<P> Chinese strategists have such a concept of national power that can be measured quantitatively using an index known as comprehensive national power . </P> <P> Much effort in academic and popular writing is devoted to deciding which countries have the status of "power", and how this can be measured . If a country has "power" (as influence) in military, diplomatic, cultural, and economic spheres, it might be called a "power" (as status). There are several categories of power, and inclusion of a state in one category or another is fraught with difficulty and controversy . In his famous 1987 work, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, British - American historian Paul Kennedy charts the relative status of the various powers from AD 1500 to 2000 . He does not begin the book with a theoretical definition of a "great power"; however he does list them, separately, for many different eras . Moreover, he uses different working definitions of a great power for different eras . For example: </P> <P> "France was not strong enough to oppose Germany in a one - to - one struggle...If the mark of a Great Power is country which is willing to take on any other, then France (like Austria - Hungary) had slipped to a lower position . But that definition seemed too abstract in 1914 to a nation geared up for war, militarily stronger than ever, wealthy, and, above all, endowed with powerful allies ." </P> <P> In the modern geopolitical landscape, a number of terms are used to describe various types of powers, which include the following: </P>

Explain the nature of american power and its impact on international relations groupings