Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Nye, Joseph S

Titel

THE PARADOX OF AMERICAN POWER: WHY THE WORLD'S ONLY SUPERPOWER CAN'T GO IT ALONE

Erscheinungsjahr

2002

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• What key challenges face the US in the 21st century, & how should its national interests be defined? These questions have been given electrifying new significance in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Not since Rome has any nation had so much economic, cultural, & military power, but that power does not allow us to solve global problems like terrorism, environmental degradation, & the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction without involving other nations. Nye focuses on the rise of these & other new challenges & explains clearly why America must adopt a more cooperative engagement with the rest of the world. The threat of terrorism, Nye argues, is merely the most alarming example of why we must seek constructive relations with nations weak & strong. Now more than ever, as technology spreads & nongovernmental organizations ranging from transnational corporations to terrorists increase their power, American leadership must reorient itself toward the global community. Further, for many key issues -- from international financial stability to drug smuggling & global climate change to terrorism -- military & economic power alone cannot ensure success & at times may undermine rather than enhance our objectives. Nye argues convincingly that in the new century the US will rely less on traditional measures of power & more on the power that derives from the appeal of our culture, values, & institutions -- what he calls the "soft power" of the US. Nye concludes with a bold strategy for redefining the national interest in the changed world we find after September 11th. The Paradox of American Power provides an essential roadmap for maintaining America's standing & reducing its vulnerability in the years to come. Adapted from the source document.