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Soft Power

In: Social Issues

Submitted By luanluan225
Words 2033
Pages 9
Most people already know what the definition of hard power is as such it can be made optional or compulsory. However, in a world dominated by information rather than imitation, there are more ingredients that mark important roles in managing and winning international awareness. The changing nature of power by Joseph S. Nye is an article emphasizing the changing role in the political view and how to take advantage in the new century in which old-fashioned political are not helpful. In the new era, leaders need to have both soft and hard power, including attractiveness, legitimacy and credibility, to be ahead in international affairs.
In this article, the author defines power in international settings. In defining power, one cannot measure without knowing the background of the behavior of others. In the modern era, technology has changed the dimension of international power. The traditional authentic politics of the military and economic power have been converted into cyber-dimension based on technology. It has both positive and negative aspects, but it helps spreading nationalism. This trend marks a changing point of view of the role of traditional power. Internet communication has shaped both political dialogues and civilization conflicts. Therefore, countries have to reconsider the power of technology as the changing shift in the interaction between soft and hard power.
In defining power, I accept humorously that power is just like love: easier to experience than to define or measure. Leaders may fall into the bias towards imaging power as a stable component of one-fit-all settings. Thus, they tend to apply one theory to all situations and that does not work. The case study reveals the differences between the role of America in the Vietnam War and in preventing the September 11 tragedy. The problem is not to redefining the role of power but to analyze the

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