power politics

noun

A form of international relations in which sovereign entities protect their own interests by threatening one another with military, economic or political aggression.

Similar
gunboat diplomacy
OriginGerman Machtpolitik →
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Meanings

nounpower politics (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA form of international relations in which sovereign entities protect their own interests by threatening one another with military, economic or political aggression.

Synonyms & antonyms

noundiplomacy in which the nations threaten to use force in order to obtain their objectives

Similar
gunboat diplomacy
Broader
diplomacydiplomatic negotiations
Also see
gunboat diplomacy

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. GermanMachtpolitik
  2. Englishpower politics

Calque of German Machtpolitik.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 權力政治 /权力政治
  • 權力政治 /权力政治 (quánlì zhèngzhì)politics that threatens aggression
Finnish voimapolitiikka
  • voimapolitiikkapolitics that threatens aggression
German Machtpolitik
  • Machtpolitikpolitics that threatens aggression
Indonesian politik kekuasaan
  • politik kekuasaanpolitics that threatens aggression
Malay politik kuasa
  • politik kuasapolitics that threatens aggression
Cite this entry
APA

power politics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/power%20politics

MLA

“power politics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/power%20politics. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “power politics,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/power%20politics.

Source: power politics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.