Measures

Formal bilateral influence capacity, or relational power, between states

Unit of Analysis

Country-pair / dyad-year

Geographic coverage

All pairs of states

Time coverage

1960–present 

Dimensions

Economic, political, and security influence capacity

Access

Public

Related publication(s)

See here.

Parent program

Diplometrics

Definitions

Formal

State-sanctioned, state-sponsored, or publicly acknowledged forms of influence capacity, such as diplomatic exchange, arms transfers, and goods trade. The index does not measure covert activity or policymakers’ willingness to use influence.

Bilateral

Country-to-country relationships. Users can analyze many bilateral relationships together to study larger patterns, including possible spheres of influence.

Influence

Relational power: one country’s capacity to affect another country’s choices or constraints.

Capacity

The material basis for possible influence. FBIC measures capacity, not whether a government chooses to act on that capacity in a specific case.

Power in the international system is not only about what a country possesses internally. It also depends on relationships: trade ties, diplomatic connections, security links, and patterns of dependence. FBIC gives users a structured way to compare those relationships over time and examine how influence capacity is distributed across countries, regions, and networks.

FBIC has been used in Pardee publications and analysis examining geopolitical influence, bilateral relationships, and shifts in the distribution of power. Explore related publications and other activity to see how the index is being applied, cited, and discussed within and beyond the Institute.