Although many political scientists have contributed to the power analysis revolution during the past fifty
years, very few have been students of international relations (Baldwin, 1971b; Singer, 1963). Harold and
Margaret Sprout, who had been proponents of the elements of national power approach in their early
work (Sprout and Sprout, 1945), later repudiated that approach and were among the first international
relations scholars to call for incorporation of the relational power approach into the study of international
politics (Sprout and Sprout, 1956, 1962, 1965). Despite the efforts of the Sprouts and others, however, the
elements of national power approach is still deeply embedded in the international relations literature (e.g.,
Mearsheimer, 2001; Waltz, 1979). This situation has given rise to several problems in the analysis of power
in the international arena, some of which are discussed below.