It is not news that a term can mean different things
depending on different things such as how they are stated, who says them, when
they say it and so on. But the fact that a term can mean 8 different things (sometimes even contradictory or opposite things) depending on 4 different
intentions of users is mind boggling.
It is this very scenario that Ernst Haas in his essay "The
Balance of Power: Prescription, Concept, or Propaganda?" that makes this a
very interesting reading to me. He talks about the phrase 'Balance of power', a
seemingly innocent phrase with 8 separate meanings which can even be opposite
to each other. For example one meaning of 'balance of power' refers to stability
and peace. But another meaning of balance of power of power refers to instability
and war. These are two opposite things which one phrase can mean.
The other six meaning of power include distribution of
power, equilibrium, hegemony, power politics, universal law of history and system
and guide to policy making. Hass talks about how each meaning has a different
meaning and each meaning is different from the other meaning. He gives a
detailed explanation of each meaning in his essay along with various scholars
that talk about the each different meaning of the phrase.
However it does not just end there. There are also four
different intentions of users when they talk about the balance of power; s a
description, as a propaganda and ideology, as an analytical concept and lastly
as a prescription. Hass talks about how what each intention means and that one
user can only have one intention at one time; the intentions cannot overlap and
be attributed at the same time to the person. He acknowledges that in order to
understand the intention we must look at the context of the usage.
Furthermore, Haas even states that the meaning are themselves
open to doubts and debate. So this makes the reading not only interesting but
also humorous because we realize that people can get away with talking balance
of power meaning something else as long as they are able to hide their
intentions.
I agree that it is mind boggling to think that the same term can have polar opposite meanings. It just goes to show that we need to be conceptually clear when we talk about terms. And I agree that BOP can be used to hide one's intentions, which can mask the true intentions behind a conceptual veneer.
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