Joseph S. Nye Jr has been one of the most brilliant and influential international relations scholars of his generation and one of the few academics to have served at the very highest levels of US government. Power in the Global Information Age collects together many of his key writings for the first time as well as some important new material and an important concluding essay which examines the relevance of international relations in practical policymaking. This book includes: America's post-Cold War role in international affairs hard and soft power; the ethics of foreign policy; interdependence; the information revolution; globalization; governance; terrorism

A concise yet penetrating analysis of how modern American presidents have-and have not-incorporated ethics into their foreign policy. Americans constantly make moral judgments about presidents and foreign policy. Unfortunately, many of these assessments are poorly thought through. In Do Morals Matter?, Joseph S. Nye, Jr. provides a concise yet penetrating analysis of the role of ethics in US foreign policy since Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency onward. Nye works through each presidency from FDR to Trump and scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions: their intentions, the means they used, and the consequences of their decisions. He also evaluates their leadership qualities, elaborating on which approaches work and which ones do not. Regardless of a president's policy preference, Nye shows that each one was not fully constrained by the structure of the system and actually had choices. Since we so often apply moral reasoning to foreign policy, Nye suggests how to do it better. Most importantly, he shows that presidents need to factor in both the political context and the availability of resources when deciding how to implement an ethical policy-especially in a future international system that presents not only great power competition from China and Russia, but a host of additional transnational threats.

This book examines the foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the twentieth century, and assesses the effectiveness and ethics of their choices. Joseph Nye, who was ranked as one of "Foreign Policy" magazine's 100 Top Global Thinkers, reveals how some presidents tried with varying success to forge a new international order while others sought to manage America's existing position. The book shows how transformational presidents like Wilson and Reagan changed how America sees the world, but argues that transactional presidents like Eisenhower and the elder Bush were sometimes more effective and ethical. It also draws important lessons for today's uncertain world, in which presidential decision making is more critical than ever.

Joseph S. Nye Jr has been one of the most brilliant and influential international relations scholars of his generation and one of the few academics to have served at the very highest levels of US government. Power in the Global Information Age collects together many of his key writings for the first time as well as some important new material and an important concluding essay which examines the relevance of international relations in practical policymaking. This book includes: America's post-Cold War role in international affairs hard and soft power; the ethics of foreign policy; interdependence; the information revolution; globalization; governance; terrorism

This open access book consists of essays selected from Joseph S. Nye, Jr.’s last three decades of writing and illustrate a variety of perspectives on the nature of power, the role of the United States in the world and US-China relations. Through this collection, it is hoped that readers will gain a better understanding of today’s global environment and find that while great power competition may be inevitable in a world as centers of power shift, cooperating to address transnational challenges can be a positive sum game. The contents of this book are divided into four main parts. Part One discusses the origins and political progress of the concept of “Soft Power”. Part Two explores soft power in the American experience, its sources and interaction with US foreign policy, as well as its ebb and flow in the age of Obama, Trump and Biden. Part Three examines the rise of and the opportunities and difficulties for Chinese soft power, focusing on China’s investment in soft power and how this demonstrates its commitment to a peaceful rise. However, it also addresses the question of how can China get “smart” on how it uses soft power. Part Four provides a bird’s-eye view of power shifts in the 21st century and the interactions between the US as an established power and China as a rising power, while also reassuring readers that Thucydidean fears are unnecessary and a Cold War is avoidable. Both countries have to realize that some forms of power must be exercised with others, not over others, the development of soft power need not be a zero-sum game. Ultimately, the US-China relationship is a “cooperative rivalry” where a successful strategy of “smart competition” is necessary and cooperation on transnational challenges like climate change, pandemics, cyberterrorism and nuclear proliferation, will serve to benefit not only China and the US, but the world as a whole.

This open access book consists of essays selected from Joseph S. Nye, Jr.’s last three decades of writing and illustrate a variety of perspectives on the nature of power, the role of the United States in the world and US-China relations. Through this collection, it is hoped that readers will gain a better understanding of today’s global environment and find that while great power competition may be inevitable in a world as centers of power shift, cooperating to address transnational challenges can be a positive sum game. The contents of this book are divided into four main parts. Part One discusses the origins and political progress of the concept of “Soft Power”. Part Two explores soft power in the American experience, its sources and interaction with US foreign policy, as well as its ebb and flow in the age of Obama, Trump and Biden. Part Three examines the rise of and the opportunities and difficulties for Chinese soft power, focusing on China’s investment in soft power and how this demonstrates its commitment to a peaceful rise. However, it also addresses the question of how can China get “smart” on how it uses soft power. Part Four provides a bird’s-eye view of power shifts in the 21st century and the interactions between the US as an established power and China as a rising power, while also reassuring readers that Thucydidean fears are unnecessary and a Cold War is avoidable. Both countries have to realize that some forms of power must be exercised with others, not over others, the development of soft power need not be a zero-sum game. Ultimately, the US-China relationship is a “cooperative rivalry” where a successful strategy of “smart competition” is necessary and cooperation on transnational challenges like climate change, pandemics, cyberterrorism and nuclear proliferation, will serve to benefit not only China and the US, but the world as a whole.

