Public Diplomacy and Soft Power
Abstract
Soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment. A country's soft power rests on its resources of culture, values, and policies. A smart power strategy combines hard and soft power resources. Public diplomacy has a long history as a means of promoting a country's soft power and was essential in winning the cold war. The current struggle against transnational terrorism is a struggle to win hearts and minds, and the current overreliance on hard power alone is not the path to success. Public diplomacy is an important tool in the arsenal of smart power, but smart public diplomacy requires an understanding of the roles of credibility, self-criticism, and civil society in generating soft power.
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1.
1. I first introduced this concept in Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (Nye 1990). It builds on what Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz (1963) called the “second face of power.” I developed the concept more fully in Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Nye 2004).
2.
2. The term is from Steven Lukes (2005).
3.
3. See Yale Richmond (2003). Also, see Nye (2004, chap. 2).
4.
4. See David McConnell (forthcoming).
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Article first published online: March 1, 2008
Issue published: March 2008
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