This course seeks to explore a series of questions about power in international relations today and how the United States would be best served to act in the world it confronts. First, students will examine what we mean by power in international relations as well as the ways leading scholars measure power. Second, students will use what they learn about definitions and measures of power to assess how many great powers there are in the world today. Is the world unipolar, bipolar, multipolar, or does the concept of polarity no longer apply? Third, students will familiarize themselves with the arguments about what different configurations of world power mean for fundamental questions of war and peace. Finally, students will consider which grand strategic approach the United States’ government should adopt given its own power and the configuration of power it faces.