This is a terrific book. Schell explores detailed cases of the interaction of two forms of power–coercive power and cooperative power. Cooperative power comes from people joining, trusting, co-creating. Coercive power comes from armies and other organizations that use violence and force.
Schell argues that cooperative power seems to lose to coercive power–but actually wins most of the time. One major reason is that societies cannot function without it. So when the citizens of a country withdraw their cooperation, governments are undermined.
Coercive power can destroy societies, but cannot build them. This is why “nation building” is so difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. In the aftermath of war, a delicate ecology of cooperation must be established.
Over the long term, Schell believes that non-violence will triumph in the world–because it is stronger.
