A Critical Analysis of Models of Measurement of National Power

The calculation of national power and presentation of a formula to compare the national power of different countries at a given time or the national power of one country in two different periods has always been a major concern of researchers of political geography, geopolitics and political science. Various attempts have been made to calculate or measure the power of the countries in the postwar period, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. These attempts may be classified into three categories: Some scholars concentrated on the introduction of effective elements of national power, introducing some variables as the most important factors affecting national power of the countries. The second group, while introducing a conceptual framework, have tried to measure national power on the basis of their own proposed variables. The third group, while selecting factors and variables, have offered a mathematical model to determine the nature of relations and combination of the proposed variables in order to measure the national power. The main focus of the present paper is to identify the main elements of national power in the viewpoint of experts. Also the conceptual and mathematical models of measurement of national power have been critically studied and some solutions offered for their improvement.