Soft power- Joseph s, Nye jr.

JOSEPH NrE coined the term "soft power" to describe a nation's ability to attract and persuade. Whereas hard power the ability to coerce-grows out of a country's military or economic might, soft power arises from the attractiveness of its culture, political ideals, and policies.

Hard power remains crucial in a world of states trying to guard their independence and of non-state groups willing to turn to violence.

But as the Bush administration maps out its foreign policy, Nye emphasizes the importance of nurturing our soft power. It is soft power that will help prevent terrorists from recruiting supporters from among the moderate majority. And it is soft power that will help the United States deal with critical global issues that require multilateral cooperation. America needs to move in a new direction. Isn't it time that we listened to the guidance of one of our foremost foreign policy experts and put his ideas into action?

"[Nye] combines a theoretical argument about the nature of power in the modern, interdependent world with a practical critique of the unidimensional vision of the Bush administration, drunk on its image of military prowess and blind to what his subtitle calls the means to success in world politics."

WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD