Examination of rising powers by the framework of power transition theory

The power concept which is as old as human history is a concept that is often seen in international relations' literature. Some defines it as a goal to reach the target, some defines it as a tool to accomplish the intended goal and some defines it as a capacity covering all of the current entities. There are a myriad of diverse definitions of it, nevertheless; it does not hold a clear cut definition yet. Accordingly, it cannot be said that there is a consensus on the role of power within the system. This concept holds significance within the analyses of international politics in spite of all these unclarities pertaining to power. The nature of all political actions grounds on both the power and the power policies. Hence, the definition related to power can be made as every potential element of a government so as to protect and sustain its own national benefits. These elements can be financial as well as being moral, for instance; geography, culture, population of a government hold the property of determining the power of that government. When it comes to the potential elements of power, factors such as economic-development, military structuring and technological capacity come to the fore. In the light of all these data, the very first purpose of this thesis is to clarify the definition of power concept which has sustained its existence since the dawn of human history and which has no clear cut definiton yet. Then, this thesis aims to analyze the approaches on power concept developed by international relations theories and unveil the components of power step by step and finalize the theoretical part about power. Afterwards, definitions of dominant and hegemon powers being effective on the history of world politics will be mentioned. After this first part where the general definitions will be given, "power transition theory" by Organski in which he postulated that there is a hierarchical relationship among the powers within the system by opposing to the definition of anarchic international system and "multi-hierarchy model" constituted by Lemke – which he started from the former theory- will be accounted for. Following that, rising power concept in the international system will be handled, and accordingly structures stated as rising power within the system and rising economy within this scope will be tried to be unveiled. As for the conclusion part, China and India which are in increase trend in terms of both economy and policy will be investigated under the head of case study - based on all these definitions, explanations and analyses. Both countries, especially China, which attract the whole world with the help of growth rate that they could have within the changing and turning structure of the international system stand up against USA hegemony as "the rising power" and it seems that they will continue rising by increasing their powers depending on the current situation. Key Words: China, India, Power, Power Transition Theory, Rising Power