The presented Report has two distinct layers. The first is a study of the international balance of power. In this respect, it is a continuation of earlier reports published in traditional (paper) and electronic versions. In principle, these reports were based on the same methodology; variations between reports primarily stemmed from differences in the scope of issues that were addressed and illustrated.

The current version of the Report differs significantly from previous versions with the introduction of a new category of power: civilizational power, which is the second layer of the Report. The definition of civilizational power is very simple – it is the sum of physical power (measured by annual energy consumption) and sociological power (measured by the model used in all previous reports). The Report is another attempt to respond to the great institutional and societal demand for empirical studies of international relations, which has intensified after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In our report, we refer to praxeology (the science of human action), cybernetics (the science of control), and potentiometry (the science of measuring the power of participants in international relations, especially states). It is a sub-discipline of geopolitics. As you can see, the basic term used in the Report is „power.” Its equivalent in Polish is „potęga,” in French is „puissance,” in German is „Macht,” and in Russian is „мощь.”

The presented Report may seem complex, particularly as the situation is further complicated by the introduction of the new category of power – civilizational power. However, we are convinced that the complex methodology will not be an obstacle to understanding its main contents and results. We will begin with the Report’s main content, changes in the international balance of power, and supplement this content with derivative quantities (such as militarization indicators). We show changes in the international balance of power in two layers. Layer one is familiar from previous reports – the relations of economic, military and geopolitical forces estimated on the basis of a simple mathematical model (the understanding of which is not necessary to understand the results). Layer two is based on the simple concept of civilizational power, which shows the power of human action. In both layers, we also present the necessary calculations of the efficiency of human action in the countries under study. Note that the presented assessment of the international balance of power is formal in the sense that it is context-free, that is, it does not take into account geographical location, the shape of borders, friends and enemies, alliances, etc. Therefore, it is not an assessment of a state’s actual position, which would have to include the context (conditions) of the states under consideration. Additionally, we omit the issue of nuclear weapons, nor do we refer to emerging terms such as hard power, soft power, smart power, sticky power, sharp power or awkward power.

The authors’ team