New Report Investigates Power and Influence in a Globalized World

Director Jonathan D. Moyer is the lead author on a new report published jointly by the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, the Atlantic Council, and the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. Power and Influence in a Globalized World introduces the Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity (FBIC) Index, a new way to measure the formal economic, political, and security influence capacity of states worldwide from 1963 to 2016. The authors find that global influence is concentrated in the hands of the few; only ten countries possess about half of the world’s influence. This trend, however, is changing. A growing number of states wields greater amounts of influence over larger distances. While the United States still retains a global lead in terms of its share of global influence capacity, that share has been decreasing and is considerably smaller than its share of the world’s material capabilities. Meanwhile, China continues to expand its influence; Russia follows an opposite trajectory, and great powers continue to vie over spheres of influence for a variety of military-strategic, economic, and ideological reasons. Other report authors are Tim Sweijs, Mathew J. Burrows, Hugo Van Manen.

To read the report click here.