STRATEGIC SPOTLIGHT

Of Might and Right

Joseph S. Nye

Is nuclear proliferation inevitable? Is the war on terror over? Can China’s bid to be a great power be managed? Is culture as powerful a weapon as a fleet of B-1 bombers? Will Europe ever forge a common identity and defense policy? Does American power have a grand strategy to assure its survival? Can the U N be made more relevant?

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When Women Lead

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2012-02-08

Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge? It is an interesting question, but the key choices about war and peace in our future will depend not on gender, but on how leaders – men and women alike – combine hard- and soft-power skills to produce smart strategies.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 8314

Charisma We Can Believe In

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2012-01-09

People sometimes say of charisma that “we know it when we see it,” but we are also looking in a mirror. While charisma tells us something about a candidate, it tells us even more about ourselves, the mood of our country, and the types of change we desire.... read

Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 12094

Obama’s Pacific Pivot

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-12-06

The US has declared that its foreign policy will "pivot" towards the Asia-Pacific region. But, while China is anxious about a supposed US effort to "contain" it strategically, the last thing America wants is a Cold War II in Asia.... read

Comments: 5 Recommended: 0 Read: 18908

Angela Merkel’s Vision Thing

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-11-07

As Europe struggles to save the euro, the chorus of complaints about weak leadership in the world’s major economies grows louder, with many singling out German Chancellor Angela Merkel for failing to promote a vision of Europe similar to that of her predecessor and mentor, Helmut Kohl. Are the critics right?... read

Comments: 6 Recommended: 0 Read: 15949

The Decline and Fall of America’s Decline and Fall

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-10-06

Fears of American decline have occurred in every generations since the US emerged from World War II as a superpower. But, with America’s debt on a path to equaling its national income in a decade, and a fumbling political system that cannot seem to address the country’s fundamental challenges, are the "declinists" finally right?... read

Comments: 10 Recommended: 0 Read: 33016

Ten Years after the Mouse Roared

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-09-01

At least for America, perhaps the most important lesson of 9/11 is that US foreign policy should follow the counsel given by President Dwight Eisenhower a half-century ago: Do not get involved in land wars of occupation, and focus on maintaining the strength of the American economy.... read

Comments: 4 Recommended: 1 Read: 20223

Democracy’s Drama in Terrorism’s Theater

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-08-04

Terrorists hope to create a climate of insecurity that will provoke liberal democracies to undercut themselves in terms of their own values. Preventing new terrorist attacks while understanding and avoiding the mistakes of the past will be essential if we are to preserve and support liberal democracy both at home and abroad.... read

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Should China be “Contained”?

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-07-04

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s secret trip to Beijing, thereby mending the 20-year breach in diplomatic relations between the US and China and enabling them to contain an expansionist Soviet Union. Could the same policy now be turned against a rising China?... read

Comments: 7 Recommended: 0 Read: 30993

Has Economic Power Replaced Military Might?

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-06-06

Military power, which some call the ultimate form of power in world politics, requires a thriving economy. But whether economic or military resources produce more power in today’s world depends on the context.... read

Comments: 5 Recommended: 1 Read: 25514

American Power after Bin Laden	Joseph S. Nye
Today, many pundits argue that other countries’ rising power and the loss of American influence in a revolutionary Middle East point to the decline of “American hegemony.” But the term is confusing, not least because possession of power resources does not always imply that one can get the outcomes one prefers.... read

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Should China be “Contained”?

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-07-04

Comments: 7 Recommended: 0 Read: 30993

Networked Leaders

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2009-03-10

Former President George W. Bush called himself “the decider,” but leadership today - in business no less than in politics - is more collaborative and integrative than that implies. By contrast, Barack Obama understands the networked dimension of leadership and the importance of the soft power of attraction, continuing to use the Internet to reach out to citizens.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 27120

The Wrong Way to Think About Oil

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2006-02-17

In his recent State of the Union address, President George W. Bush declared, “America is addicted to oil.” He announced a program of energy research that would reduce American oil imports from the Middle East by 75% over the next two decades. But even if his program succeeds, it will not do much to increase America’s energy security. The United States gets only a fifth of its oil from the Persian Gulf.... read

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Cold War Lessons for George W. Bush

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2005-10-18

President Bush recently drew an analogy between the current struggle against violent jihadi terrorism and the Cold War. He is right in one respect: waves of terrorism tend to be generational. Unfortunately, like the Cold War, the current “war on terror” is likely to be a matter of decades, not years.... read

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The Allure of Asia

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2005-11-14

President Bush is in Asia to attend the Asian Pacific Economic Council in China, but he should pay attention to another Asian summit to which he was not invited. In December, Malaysia will host an East Asian meeting that deliberately excludes the United States. According to many close observers, America’s attractiveness is declining in the region where the allure, or “soft power,” of others has increased. ... read

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Can Democracy Defeat Terrorism?

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2005-08-25

The Bush administration provided three major rationales for going to war in Iraq. Only one remains at all credible: the need to transform the Middle East through democratization and thereby undercut support for terrorists. But does this argument really have any more basis in reality than the administration’s previous claims of an “imminent” threat from weapons of mass destruction or Saddam Hussein’s alleged support for al‑Qaeda?... read

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Is China Overtaking America?

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2011-04-07

Even if overall Chinese and US GDP reach parity in the 2020’s, as many predict, the two economies might be equal in size but not in composition. And China faces far greater obstacles to sustainable growth and global success than many estimates suggest.... read

Comments: 2 Recommended: 1 Read: 40611

The Chimera of Russia’s Gas Power

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2006-01-20

Russia began 2006 by cutting off natural gas exports to Ukraine after its government refused to pay a fourfold increase in the subsidized price. The crisis in Ukraine, many of whose Soviet-era industries depend on cheap Russian gas, soon spread to Europe, which consumes 80% of Russian gas exports, when Ukraine began to divert gas from the pipeline that crosses its territory.... read

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Countdown to Withdrawal from Iraq

Joseph S. Nye Series: Of Might and Right

2005-12-15

How long will the United States maintain a large deployment of troops in Iraq? That is now the central question of George W. Bush’s second term. Until recently, the Bush administration answered with an evasive cliché: “as long as it takes and not one day longer.” But not anymore.... read

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Quenching America’s Thirst for Oil	Joseph S. Nye
The United States consumes a quarter of the world’s oil, compared to 8% for China. Even with high Chinese growth expected in coming years, the world will not run out of oil anytime soon. Over a trillion barrels of proven reserves exist, and more is likely to be found. But two-thirds of those proven reserves are in the Persian Gulf, and are thus vulnerable to disruption. ... read
Globalization and Anti-Americanism	Joseph S. Nye
Anti-American sentiments are rising around the world. American Democrats say that President Bush's policies have squandered America's attractiveness. Republicans reply that America is bound to be resented because of its size and its association with globalization. Anti-Americanism, they say, will persist because some people see America as a cultural threat. I believe that such views lack historical perspective. ... read

AUTHOR INFO

Joseph S. Nye

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a former US assistant secretary of defense, is a professor at Harvard and the author of The Future of Power.

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