have synthesized soft and hard power, including through the field of smart power.
