\u201cTraditionally the test of a great power was its strength in war. Today, however, the definition of power is losing its emphasis on military force and conquest that marked earlier eras,\u201d Joseph Nye, the distinguished scholar of international relations, wrote<\/a> in a 1990 Foreign Policy<\/em> essay that introduced the world to the idea of \u201csoft power.\u201d<\/p>\n Nye, who died at 88 last week, championed this form of power\u2014or the ability to change other nations\u2019 behavior through attraction and persuasion\u2014throughout his career. He believed that the United States had unique ideological, cultural, and institutional resources that would allow it to lead a post-Cold War era. As recently as last fall, he wrote<\/a> an article in FP urging the next U.S. president not to neglect this crucial asset.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cTraditionally the test of a great power was its strength in war. Today, however, the definition of power is losing its emphasis on military force and conquest that marked earlier eras,\u201d Joseph Nye, the distinguished scholar of international relations, wrote<\/a> in a 1990 Foreign Policy<\/em> essay that introduced the world to the idea of \u201csoft power.\u201d<\/p>\n Nye, who died at 88 last week, championed this form of power\u2014or the ability to change other nations\u2019 behavior through attraction and persuasion\u2014throughout his career. He believed that the United States had unique ideological, cultural, and institutional resources that would allow it to lead a post-Cold War era. As recently as last fall, he wrote<\/a> an article in FP urging the next U.S. president not to neglect this crucial asset.<\/p>\n Yet, as Suzanne Nossel writes<\/a> in an essay on his life and work, \u201cthe foundations of the belief system that Nye helped construct have corroded beyond repair.\u201d In today\u2019s world, U.S. soft power is no longer a given. This edition of the Reading List considers Nye\u2019s legacy, features some of his work in FP, and explores how U.S. soft power is changing.<\/p>\n Joseph Nye speaks during an interview at Harvard University on Oct. 15, 2018. Alamy<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The distinguished scholar, who coined \u201csoft power,\u201d shaped five decades of U.S. foreign policy, Suzanne Nossel writes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Foreign Policy<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Joseph S. Nye Jr. explains a key power resource in this essay from 1990.<\/p>\n Nye (left) alongside then-Harvard University President Lawrence Summers and former U.S. President Bill Clinton during a speech by Clinton to Harvard students in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Nov. 19, 2001. Darren McCollester\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you are attractive, you can economize on sticks and carrots, Joseph S. Nye Jr. writes.<\/p>\n Examples of soft power around the world, including (clockwise from right) a panda, a dancer from the Bollywood movie \u201cMonsoon Wedding,\u201d a NAFO Shiba Inu avatar, the K-pop group BTS, and Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens.Foreign Policy illustration\/Getty Images, Alamy, and NAFO photos<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Leaders are reaching for fellas and films as much as bullets and blockades, J. Alex Tarquinio writes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An image from the opening scenes of 3 Body Problem<\/em>. Netflix<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n <\/span>Joseph Nye Was the Champion of a World That No Longer Exists<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\n ![\"An](\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Foreign-Policy-archival-stories-colors.png\")
\n <\/span>Soft Power<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n
\n ![\"Clinton](\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2a-joseph-nye-soft-power-GettyImages-672293.jpg\")
\n <\/span>Invest in Soft Power<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n
\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Soft-power-NAFO-panda-kpop-Bollywood-jesse-owens-foreign-policy-illustration-lead.jpg\")
\n <\/span>Soft Power Is Making a Hard Return<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/3-Body-Problem-Netflix.jpg\")
\n <\/span>America\u2019s New Expression of Soft Power<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n