海角大神

As tributes pour in for Joseph Nye, a longtime Harvard professor and adviser to U.S. presidents and other global leaders, who died Wednesday, one phrase surfaces repeatedly: 鈥渟oft power.鈥�

Dr. Nye, a towering thinker on international relations and security, coined the term in 1990 in his book 鈥�.鈥� 鈥淎fter looking at American military and economic power resources,鈥� he wrote, 鈥淚 felt that something was still missing 鈥� the ability to affect others by attraction and persuasion rather than just coercion and payment.鈥�

His focus was on deploying an underrecognized tool. 鈥淪oft power was only one component of power, and rarely sufficient by itself,鈥� Dr. Nye . 鈥淭he ability to combine hard and soft power into successful strategies where they reinforce each other could be considered 鈥榮mart power.鈥欌��

Dr. Nye was known for his love of discussing such ideas with others. The Monitor鈥檚 Howard LaFranchi recalls meeting him at a small gathering just after arriving in Washington in 2001. 鈥淚 chatted with him, and he gave me his direct number and told me to contact him at any time. I did on any number of occasions,鈥� Howard recalls. Dr. Nye鈥檚 thinking on American soft power 鈥渓aid the foundation of work I would do in the future, be it the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, or earthquake responses around the world. The bridges and the goodwill and long-term investment it built were major, and enhanced U.S. standing and interests.鈥�

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The Vatican announced a new pope on Thursday, American Cardinal Robert Prevost. You can find the Monitor鈥檚 story here.