Joseph Nye’s Soft Power: Critical Scholarship on International Relations

Elia O’Hara

Professor Ali Ahmida

PSC 105 Introduction to Political Science

December 5, 2022

Within Joseph Nye’s book Soft Power, his central theme in the study of International Relations is to present a methodology of the manifestations of soft power alongside the traditional hard power to illustrate their integral role in the formation and success of state relationships. Nye’s work significantly widens the realm of International Relations to a more holistic and in-depth scope of the ever-changing state and societal factors that shape our international system through his addition of the implications of power. In addition, Soft Power allows for the opportunity to engage in contemporary relevancies, such as the views of fellow political scholars like Noam Chomksy and Leslie Stevenson, who expand our knowledge and perspectives pertaining to American Politics and Political Theory, respectively. Nye’s emphasis on the fungibility of soft power also creates another unique modality for analyzing societal factors, such as the American-made phenomenon that is jazz. 

It is vital to understand that the title of Nye’s book, “Soft Power,” opens his argument rather transparently that this notion of soft power must be acknowledged and included in the strategies and ideologies of International Relations. The name offers a symbolic juxtaposition to the well-known, traditional tool of hard power – one in which military and economic force are employed to obtain a particular outcome. Instead, Nye immediately prompts his audience to be open-minded to this concept of soft power that he defines as “…getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them. Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others”(Nye 5). Nye skillfully articulates that soft power’s sources and goals are geared toward the societal side of the international system. For instance: culture such as education, music, and sports; domestic and political values like democracy, human rights, and individuality; foreign policies of certain institutions that create attractive qualities and style. These sources and their effects ultimately influence behaviors without force or commands. 

As to Nye’s thesis, the context of why he felt this topic must be addressed is that as it was published in 2004, it was a response and critique of the United State’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. His thesis thus stresses that we must learn from our international historical events, such as the Cold War, to better implement not solely militaristic strategies but a balance of both soft and hard power, smart power. His argument relies on the fact that the new realities of our international system, including complexities of globalization, technological advancements, and increased government attention toward terrorism, require the multifaceted approaches soft power can supply. He summarized, “Like the challenges of the Cold War, this one cannot be met by military power alone. This is why it is so essential that Americans — and others — better understand and apply soft power”(Nye xiii). Following this claim, the severity of his thesis is expressed through two primary methods; the first being a critical analysis of the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration, and the second is how to take these points of criticism and look at how soft power can become a tool to overcome previous mistakes to move forward.

Relevant in the American Politics sub-field of Political Science is Noam Chomsky, a long-time MIT professor and American linguist well-known for his book Manufacturing Consent, co-authored with Edward Herman. As Chomsky focused much of his work on the critique and analysis of the U.S. mass media’s influence and propaganda based on the interests of large for-profit corporations and elites, I feel he might take a skeptical stance on Nye’s thesis. Soft power is highly advantageous, but Chomsky might argue that if the institutions and governmental elites are a resource, it could derive from their hidden agendas, and we should be critical and aware of those goals. Like Nye speaks of in his section on Public Diplomacy in the Information Age, “…publics have become more wary and sensitized about propaganda”(Nye 106); as Chomsky suggests, non-governmental organizations like news media and monopolistic corporations could extend here to have a hand in how soft power’s usefulness can potentially be squandered. 

Taking into account Political Theory as well, Leslie Stevenson, a well-regarded political theorist, authored the book Thirteen Theories of Human Nature which centers around the understanding of human nature that influences many theories and concepts of political structures continuing to the modern day. Overall, the structure of his book is to take influential theorists of human nature through history and explore their diagnosis of a problem in society, how human nature plays into it, and then their prescription on how to remedy it. I feel Stevenson would find Nye’s thesis rational and understandable to systematically uncover what the pressing issues in our international system are, what strategies have historically prevailed, and which caused more harm to then find solutions to make a change to move forward. For Stevenson, his outlook on human nature’s implications was to look at “what visions of human community we hope to work toward, what sort of societal changes we favor”(Stevenson, 2) and for Nye, to acknowledge the success of America depends on the application and understanding of soft power as a way to balance the old ways of hard power and create smart power in the future. 

An exceptional exemplar of soft power is the creation of American Jazz music. Soft power, in part, derives from the cultural factors of society that bring human beings together, such as education, art, films, and music, to allow for those qualities to be shared and acknowledged on a global scale. The Ken Burns documentary “The Gift” presents the history and outgrowth of jazz; not only is it shown to be a symbolic representation of the historical era of change, growth, and economic booms, but also the moment in black history where entire cultural revolutions took place such as the Harlem renaissance. Abroad, effects like the enmeshing of cultures and sense of identity within the First World War were achieved with the soundtrack of jazz unifying and sharing in those moments of growth. Even roughly a century after the father of jazz Louis Armstrong was born, human beings across national borders and with differing ideologies are still influenced by the unique creation of jazz that brought forth the best America had to offer while using its problems and obstacles as an avenue to produce a new narrative. 

Joseph Nye’s Soft Power creates a logical argument on the realities of soft power under the current government, yet it remains highly relevant today. I felt he offered a vital awareness of the implications of power that often go unnoticed within the study of International Relations that aided his argument for the better. Examples such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq undeniably highlight the limitations of hard power that cannot adequately address state relationships in this modern era. Through examples such as the Cold war, Nye took overlooked elements of soft power to showcase their success, which made his argument even stronger. The fact that he didn’t shy away from addressing the downfalls of increased unilateralism and overutilized militaristic power was refreshing. It is hard to find someone willing to critique a system but also offer concrete examples and methods to work toward a better outcome; I found Nye achieved this extremely well and in a way that can continue to be extended. 

Works Cited 

Burns, K. (n.d.). The Gift . Alexander Street . Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://video-alexanderstreet-com.une.idm.oclc.org/watch/the-gift. 

Nye, Jr., J. S. (2004). Soft power: The Means to Success in World Politics. Public Affairs.   

Stevenson, L. (2018). Thirteen Theories of Human Nature (Seventh ). Oxford University Press.