Communicative power as a new ideal type in international relations

Abstract

In international relations theory, civilian and normative power can be seen as the most ambitious attempts to develop a new ideal of actor that is normatively preferable to classical concepts such as great power, empire, and hegemon as it wields power in a different way. However, these attempts fail from a theoretical perspective primarily because the concepts cannot be clearly differentiated from hidden hegemony. Guided by Habermas’ notion of communicative power, this article develops a new ideal type for transnational norm diffusion that escapes the trap of hidden hegemony. This ideal promotes communicative power by: (1) exercising institutional power to enable open and free discourse, (2) abstaining from using compulsory power to impose its own norms but just to guarantee the option of voice and exit for all affected persons, and (3) reducing unconscious structural power, productive power, and soft power through the inclusion of reflexivity and self-criticism. This type of inclusive foreign policy based on self-restraint and reflexivity must originate from solidarity in domestic civil society to gain the trust of others. The concept of communicative power offers an alternative theoretical template to how dominant actors can exercise power in international politics.