This book examines the foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the twentieth century, and assesses the effectiveness and ethics of their choices. Joseph Nye, who was ranked as one of "Foreign Policy" magazine's 100 Top Global Thinkers, reveals how some presidents tried with varying success to forge a new international order while others sought to manage America's existing position. The book shows how transformational presidents like Wilson and Reagan changed how America sees the world, but argues that transactional presidents like Eisenhower and the elder Bush were sometimes more effective and ethical. It also draws important lessons for today's uncertain world, in which presidential decision making is more critical than ever.

Americans constantly make moral judgments about presidents and foreign policy. Unfortunately, many of these assessments are poorly thought through. A president is either praised for the moral clarity of his statements or judged solely on the results of their actions. In Do Morals Matter?, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., one of the world's leading scholars of international relations, provides a concise yet penetrating analysis of the role of ethics in US foreign policy during the American era after 1945. Nye works through each presidency from FDR to Trump and scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions of their intentions, the means they used, and the consequences of their decisions. Alongside this, he also evaluates their leadership qualities, elaborating on which approaches work and which ones do not. Regardless of a president's policy preference, Nye shows that each one was not fully constrained by the structure of the system and actually had choices. He further notes the important ethical consequences of non-actions, such as Truman's willingness to accept stalemate in Korea rather than use nuclear weapons. Since we so often apply moral reasoning to foreign policy, Nye suggests how to do it better. Most importantly, presidents need to factor in both the political context and the availability of resources when deciding how to implement an ethical policyespecially in a future international system that presents not only great power competition from China and Russia, but a host of transnational threats: the illegal drug trade, infectious diseases, terrorism, cybercrime, and climate change.

Far from being another short-lived buzzword, "globalization" refers to real changes. These changes have profound impacts on culture, economics, security, the environment --and hence on the fundamental challenges of governance. This book asks three fundamental questions: How are patterns of globalization currently evolving? How do these patterns affect governance? And how might globalism itself be governed? The first section maps the trajectory of globalization in several dimensions --economic, cultural, environmental, and political. For example, Graham Allison speculates about the impact on national and international security, and William C. Clark develops and evaluates the concepts of "environmental globalization." The second section examines the impact of globalization on governance within individual nations (including China, struggling countries in the developing world, and the industrialized democracies) and includes Elaine Kamarck's assessment of global trends in public-sector reform. The third section discusses efforts to improvise new approaches to governance, including the role of non-governmental institutions, the global dimensions of information policy, and Dani Rodrik's speculation on global economic governance.

Joseph S. Nye presents an analysis of issues of nuclear ethics and a coherent positional between the black and white extremes of nuclear advocacy and nuclear abolition. Nuclear Ethics argues that the strategy of deterrence must remain conditional. Outlining a just-defense doctrine for the nuclear age, Nye provides a sensitive moral compass for policy choices and offers a sense of hope for the future. "Not only an excellent treatise on moral philosophy addressed to the complex issues of nuclear war, but also an important introduction to these very issues." - The New York Times Book Review

In a period of budget austerity, prioritization becomes especially important for defense policymakers. In order to determine such priorities, it is first necessary to consider the nature of conflict and missions the U.S. military may face in the future. By assessing the key components, or drivers, of the future security environment (FSE), an unknowable future becomes a bit clearer. This report provides such an assessment. Drawing on qualitative data such as national security and foreign policy literature, Defense Department strategy and operational documents, and interviews with leading academics and practitioners, this study identifies the drivers of the FSE in order to guide analysis and decision making.

Advances in information technology are transforming democratic governance. Power over information has become decentralized, fostering new types of community and different roles for government. This volume --developed by the Visions of Governance in the 21st Century program at the Kennedy School of Government --explores the ways in which the information revolution is changing our institutions of governance. Contributors examine the impact of technology on our basic institutions and processes of governance, including representation, community, politics, bureaucracy, and sovereignty. Their essays illuminate many of the promises and challenges of twenty-first century government. The contributors (all from Harvard unless otherwise indicated) include Joseph S. Nye Jr., Arthur Isak Applbaum, Dennis Thompson, William A. Galston (University of Maryland), L. Jean Camp, Pippa Norris, Anna Greenberg, Elaine Ciulla Kamarck, David C. King, Jane Fountain, Jerry Mechling, and Robert O. Keohane (Duke University).

