The Concept Of Soft Power By Joseph Nye
the idea of power is developing and evolving. In addition, the concept of "soft power" by Joseph Nye is perceived as a counter-argument to the perspective of "hard power" or realism (Nye, 1990). This thesis further argues that this gives a valuable insight into power literature in IR. In this sense, it also constitutes an argument for not seeing power only from a realist perspective. Despite all the arguments regarding soft power, we have to admit that soft power has a special place in IR after Nye coined the concept in 1990.
In this regard, the discussion of soft power by Nye can be used as a starting point to understand the concept, definition and development of soft power in IR. The following discussion will be more focused on how soft …show more content…
Soft Power
The concept of soft power was first coined by Joseph Nye in his first book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (Nye, 1990), in the end of the Cold War as his response to the decline of US power after it lost the war in Vietnam. In the same year, he also introduced the concept of soft power itself in his article, ‘Soft Power’ (Nye, 1990). His introduction of soft power as a profound conceptual framework was further strengthened in his next book, Soft Power: The means to sucess in world politics (Nye, 2004), showing that the concept had gained popularity in IR.
Before we move on to the next discussion, it is essential to clearly distinguish what Nye means by soft power (Nye,1990 2004, 2011). In Nye's broader definition, soft power is articulated as one of the tools to achieve the objectives or interests of a particular country. In his early definition, Nye (1990, p. 167) considered that soft power had a co-optive dimension which meant " getting others to want what you want" through soft power resources such as "cultural attraction, ideology, and international institutions" (ibid). Further he defined co-optive power as "the ability of a country to structure a situation so that other countries develop preferences or define their interests in ways consistent with its own" (ibid, p. 169). As the literature of power has developed, so has Nye's definition of soft power. In 2004, he developed the concept to be a more profound framework. Soft power is …show more content…
In this regard, Nye clearly divides power into three major classifications such as military, economic and soft power itself. According to Eggereide (2012, p.49), Nye added the classification of types of power as his attempt to explain that soft power is part of a "tripartite power concept" in international politics. What he meant by this classification is that each power resource will be manifested in the power behaviors. For example, military power tends to manifest itself in coercive behaviors with the primary currencies in the form of threats and force. Meanwhile economic power will be manifested in inducement or coercive behaviors with primary currencies of payments and sanctions. Further, soft power is more defined as the power of attraction, with the primary currencies of: values, culture and foreign policies. However, what is important in this thesis is how Nye clearly distinguishes between soft power and economic power, which leads us to see economic and soft power as two different types of power. However, Nye himself in 2006 wrote an article, titled: "Soft Power: Think Again" that actually suggested that economic wealth could be used to woo other states. On the other words, economic wealth can also be used as soft power. This thesis argues that what Nye wrote in 2006 was contrary to what he indicated in 2004. In
In this regard, the discussion of soft power by Nye can be used as a starting point to understand the concept, definition and development of soft power in IR. The following discussion will be more focused on how soft …show more content…
Soft Power
The concept of soft power was first coined by Joseph Nye in his first book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (Nye, 1990), in the end of the Cold War as his response to the decline of US power after it lost the war in Vietnam. In the same year, he also introduced the concept of soft power itself in his article, ‘Soft Power’ (Nye, 1990). His introduction of soft power as a profound conceptual framework was further strengthened in his next book, Soft Power: The means to sucess in world politics (Nye, 2004), showing that the concept had gained popularity in IR.
Before we move on to the next discussion, it is essential to clearly distinguish what Nye means by soft power (Nye,1990 2004, 2011). In Nye's broader definition, soft power is articulated as one of the tools to achieve the objectives or interests of a particular country. In his early definition, Nye (1990, p. 167) considered that soft power had a co-optive dimension which meant " getting others to want what you want" through soft power resources such as "cultural attraction, ideology, and international institutions" (ibid). Further he defined co-optive power as "the ability of a country to structure a situation so that other countries develop preferences or define their interests in ways consistent with its own" (ibid, p. 169). As the literature of power has developed, so has Nye's definition of soft power. In 2004, he developed the concept to be a more profound framework. Soft power is …show more content…
In this regard, Nye clearly divides power into three major classifications such as military, economic and soft power itself. According to Eggereide (2012, p.49), Nye added the classification of types of power as his attempt to explain that soft power is part of a "tripartite power concept" in international politics. What he meant by this classification is that each power resource will be manifested in the power behaviors. For example, military power tends to manifest itself in coercive behaviors with the primary currencies in the form of threats and force. Meanwhile economic power will be manifested in inducement or coercive behaviors with primary currencies of payments and sanctions. Further, soft power is more defined as the power of attraction, with the primary currencies of: values, culture and foreign policies. However, what is important in this thesis is how Nye clearly distinguishes between soft power and economic power, which leads us to see economic and soft power as two different types of power. However, Nye himself in 2006 wrote an article, titled: "Soft Power: Think Again" that actually suggested that economic wealth could be used to woo other states. On the other words, economic wealth can also be used as soft power. This thesis argues that what Nye wrote in 2006 was contrary to what he indicated in 2004. In