How to view the soft power of the United States

According to Joseph Nye, soft power is a kind of charisma and attraction, which means "conquering others without fighting." Nye served as Assistant Secretary of State under President Carter. This was shortly after the Vietnam War ended. At that time, anti-war public opinion prevailed in the United States, and they felt that the Vietnam War should not be fought, and that if it was fought, the gains would outweigh the losses. Therefore, Nye proposed the concept of "soft power" to find a way out for the United States.

In June of this year, Kissinger, Brzezinski and Scowcroft, three major American experts on international issues, appeared on a popular TV talk show at the same time. They issued advice to Americans: In a rapidly changing world, the United States must be cautious in its use of force and more willing to negotiate with other countries. Kissinger said: "The international system is in a period of change that we have not seen in hundreds of years." These words may sound familiar, a bit like when Li Hongzhang said that China was facing "a major change not seen in three thousand years."

The U.S. government is now adjusting its foreign policy, and it will be clearer after the election next year. When US Secretary of State Rice visited Paris this year, she said: "I use the word 'strength' extensively. More important than military strength or even economic strength is the strength of ideas, the strength of sympathy and the strength of hope."

An American Commenting on the remarks of the above three major international issues experts, political commentators said: "A new global game is underway, the concept of strength is changing, and the future security of the United States depends more on how to adapt to changes rather than putting its own "Impose your will on others."

Using hard power as the backing and soft power as a means to ultimately achieve the strategic goals of the United States is the direction of adjustment. For this reason, Joseph Nye's theory is now quite popular.

However, if you only regard soft power as a means and want to use it to get what you cannot get on the battlefield, you will definitely be asking for trouble.