30/5/2016

GetSmart

Home>GetSmart

Wednesday,July1,2009
GetSmart
CombiningHardandSoftPower
JosephS.NyeJr.
JOSEPHS.NYE,JR.,isUniversityDistinguishedServiceProfessoratHarvardUniversity
andtheauthorofThePowerstoLead.
Inherconfirmationhearings,U.S.SecretaryofStateHillaryClintonsaid,"Americacannot
solvethemostpressingproblemsonourown,andtheworldcannotsolvethemwithout
America....Wemustusewhathasbeencalled'smartpower,'thefullrangeoftoolsatour
disposal."Sincethen,editorialpagesandblogshavebeenfullofreferencesto"smart
power."Butwhatdoesitmean?
"Smartpower"isatermIdevelopedin2003tocounterthemisperceptionthatsoftpower
alonecanproduceeffectiveforeignpolicy.Powerisone'sabilitytoaffectthebehaviorof
otherstogetwhatonewants.Therearethreebasicwaystodothis:coercion,payment,and
attraction.Hardpoweristheuseofcoercionandpayment.Softpoweristheabilitytoobtain
preferredoutcomesthroughattraction.Ifastatecansettheagendaforothersorshapetheir
preferences,itcansavealotoncarrotsandsticks.Butrarelycanittotallyreplaceeither.
Thustheneedforsmartstrategiesthatcombinethetoolsofbothhardandsoftpower.
Inanotherwiseestimablenewbook,PowerRules:HowCommonSenseCanRescue
AmericanForeignPolicy,LeslieGelbarguesthat"softpowernowseemstomeanalmost
everything"becausebotheconomicandmilitaryresourcescaninfluenceotherstates.(Gelb's
recentarticleinthesepages,"Necessity,Choice,andCommonSense"[May/June2009],is
drawnfromthebook.)ButGelbconfusestheactionsofastateseekingtoachievedesired
outcomeswiththeresourcesusedtoproducethoseoutcomes.Militaryandeconomic
resourcescansometimesbeusedtoattractaswellascoercewitnessthepositiveeffectof
theU.S.military'sreliefeffortsinIndonesiafollowingthe2004tsunamionIndonesians'
attitudestowardtheUnitedStates.Thismeansthatmanydifferenttypesofresourcescan
contributetosoftpower,notthattheterm"softpower"canmeananytypeofbehavior.
Inhisbook,Gelbdefinespowertoonarrowly,as"gettingpeopleorgroupstodosomething
theydon'twanttodo."Heignoresalongliteratureontheotherfacetsofpowerthatareused
topersuadeotherstodowhatisinfactintheirowninterests.AsU.S.PresidentDwight
Eisenhowerputit,leadershipisaboutgettingpeopletodosomething"notonlybecauseyou
tellthemtodosoandenforceyourordersbutbecausetheyinstinctivelywanttodoitfor
you."Sometimesthatispossible,andsometimesnot,butitiscertainlyanimportantaspect
ofpower.Evenifsoftpowerisrarelysufficient,itcanhelpcreateanenablingordisabling
contextforpolicy.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/print/1069689

1/4

30/5/2016

GetSmart

Themajorelementsofacountry'ssoftpowerincludeitsculture(whenitispleasingto
others),itsvalues(whentheyareattractiveandconsistentlypracticed),anditspolicies(when
theyareseenasinclusiveandlegitimate).Overthepastdecade,publicopinionpollshave
shownaseriousdeclineintheUnitedStates'popularityinEurope,LatinAmerica,and,most
dramatically,theMuslimworld.PollrespondentshavegenerallycitedtheUnitedStates'
policies,morethanitscultureorvalues,toexplainthisdecline.Sinceitiseasierforacountry
tochangeitspoliciesthanitsculture,U.S.PresidentBarackObamashouldfocuson
choosingpoliciesthatcanhelprecoversomeoftheUnitedStates'softpower.
Ofcourse,softpowerisnotthesolutiontoallproblems.ThefactthattheNorthKorean
dictatorKimJongIllikestowatchHollywoodmoviesisunlikelytoaffecthiscountry'snuclear
weaponsprogram.AndU.S.softpowergotnowhereindrawingtheTalibangovernment
awayfromalQaedainthe1990sittookhardmilitarypowerin2001toendthatalliance.But
broadergoals,suchaspromotingdemocracy,protectinghumanrights,anddevelopingcivil
society,arenotbesthandledwithguns.
CONTEXTUALINTELLIGENCE
In2007,formerU.S.DeputySecretaryofStateRichardArmitageandIcochaireda
bipartisancommissionattheCenterforStrategicandInternationalStudiesthathelped
popularizetheconceptofsmartpower.ItconcludedthatthePentagonisthebesttrainedand
bestresourcedarmofthegovernmentbutthattherearelimitstowhathardpowercan
achieveonitsownandthatturningtothePentagonbecauseitcangetthingsdonewilllead
toanovermilitarizedforeignpolicy.GelbcriticizesusinPowerRulesfor"amechanical
combiningratherthanagenuineblendingofthetwoideas,"butweneverproposeda
mechanicalformulaforsmartpower.Figuringouthowtocombinetheresourcesofbothhard
andsoftpowerintosmartpowerstrategiesrequireswhatIcall"contextualintelligence"inmy
bookThePowerstoLead.Inforeignpolicy,contextualintelligenceistheintuitivediagnostic
skillthathelpspolicymakersaligntacticswithobjectivestocreatesmartstrategies.Ofrecent
U.S.presidents,RonaldReaganandGeorgeH.W.Bushhadimpressivecontextual
intelligencetheyoungerBushdidnot.
AcademicsandpunditshaveoftenbeenmistakenabouttheUnitedStates'power.Justtwo
decadesago,theconventionalwisdomwasthattheUnitedStateswasindecline,suffering
fromsocalledimperialoverstretch.Internationalrelationstheoryatthetimesufferedfroma
materialistbiasthattruncatedconceptionsofpowerandignoredthefullrangeoffactorsthat
caninfluencebehaviorthroughattraction.ThisiswhatItriedtorecoverin1990withtheidea
ofsoftpower.
Adecadelater,withtheColdWarrivalryover,thenewconventionalwisdomwasthatthe
worldwascharacterizedbyunipolarityandU.S.hegemony.Someneoconservativepundits
drewtheconclusionthattheUnitedStateswassopowerfulthatitcoulddecidewhatwas
rightandotherswouldhavenochoicebuttofollow.Thisnewunilateralismheavilyinfluenced
theGeorgeW.Bushadministrationevenbeforetheshockof9/11producedtheBush
doctrineofpreventivewarandcoercivedemocratization.
Contextualintelligencemuststartwithanunderstandingofnotjustthestrengthsbutalsothe
limitsofU.S.power.TheUnitedStatesistheonlysuperpower,butpreponderancedoesnot
constituteempireorhegemony.TheUnitedStatescaninfluence,butnotcontrol,otherparts
oftheworld.Worldpoliticstodayislikeathreedimensionalchessgame.Atthetoplevel,
militarypoweramongstatesisunipolarbutatthemiddlelevel,ofinterstateeconomic
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/print/1069689

