--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Influence is best measured not only by…" description: "\"Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our powe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/samantha-power-3969_accordance_influence-is-best-measured-not-only-by-m_1126403.jpg" --- # Influence is best measured not only by military hardware… ![“Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. That belief - that we are acting in the interests of the global commons and in accordance with the rule of law - is what the…” quote by Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/samantha-power-3969_accordance_influence-is-best-measured-not-only-by-m_1126403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/samantha-power-3969_accordance_influence-is-best-measured-not-only-by-m_1126403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/samantha-power-3969_accordance_influence-is-best-measured-not-only-by-m_1126403.jpg) > “Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. That belief - that we are acting in the interests of the global commons and in accordance with the rule of law - is what the military would call a 'force multiplier.'” [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power is judged not just by material strength but by perceived legitimacy, which amplifies influence as a “force multiplier.” **In simple terms:** Legitimacy makes power more effective. Key Takeaway Build trust to amplify impact. Themes politics legitimacy power Mood analytical strategic Type political inspirational When to use this quote - diplomacy - policy advocacy - media strategy Key Concepts soft power international law public perception Questions to Reflect On - What actions build genuine legitimacy? - How does perception shape actual power? A Different Perspective Perceived legitimacy can be fragile and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Commons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commons/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-force/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Rule of law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-of-law/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [“Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/civil-or-social-liberty-the-nature-and-limits-of-the-power-which-can/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [It takes a lot to silence the House of Commons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hoyle/it-takes-a-lot-to-silence-the-house-of-commons/) [Lindsay Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hoyle/) > [As a young man, Dickens worked as a reporter in the House of Commons and hated it. He felt that all politicians spoke with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/as-a-young-man-dickens-worked-as-a-reporter-in-the-house-of-commons/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [“Google and Apple offer the image of a pseudo-commons to Internet users. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elliot/i-studied-politics-and-economics-at-bristol-and-people-always-assumed/) [Ben Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elliot/) > [“Libraries represent the sole contemporary American institution with the potential for making available a wide-ranging, genuinely diverse spectrum of opinions, cultural expressions, and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanford-berman/libraries-represent-the-sole-contemporary-american-institution-with/) Sanford Berman > [The honest truth is that if this government were to propose the massacre of the first-born, it would still have no difficulty in getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/the-honest-truth-is-that-if-this-government-were-to-propose-the/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Kris Commons and Scott Brown are key players for Celtic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-de-boer/kris-commons-and-scott-brown-are-key-players-for-celtic/) [Frank de Boer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-de-boer/) > [Climate change is a global commons problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-edenhofer/climate-change-is-a-global-commons-problem/) [Ottmar Edenhofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-edenhofer/) > [We have reached a new milestone as a human family. With seven billion of us now inhabiting our planet, it is time to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/we-have-reached-a-new-milestone-as-a-human-family-with-seven-billion/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rise-of-capitalist-practice-and-morality-brought-with-it-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Dedicated to all who are building the information commons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-von-hippel/dedicated-to-all-who-are-building-the-information-commons/) [Eric von Hippel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-von-hippel/) ## More by Samantha Power > [There are something like 300 anti-genocide chapters on college campuses around the country. It's bigger than the anti-apartheid movement. There are something like 500…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/there-are-something-like-300-anti-genocide-chapters-on-college/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [Virtually all of Darfur's six million residents are Muslim, and, because of decades of intermarriage, almost everyone has dark skin and African features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/virtually-all-of-darfur-s-six-million-residents-are-muslim-and/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [There is a fair amount of competition, obviously, with ISIL and the terrorist networks around the world, China also posing a different kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/there-is-a-fair-amount-of-competition-obviously-with-isil-and-the/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [All we talk about is 'Islamic terrorism.' If the two words are associated for long enough it's obviously going to have an effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/all-we-talk-about-is-islamic-terrorism-if-the-two-words-are/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [In the '90s, there was scant presidential leadership and insufficient domestic political mobilization for foreign policy grounded in human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/in-the-90s-there-was-scant-presidential-leadership-and-insufficient/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [Initially, I tried to become an aid worker and someone who could help people, but I was unsuccessful in convincing anyone that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/initially-i-tried-to-become-an-aid-worker-and-someone-who-could-help/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I tell young people: If you make a job choice on the basis of something other than your nose or your gut, it's