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The rise of China, India, Brazil and other emerging countries has transformed the geopolitical landscape. But Nye argues that the story of American decline is simplistic and inaccurate; he counters that "the problem of American power is what to do in light of the realization that even the largest country cannot achieve the outcomes it wants without the help of others." Rather than a post-American future, the U.S. faces the rise of the rest. Careful, considered use of smart power in foreign policy will keep it central in a world where networks and relationships are central to governance.
Power has also adapted to the digital age and smart power strategies must be developed that include more than a country's military and economic strength. Information once reserved for the government is now available for mass consumption. The Internet has literally put power at the fingertips of individuals and private organizations that gives them a direct role in world politics-WikiLeaks reveals state secrets and terrorists can launch anonymous cyberattacks against governments. It may be that the group with the best story, rather than the most might, now wins.
If the US seems less powerful than it used to be, that may be because all states are less powerful than they were, relative to the power of individuals and non-state groups. China's economy is predicted to eclipse the United States' in 2027, but Nye argues that its wealth will lag behind. China also trails the U.S. in other power resources, military and otherwise, and is especially vulnerable to social challenges as it develops, including the delayed effects of the one-child policy, an uprooted working class, an expanding urban middle class, regional inequality, and rural poverty. In per capita income, China will not surpass the U.S. for decades.
In THE FUTURE OF POWER, Nye offers a rigorous analysis of the international fault lines of the twenty-first century-like nuclear proliferation, radical Islam, the return of Asia-and shows how U.S. power and influence can best be deployed to resolve them. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright praises his contribution: "Joseph Nye is America's foremost expert on the substance, diversity, uses and abuses of power. He writes with insights that a president or secretary of state would find valuable, and makes foreign policy less foreign for every reader. If your goal is to understand world affairs in the twenty-first century, there could be no better guide than The Future of Power."
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., is University Distinguished Service Professor and former dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From 1977 to 1979 he served as deputy undersecretary of state for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology and chaired the National Security Council Group on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1993-1994 he was chairman of the National Intelligence Council, and in 1994 and 1995 he served as assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs. In all three agencies, he received distinguished service awards. He also served as U.S. representative to the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Committee on Disarmament Matters, 1989-1993.
Joe Nye is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the British Academy. He is an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and a Theodor
April 15, 2011