Before revision: History The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) popularised 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 describing 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 National Endowment for Democracy (NED) popularised 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 describing 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.