The world is a dramatically changing place. Recent events in Egypt and Tunisia show that tweets and can sometimes have the power of tanks. We see that soft power has a much lower barrier to entry, but as in Iran, it can still be overtaken by repression. Non State actors play a larger and larger role in the power dynamic of the world. Some for good and some, for evil. If America is to continue to try and sit astride the world, how do we and our leaders adapt to these changing dynamics as power shifts, becomes more diffuse, and far more complex in its expression.
Joseph Nye, one of our leading foreign policy experts, former dean of the JFK School of Government at Harvard, former State Department and National Security Council official, has been following these changing dynamics for over 30 years. He explains the latest developments in his new book The Future of Power
My conversation with Joseph Nye: