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Sell It Softly

(Los Angeles Times) Joseph S. Nye Jr. - There are three ways for a nation to achieve power: by using or threatening force; by inducing compliance with rewards; or by using "soft power" - attracting followers through the strength of a country's values and culture. When a country can induce others to follow by employing soft power, it saves a lot of carrots and sticks. The Soviet Union's final dissolution came only after we also began to effectively employ soft power, which attracted people in Eastern Europe and Russia to Western values. To win the war of ideas for the hearts and minds of moderate Arabs, we will have to become more adept at wielding soft power in the region. The greatest challenge to the U.S. today comes from radical Islamist ideology, in particular from the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect. Radical Islamists are expert in the use of soft power, attracting people to their ranks through charities that address basic needs and through religious institutions that form the backbones of communities. The Saudi royal family's support of Wahhabism was also an exercise in soft power. The Saudis spent roughly $70 billion to sponsor 1,500 mosques and 2,000 schools worldwide, often displacing more moderate and less well-funded interpretations of Islam. The writer is dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.
2004-04-28 00:00:00
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