The Berlin Wall on the night of Nov. 9, 1989. It wasn't artillery that brought it down but the soft power of Western values. (Robert Wallis / Corbis / Getty Images) Power is the ability to get others ...

In a world marked by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, is the age of soft power over? Thirty years ago, with the end of the Soviet Union, increasing integration in Europe, and America’s “Unipolar Moment,” the ...

"The strong do what they will, the weak suffer what they must." So wrote Thucydides in the "History of the Peloponnesian War," and the Greek historian's cold-eyed observation still holds. But in today ...

You’ve probably heard of “soft power.” The word “soft” has many connotations, among them “feeble” or “weak.” Softness also denotes gentleness, kindness, tenderness, so the term, “soft power” may seem ...

The erosion of American soft power, now accelerated by the hollowing out of foreign aid and Washington’s turn to protectionism, marks a retreat from the global influence the United States once wielded ...

Hard power uses material assets to compel and coerce others to bow to your will. War is not necessarily required; threats backed by economic and military assets may suffice to change how others behave ...

In the post–Cold War era, few concepts have more profoundly shaped discussions of U.S. foreign policy than the idea of “soft power.” The term was coined by the American political scientist Joseph Nye ...

Matthew Clary is affiliated with the American Political Science Association (APSA), the International Studies Association (ISA), the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA), the College Board, ...

Earlier this month the United Kingdom government launched an inquiry into the country’s soft power – that is, its tools of attraction and cultural influence. Soft power is an elusive form of influence ...

America’s strategic leaders are quick to use the phrase “allies and partners” in today’s dynamic global security environment. They describe it as a unique American advantage, the nation’s most ...

Power is the ability to get others to do what you want. That can be accomplished by coercion (“sticks”), payment (“carrots”) or attraction (“honey”). The first two methods are forms of hard power; ...