"Unilateralism, arrogance, and parochialism" the U.S. must abandon these traits
in a post-Sept. 11 world, says Nye, former assistant secretary of defense and
now dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He explains eloquently the
principles he believes should govern American foreign policy in the decades
ahead. His starting point is the preponderance of American power in today's
world. Nye distinguishes between hard power (military and economic strength) and
soft power (openness, prosperity and similar values that persuade and attract
rather than coerce others). Nye argues that a dominant state needs both kinds of
power, and that the current information revolution and the related phenomenon of
globalization call for the exercise of soft more than hard power. It is, Nye
believes, dangerous for the U.S. systematically to opt out of treaties and
conventions endorsed by the great
majority of nations. The U.S. should participate in world debate on
transnational issues such as global warming and nuclear defense, not simply
declare American interests paramount to the exclusion of all other views.
Nye quotes a summarizing insight from a French critic: "nothing in the world can be done without the United States, [A]nd... there is very little the United States can achieve alone." As the author points out, in the aftermath of September 11, the policy issues this book addresses are magnified rather than diminished in importance. This reasoned and timely essay on the uses of power makes a valuable contribution to American public discourse.
(Mar.) Forecast: Blurbs by Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger highlight that this should be required reading for foreign policy wonks. Oxford is backing this with a $50,000 marketing budget and is counting on major media attention. Still, whether this finds a wider audience may depend on whether Americans' interest in the world at large survives six months after September 11.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
December 30, 2002