Before revision: History The term "sharp power" was coined in November 2017 by the National Endowment for Democracy, and published in an article in Foreign Affairs Magazine, to describe aggressive and subversive policies employed by authoritarian governments as a projection of state power in democratic countries, policies that cannot be described as either hard power or soft power.
After revision: History The term "sharp power" (in use since the early-19th centuryHistorical frequency of use of the phrase) in November 2017 ; it appeared in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine describingNational Endowment for Democracy (NED) popularised the aggressive and subversive policies employed by authoritarian governments as a projection of state power in democratic countries, policies that cannot be described as either hard power or soft power.