unlikely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/i-tell-young-people-if-you-make-a-job-choice-on-the-basis-of/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I was extremely close to my father, inseparable. Where we hung out most of the time was the pub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/i-was-extremely-close-to-my-father-inseparable-where-we-hung-out-most/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [When I wake up in the morning, I think about Syria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/when-i-wake-up-in-the-morning-i-think-about-syria/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [President Reagan, of course, did more than any other person to entrench the Republican reputation for toughness on national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/president-reagan-of-course-did-more-than-any-other-person-to-entrench/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [American decision-makers must understand how damaging a foreign policy that privileges order and profit over justice really is in the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/american-decision-makers-must-understand-how-damaging-a-foreign/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I have only so many foreign-language neurons. When I learned Spanish, that displaced whatever Irish was left, and then I learned German, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/i-have-only-so-many-foreign-language-neurons-when-i-learned-spanish/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [In many college classes, laptops depict split screens - notes from a class, and then a range of parallel stimulants: NBA playoff statistics on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/in-many-college-classes-laptops-depict-split-screens-notes-from-a/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [America needs a sensible, sustainable Iran policy that can meet U.S. security and economic interests, command international support and withstand the shifting Middle Eastern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/america-needs-a-sensible-sustainable-iran-policy-that-can-meet-u-s/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [The U.S. government engages with many countries around the world in official dialogues on human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/the-u-s-government-engages-with-many-countries-around-the-world-in/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) [Explore all 118 Samantha Power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) ## More Accordance quotes > [Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in moving mountains - if moving mountains accomplishes God's purposes and is in accordance with His will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/righteousness-and-faith-certainly-are-instrumental-in-moving/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [To be true to yourself means to act in accordance with who you are and what you believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-true-to-yourself-means-to-act-in-accordance-with-who-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things but moves in harmony with the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/one-who-lives-in-accordance-with-nature-does-not-go-against-the-way/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [We always try to interpret things in accordance with what we want and not as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-always-try-to-interpret-things-in-accordance-with-what-we-want-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-great-contests-each-party-claims-to-act-in-accordance-with-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Indeed, every true science has for its object the determination of certain phenomena by means of others, in accordance with the relations which exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/indeed-every-true-science-has-for-its-object-the-determination-of/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [... all education must be unsound which does not propose for itself some object; and the highest of all objects must be that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/all-education-must-be-unsound-which-does-not-propose-for-itself-some/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) > [“The power of God knows no limit, no condition, and no contingency other than being expressed in accordance with his own character.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-bird/the-power-of-god-knows-no-limit-no-condition-and-no-contingency-other/) [Michael F. Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-bird/) > [People are beginning to realize that we need to live in accordance with the law of ecology, the law of finite resources, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/people-are-beginning-to-realize-that-we-need-to-live-in-accordance/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [The United States supports the reintegration of people who have fought with the Taliban into Afghan society provided they: one, renounce al Qaeda, two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/the-united-states-supports-the-reintegration-of-people-who-have/) [Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/) > [All political parties, organizations, and all people should abide by the constitution and laws without any exception. They must all act in accordance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wen-jiabao/all-political-parties-organizations-and-all-people-should-abide-by/) [Wen Jiabao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wen-jiabao/) > [“May the Lord lay His hand on all that I do so that it may be in accordance with His holy will; this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/may-the-lord-lay-his-hand-on-all-that-i-do-so-that-it-may-be-in/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [All art is concerned with coming into being; for it is concerned neither with things that are, or come into being by necessity, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-art-is-concerned-with-coming-into-being-for-it-is-concerned/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The definition of integrity is this: "Being what I say I am by acting in accordance with my words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-miller/the-definition-of-integrity-is-this-being-what-i-say-i-am-by-acting/) [John G. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-miller/) > [We plan alone but we fulfill our plans together with the enemy, as it were, in accordance with his opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-konev/we-plan-alone-but-we-fulfill-our-plans-together-with-the-enemy-as-it/) Ivan Konev Browse all 42 Accordance quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Influence is best measured not only by military hardware and GDP, but also by other people's perceptions that we, the United States, are using our power legitimately. 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