"The latest in a series exploring twenty-first-century governance, this new volume examines the use of market means to pursue public goals. ! DegreesMarket-based governance!+/- includes both the delegation of traditionally governmental functions to private players, and the importation into government of market-style management approaches and mechanisms of accountability. The contributors (all from Harvard University) assess market-based governance from four perspectives: The ! Degreesdemand side!+/- deals with new, revised, or newly important forms of interaction between government and the market where the public sector is the ! Degreescustomer.!+/- Chapters in this section include Steve Kelman on federal procurement reform, Karen Eggleston and Richard Zeckhauser on contracting for health care, and Peter Frumkin. The ! Degreessupply side!+/- section deals with unsettled questions about government!-s role as a provider (rather than a purchaser) within the market system. Contributors include Georges de Menil, Frederick Schauer and Virginia Wise. A third section explores experiments with market-based arrangements for orchestrating accountability outside government by altering the incentives that operate inside market institutions. Chapters include Robert Stavins on market-based environmental policy, Archon Fung on ! Degreessocial markets,!+/- and Cary Coglianese and David Lazer. The final section examines both the upside and the downside of the market-based approach to improving governance. Contributors include Elaine Kamarck, John D. Donahue, Mark Moore, and Robert Behn. An introduction by John D. Donahue frames market-based governance as an effort to engineer into public work some of the ! Degreesintensive!+/- accountability that characterizes markets without surrendering the ! Degreesextensive!+/- accountability of conventional government. A preface by Joseph S. Nye Jr. sets the book in the context of a larger inquiry into the future of governance. "

Changing markets are challenging governance. The growing scale, reach, complexity, and popular legitimacy of market institutions and market players are re-opening old questions about the role of the public sector and redefining what it means to govern well. This volume --the latest publication from the Visions of Governance in the 21st Century program at the Kennedy School of Government --explores the way evolving markets alter the pursuit of cherished public goals. John D. Donahue and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. frame the inquiry with an essay on governing well in an age of ascendant markets. Other contributors (all from Harvard's Kennedy School unless otherwise indicated) address specific areas of market governance in individual chapters: Joseph P. Newhouse on the medical marketplace, Jose Gomez-Iba?ez and John R. Meyer on transportation, William Hogan on electric power, Paul E. Peterson on K?12 education, L. Jean Camp on information networks, Akash Deep and Guido Schaefer (Vienna University of Economics & Business Administration) on federal deposit insurance, Frederick Schauer on "the marketplace of ideas," Anna Greenberg on the "marketization" of politics, David M. Hart on the politics of high-tech industry, Viktor Mayer-Sch?nberger on information law, John D. Donahue and Richard J. Zeckhauser on the challenges posed by fast-changing markets, and Mark Moore on the spread of market ideology.

Confidence in American government has been declining for three decades. Three-quarters of Americans said they trusted the Federal government to do the right thing in 1964. Today, only a quarter do. Why the decline? Is this mistrust a healthy reflection of America's long-lasting skepticism of a strong state? Is mistrust a problem for the future of governance?

Bringing together essays by leading Harvard scholars, this book explores the roots of mistrust. It first examines government's current scope, its actual performance, and citizens' perceptions of its performance. It then assesses many possible explanations that have been offered for the decline of trust, including the end of the Cold War, elevated expectations following World War II, a weakened economy, the effects of globalization, resentment over political scandals, and incompetence of bureaucrats. The book clarifies thinking about the sources of public disaffection.

Mistrust, the contributors find, is largely unrelated to national economic conditions, to challenges of a global economy, to the Cold War, or to bumbling bureaucrats and venal politicians. Rather, they show that the most likely culprits are all around us--an interacting blend of cultural and political conflicts stirred by an increasingly corrosive news media.

In the fall of 1989 the world watched as the Berlin Wall came down. More than a dramatic symbol of the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the event marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the arrival of a whole new era in world politics. How the world powers, built upon foundations that were suddenly shifting, adapted to this new reality is the subject of After the Cold War.

Bringing together the work of seasoned experts and younger scholars, this volume offers a wide-ranging analysis of the effects of historical patterns--whether interrupted or intact--on post-Cold War politics. The contributors show how state strategies among the major western powers were guided by existing international rules and expectations as these were institutionalized in organizations such as NATO, the European Community, and the International Monetary Fund. In the east, by contrast, those international institutions that had existed within the Soviet bloc were soon dissolved, so the business of determining state strategies and policies presented a new set of problems and took a very different tack. After the Cold War explores these continuities and discontinuities in five areas: trade, international public finance, foreign direct investment, environmental protection, and military security.

Equally grounded in theory and extensive empirical research, this timely volume offers a remarkably lucid description and interpretation of our changing world order. In both its approach and its conclusions, it will serve as a model for the study and conduct of international relations in a new era.

The debate over national security and arms control has focused primarily on weapons more or fewer weapons, different kinds of weapons. Hawks tend to see the immediate cause of war as one-sided weakness that tempts an aggressive adversary. For Doves, the primary cause of war lies in arms races that become provocative."

At the request of the President of Harvard University, six Harvard scholars have joined forces to write a book that lays out the facts about nuclear weapons for all concerned citizens who want to think through the nuclear dilemma for themselves. "Living with Nuclear Weapons" is written by specialists for the general reader. It conveys crucial information clearly, concisely, and without technical jargon.

"Living with Nuclear Weapons" presents all sides of the nuclear debate while explaining what everyone needs to know to develop informed and reasoned opinions about the issues. Among the specifics are a history of nuclear weaponry; an examination of current nuclear arsenals; scenarios of how a nuclear war might begin; a discussion of what can be done to promote arms control and disarmament; a study of the hazards of nuclear proliferation; an analysis of various nuclear strategies; and an explanation of how public opinion can influence policy on the nuclear arms question.