power politics

noun

plural in form but singular or plural in construction

: politics based primarily on the use of power (such as military and economic strength) as a coercive force rather than on ethical precepts

Examples of power politics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After Germany started two World Wars in the last century, Germany's power politics stressed the role of multilateral institutions like the U.N. and diplomacy in remedying conflicts. —Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2025

This shift could lead to a transition back to the power politics of earlier eras. —Monica Duffy Toft, Foreign Affairs, 13 Mar. 2025

The Ukraine Factor The U.S. decision to vote with Russia against a United Nations bill on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine this week also came as a wake-up call that global power politics had changed more profoundly than since the end of World War II. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

Regardless of the ultimate verdict, jurors in the Madigan trial saw irrevocable proof of Springfield’s messy overlap of money, special interests, power politics and extraordinarily cozy relationships between lawmakers and lobbyists. —Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for power politics

• biopolitics
• bolsheviks
• candlesticks
• crucifix
• intermix
• lunatics
• mensheviks
• orthotics
• politicks
• bricks
• brix
• chicks