Joseph S. Nye
Professor, Harvard University
Feb 12, 2018
The evidence is clear. Donald Trump’s presidency has eroded America’s soft power. Only 30% of people recently polled by Gallup in 134 countries held a favorable view of the United States under Trump’s leadership, a drop of almost 20 points since Barack Obama’s presidency.
Jan 05, 2018
China has invested billions of dollars to increase its soft power, but it has recently suffered a backlash in democratic countries. A new report by the National Endowment for Democracy argues that we need to re-think soft power, because “the conceptual vocabulary that has been used since the Cold War’s end no longer seems adequate to the contemporary situation.”
Dec 20, 2017
North Korea announced that it has mastered nuclear strike capability and become a full-fledged nuclear state. Like previous US presidents, Donald Trump has said that this state of affairs is intolerable. So now what?
Sep 07, 2017
The United States has never had a president like Donald Trump. With a narcissistic personality and a short attention span, and lacking experience in world affairs, he tends to project slogans rather than strategy in foreign policy.
Jul 07, 2017
Europe is a long way from a common defense structure, but the need is growing. And, ironically, the unpopular Trump may prove more of a help than a hindrance.
Jun 14, 2017
While the BRI will provide China with geopolitical gains as well as costs, it is unlikely to be as much of a game changer in grand strategy. A more difficult question is whether the US can live up to its part.
May 12, 2017
Soft power can reach goals through attraction and persuasion rather than threats of coercion or offers of payment. Information warfare can be used offensively to disempower rivals, and this could be considered “negative soft power.” By attacking the values of others, one can reduce their attractiveness and thus their relative soft power.
Apr 13, 2017
Contrary to some commentary, the American political system has not been swept away by a wave of populism, and no one should underestimate US institutions.
Mar 24, 2017
A series of episodes in recent years – including Russia’s cyber interventions to skew the United States’ 2016 presidential election toward Donald Trump, the anonymous cyber-attacks that disrupted Ukraine’s electricity system in 2015, and the “Stuxnet” virus that destroyed a thousand Iranian centrifuges – has fueled growing concern about conflict in cyberspace.
Mar 01, 2017
Trump should be wary of two major traps that history has set for him - the “Thucydides Trap", as well as the “Kindleberger Trap”: a China that seems too weak rather than too strong.