Military power is now largely obsolete in global politics. Discuss.

Military power is now largely obsolete in global politics. Discuss.

Military power is largely recognised as the ultimate symbol for ‘hard power’ between states. Hard power is the use of force to achieve objectives through aggression and therefore military power can be seen as the epitome of exercising this caliber of power. After the extreme and frequent expression of violence, war and inevitably military power seen pre-1945, after the two world War’s and the Cold War, it could be argued that this power is largely obsolete in the global system. 

Yes, Military power is obsolete now.

• After America’s invasion in Iraq, the trauma the war caused has certainly build a stigma of war wariness. The child and civilian casualties has both deterred and done its best to prevent future wars due to this already unpopular decision,
• Globalisation has meant that states are more dependent on each other for trade. Therefore it is more likely that a state would pursue diplomatic pressure on (for example:China) rather than military force due to the dependence of goods and services.
• The democratic zones of peace means that regional trade blocks such as the European has effectively established a stable relationship between former conflicting rivals in power: Germany and France and therefore military power is much less likely to be needed
• Many wars, such as asymmetric wars appear to be unwinnable because of the unorthodox strategies used such as guerrilla warfare and terrorism which means that military dominant as well as economically dominant states are unable to tackle these problems with military power in comparison to conventional war. 

However, a realist view is likely to argue:

• War is inevitable. Whilst states have managed to reduce the level of military power so frequently once used, it is the main way of states tackling serious obstacles such as terrorism. Further to this, it could be argued that such forms of violence (terrorism) is unlikely to be resolved with diplomacy without suffering a loss of sovereignty and therefore military intervention is the only way to stop some conflicts.
• Realists may also argue that humans are inherently selfish and aggressive. Therefore, war is the instant reaction to states facing conflict.
• Military power has increasingly been used for ethical purposes, notably to facilitate
  humanitarian intervention and to support peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives.

Personal opinion: I agree with the statement “military power is now largely obsolete due to the increased importance of soft power. The increasing use of soft power means that as a result hard power (in this case, military) becomes less important in resolving conflicts. In addition, the increased significance and formation of legal institutions within regional trade blocs: European Court of Justice means that conflict can be resolved through a higher body and therefore states do not have to resort to military aggression. 

What do you think?