America’s pre-eminent strategist proposes use of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power, says robert fox |
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Iran has to be curbed by a combination of 'hard' and 'soft' power, and sooner rather than later, the leading American guru of strategic thinking, Joseph Nye, told a London audience last night. Professor Nye of Harvard pioneered the concepts of 'hard power', ie military force and economic sanctions, and 'soft power' based on investment, cultural exchange, incentives and diplomacy.
Giving the Liddell Hart Memorial Lecture at King's College, Nye (right) said Iran needed to be handled with 'smart power' - his formula for a combination of hard and soft. He advocated against the use of direct military power against Tehran, prefering 'hard-edged' sanctions and diplomatic engagement.
A member of the Carter and Clinton administrations, Nye criticised Bush's foreign policy post 9/11, particularly in Iraq. He said Bush had ridden on a 'climate of fear' after the al-Qaeda attacks which had led to a |
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| Joseph Nye warns that the world may have to accept a nuclear Iran |
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severe and - at times - unnecessary curtailment of civil liberties. He said the administration should give up its policy of 'enforcing democracy' on the world.
He warned the world might have to accept a nuclear Iran. The greatest threat from this would be the likelihood of nuclear technology being passed to extremist terrorist groups prepared to use 'dirty' bombs. He said that the use of such weaponry in an attack similar to 9/11 was now a distinct possibility.
America would remain the predominant military power for most of this century, he said, but it would be particularly vulnerable psychologically and physically to 'asymmetric' attack. This meant the US had to work closely with trusted allies at all levels, something the Bush team had been cavalier about, he implied. "Rome was defeated by non-state actors," he explained. "The paradox is the greatest military power since Imperial Rome cannot protect its citizens without help." 
Soft Power: the Means to Success in World Politics by Joseph Nye, paperback, PublicAffairs
FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 15, 2007
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