Godfather of soft power leaves legacy of diplomacy at time of volatility

International affairs scholar and author Joseph Nye, affectionately known as “the godfather of soft power,” died May 6 at the age of 88 in a hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The political figurehead and education advocate leaves behind a legacy of diplomacy and peacebuilding at a time of geopolitical turmoil. Nye’s enduring concept of “soft power” transformed how the U.S. and other nations approach global development and international aid. By framing development assistance as a strategic tool of influence rather than mere charity, he helped legitimize and sustain support for international development work through changing political climates. His ideas have provided the intellectual foundation for development professionals to articulate the strategic importance of their work, particularly at a time when development budgets face increasing scrutiny. An “incurable optimist,” Nye believed in “America’s better soul and not its dark soul,” and “that the forces of reason would eventually win in the struggle we’re seeing right now internally in the U.S.,” said Fen Osler Hampson, president of the World Refugee & Migration Council and long-time friend of Nye. Nye, originally from New Jersey, began his career as a Harvard professor, having studied history at Princeton University and securing a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford University during the Vietnam War. Focused on political science, international relations, and public policy, he produced 14 books and over 200 journal articles throughout his lifetime. Several U.S. presidents turned to Nye to advance their political agendas. Under President Jimmy Carter, from 1977 to 1979, Nye was deputy undersecretary of the State Department for security assistance, science, and technology, and chaired the National Security Council Group on nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Under President Bill Clinton, he was chair of the National Intelligence Council and then assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 1994 to 1995. In those roles, he wasn’t the “American with swagger but the American with arguments,” Osler Hampson said, describing Nye as an “above board, straight shooter” who was respected for his gracious yet direct approach. Post-politics, other roles of Nye’s included dean at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, director of HKS’ Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and co-chair of bipartisan foreign policy forum, Aspen Strategy Group. These ran alongside numerous board positions Nye had on issues ranging from internet governance to arts and science, to disadvantaged youth, reflecting his broad range of interests. “His ‘soft power’ formulation was more than an academic concept; it created policy awareness and led to new political thinking about the nature and use of power.” --— Ralph Cossa, chairman, president emeritus, and chair, Pacific Forum International The story behind soft power The political scientist, however, is widely known for coining the term “soft power,” defined as “a country's ability to influence others without resorting to coercive pressure.” In an interview with the Harvard Gazette in 2017, Nye explained how, between military might and economic power, he felt the idea of attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment was missing in geopolitics. He first introduced the notion in his 1990 book “Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power,” expanding on it in 2004 with “Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics,” and then highlighting “smart power” in 2007 when he co-authored, “CSIS Commission on Smart Power: A Smarter, More Secure America.” Smart power is the idea that leaders have an arsenal of soft and hard power moves that they can select from when engaging with other nations. “His ‘soft power’ formulation was more than an academic concept; it created policy awareness and led to new political thinking about the nature and use of power,” Ralph Cossa, chairman, president emeritus, and chair of the Pacific Forum International, of which Nye was co-chairman on the board of directors, said in an email. Soft power became critical to the aid and development agendas, reframing international assistance as a strategic investment in U.S. security and global influence rather than acts of charity. Nye’s conceptual framework influenced how development professionals articulated the importance of democratic governance programs, health interventions, and education investments as components of international engagement. His ideas provided a vocabulary that helped the development community explain the strategic value of their work within foreign policy discussions. The soft power concept gained traction within USAID and State Department discussions during the late 1990s and 2000s, coinciding with major U.S. development initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation's emphasis on good governance. “Joe [Nye] was always a voice of reason, respected by both sides.” --— Ralph Cossa It also resonated deeply within the context of human rights law, international humanitarian law, and global governance, Antony Akkus, international law expert, explained in a tribute. “In the current era, as skepticism toward multilateral institutions grows, Nye’s ideas remain a sanctuary of thought. He demonstrated that a world governed by the appeal of justice is far superior to one ruled by brute strength,” Akkus wrote. That Nye should pass at a time when soft power is being diminished by the latest administration is poignant, those Devex spoke to explained. In his final weeks of life, Nye took to the media to discuss what he saw as a “current bad spell” in American politics and weakening of soft power, triggered by President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions. “Nye was pretty despondent about what he saw taking place in terms of the wanton destruction of America's credibility in the world; the destruction as we’re seeing before our eyes of some of America's key soft power assets: its development assistance, its universities, its state department,” Osler Hampson said. Since January, the Trump administration has disintegrated large parts of the USAID and the State Department while attempting to shutter media and universities. “For him, it would be rather silly to give up on something as important as that attractiveness, that ability to get people to do something without making much of a sacrifice,” said Dan Banik, director of The Oslo SDG Initiative, who interviewed Nye on his global development podcast in 2022. Influencing international relations Soft and smart power were concepts Nye tapped into across his work in foreign diplomacy over the years. Most notable were his contributions to building relations in the Indo-Pacific “as the key theater of the post–Cold War era,” Mike Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, told Devex via email. Nye became a CFR life member in 1970, served on CFR’s board of directors from 2004 to 2013, and was the chair or member of several CFR committees, including on development and geoeconomics. He helped to guide U.S.-Asia policy during the 2000s, Cossa said, and was particularly central in a series of U.S.-Japan security seminars between 2001 and 2015, “moving the relationship forward during good and bad years for the alliance.” “Joe was always a voice of reason, respected by both sides,” Cossa explained. Nye also consistently advocated for addressing transnational challenges affecting low- and middle-income nations. In his 2002 book “The Paradox of American Power,” he argued that issues such as climate change, pandemics, and poverty required cooperative approaches beyond traditional power politics. As stated in the Harvard Policy Gazette: “Nye laid out a policy blueprint that means consulting allies, taking advantage of international agreements, and acting through international agents such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization whenever possible.” His later works, including the 2015 book “Is the American Century Over?”, examined how emerging powers and low- and middle-income nations would shape global governance of these transnational issues. This thinking aligned with emerging frameworks for sustainable development that emphasized shared responsibility for global challenges. Osler Hampson recalled once asking Nye how he’d liked to be remembered: Nye hoped it would be for more than soft power, and for his work on other issues like the conditions for regional organizations, such as BRICS, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Gulf Cooperation Council to develop in the global south and address shared challenges, denuclearization efforts in South America, and strengthening of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. From the White House to the classroom Beyond politics, all those Devex spoke to were keen to highlight Nye’s efforts in nurturing tomorrow’s leaders. Calling it the “selfless cultivation of future generations of U.S. foreign policy experts,” Froman shared how Nye had mentored a generation of rising scholars, military officers, and policymakers. Froman considers himself lucky to be among them, while Jeremy Weinstein, current dean of Harvard Kennedy School, also met Nye as a graduate student in 1997. “He was an extremely busy dean, but he took the time to inspire a first year PhD student with his vision of how scholarship and policy can intersect,” he said in a letter to faculty and students. “He was the teacher that you stayed in touch with, that you continued to have an intellectual relationship with, and importantly somebody who treated his students as equals,” said Osler Hampson, who also studied under Nye, recalling that he’d regularly ask his students for feedback on his writing. “You can't have a big, all-consuming ego to do that.” No obituary, said Froman, could fully capture Joe’s contributions to the field of international relations and the American project, “yet I am reminded of them constantly, and now more than ever.”