power politics

American  

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. political action characterized by the exercise or pursuit of power as a means of coercion.

2. international diplomacy based on the use or threatened use of military or economic power.

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power politics British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) (in international affairs) the threat or use of force as an instrument of national policy

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Etymology

Origin of power politics

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

His low-key approach, say some papal observers, has made it harder for him to make himself heard in a wider world that’s being shaken up by populism, strongman leaders and raw power politics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

They’re not privy to the power politics of Manhattan after parties.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026

Slow of speech, Fiennes’ Macbeth gives us a clue as to what Hamlet might be like if he had survived and learned to play the deadly game of power politics.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2024

She paid a final visit to Moscow in August 2021, and told the German news magazine that "the feeling was very clear: 'In terms of power politics you're finished'."

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2022

Masters of power politics, engineers of genius, the Mexica were also upstarts and pretenders, arrivistes who falsely claimed a brilliant line of descent.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann