Conceptual approaches and practical implications in constructing state power indicators for South America

Abstract:

Conceptual specifications are important for identifying the attributes that make up a political phenomenon, but it is mensuration that allows for empirical operationalization. To understand the practical implications of theoretical approaches of power and how they translate into measurements with different readings of reality, this paper discusses versions of a South American regional power indicator, the Relevance Index for South American Politics (RISAmP). Departing from the (I) material perspective, which considers power as the possession of resources, or the (II) relational perspective, which understands power as a political and social and relative phenomenon, we conceptualize variation in the hard and soft elements of state power, along with their relative and gross applications. These changes contributed to the construction of a unified indicator that assesses the performance of countries in the period 1990-2018. The challenge was to minimize the discrepancies presented by Brazil and to balance the variables so that the final indicator corresponds to observed interstate relations in South America. We hope that the terms presented here can be used and adapted, or can encourage further studies that attempt to build cohesion between concepts and measurement instruments, and between theory and practice.

Keywords:
South America - indicators; state power; political science; international relations; quantitative methods