Power and Influence in a Globalized World outlines the strategic framework of the international system’s capabilities and interactions amongst the global community. The report shows how power and influence are derived from more than just coercive military capabilities, but are exercised through networks of economic, political, and security interactions involving states as well as non-state actors. The function of this report is to fill in the conceptual and empirical gaps, by creating a new index, the Foreign Bilateral Influence Capacity (FBIC) Index. The FBIC is tasked with identifying the key influencers in the international community, and analyzing those that register above or below their weight in the world, altogether clarifying where the United States and others stand in the international system. The FBIC Index is based on the interaction between states, as well as the relative dependence of one state on another.

The report includes graphs that demonstrate the international community’s fluctuation in distribution of global influence, where countries rank in terms of performance, and the regional reach of the most influential. Based on the research conducted, it is clear that China’s power and influence continues to rise, while Russia’s is waning. The report delves into the future of the international system, its characterization largely defined by networks of influence and continued spread of influential spheres in a world that continues globalizing.