2/4

30/5/2016

GetSmart

relations,theworldismultipolarandhasbeensoformorethanadecade.Atthebottom
level,oftransnationalrelations(involvingsuchissuesasclimatechange,illegaldrugs,
pandemics,andterrorism),powerischaoticallydistributedanddiffusestononstateactors.
Militarypowerisasmallpartofanyresponsetothesenewthreatsthesenecessitate
cooperationamonggovernmentsandinternationalinstitutions.Evenatthetoplevel(where
theUnitedStatesrepresentsnearlyhalftheworld'stotaldefenseexpenditures),theU.S.
militarymaybesupremeintheglobalcommonsofair,sea,andspace,butitismuchless
abletocontrolnationalistpopulationsinoccupiedareas.
Contextualintelligenceisneededtoproduceanintegratedstrategythatcombineshardand
softpower.Manyofficialinstrumentsofsoftpowerpublicdiplomacy,broadcasting,
exchangeprograms,developmentassistance,disasterrelief,militarytomilitarycontacts
arescatteredacrosstheU.S.government.Thereisnooverarchingpolicythateventriesto
integratethemwithhardpowerintoacomprehensivenationalsecuritystrategy.TheUnited
Statesspendsabout500timesasmuchonthemilitaryasitdoesonbroadcastingand
exchangeprograms.Isthistherightproportion?AndhowshouldtheU.S.governmentrelate
tothegeneratorsofsoftpowerincivilsocietyincludingeverythingfromHollywoodtothe
BillandMelindaGatesFoundation?
SUCCESSINTHEINFORMATIONAGE
Despiteitsnumerouserrors,theUnitedStates'ColdWarstrategyinvolvedasmart
combinationofhardandsoftpower.TheU.S.militarydeterredSovietaggression,while
AmericanideasundercutcommunismbehindtheIronCurtain.WhentheBerlinWallfinally
collapsed,itwasdestroyednotbyanartillerybarragebutbyhammersandbulldozers
wieldedbythosewhohadlostfaithincommunism.
Intoday'sinformationage,successistheresultnotmerelyofwhosearmywinsbutalsoof
whosestorywins.ThecurrentstruggleagainstIslamistterrorismismuchlessaclashof
civilizationsthananideologicalstrugglewithinIslam.TheUnitedStatescannotwinunless
theMuslimmainstreamwins.ThereisverylittlelikelihoodthatpeoplelikeOsamabinLaden
caneverbewonoverwithsoftpower:hardpowerisneededtodealwithsuchcases.But
thereisenormousdiversityofopinionintheMuslimworld.ManyMuslimsdisagreewith
AmericanvaluesaswellasAmericanpolicies,butthatdoesnotmeanthattheyagreewith
binLaden.TheUnitedStatesanditsalliescannotdefeatIslamistterrorismifthenumberof
peopletheextremistsarerecruitingislargerthanthenumberofextremistskilledordeterred.
Softpowerisneededtoreducetheextremists'numbersandwintheheartsandmindsofthe
mainstream.
TheUnitedStatescanbecomeasmartpowerbyonceagaininvestinginglobalpublicgoods
providingthingsthatpeopleandgovernmentsinallquartersoftheworldwantbutcannot
attainontheirown.Achievingeconomicdevelopment,securingpublichealth,copingwith
climatechange,andmaintaininganopen,stableinternationaleconomicsystemallrequire
leadershipfromtheUnitedStates.Bycomplementingitsmilitaryandeconomicmightwith
greaterinvestmentsinitssoftpower,theUnitedStatescanrebuildtheframeworkitneedsto
tackletoughglobalchallenges.Thatwouldbetruesmartpower.
Copyright2016bytheCouncilonForeignRelations,Inc.
Allrightsreserved.Torequestpermissiontodistributeorreprintthisarticle,pleasefilloutand
submitaPermissionsRequestForm.Ifyouplantousethisarticleinacoursepackor
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/print/1069689

3/4

30/5/2016

GetSmart

academicwebsite,visitCopyrightClearanceCentertoclearpermission.
SourceURL:https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/20090701/getsmart

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/print/1069689

4/4