Understanding Soft Power in U.S. Foreign Policy

Understanding Soft Power in U.S. Foreign Policy Soft power is a term used to describe a nations use of co-operative programs and monetary aide to persuade other nations to ascribe to its policies. With U.S. State Department budget cuts likely in the wake of the August 2, 2011 debt ceiling deal, many observers expect soft-power programs to suffer. Origin of the Phrase "Soft Power" Dr. Joseph Nye, Jr., a noted foreign policy scholar, and practitioner coined the phrase soft power in 1990. Nye has served as the Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; Chairman of the National Intelligence Council; and Assistant Secretary of Defense in Bill Clintons administration. He has written and lectured extensively on the idea and usage of soft power. Nye describes soft power as the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion. He sees strong relations with allies, economic assistance programs, and vital cultural exchanges as examples of soft power. Obviously, soft power is the opposite of hard power. Hard power includes the more noticeable and predictable power associated with military force, coercion, and intimidation. One of the main objectives of foreign policy is to get other nations to adopt your policy goals as their own. Soft power programs can often influence that without the expense- in people, equipment, and munitions- and animosity that military power can create. Examples of Soft Power The classic example of American soft power is the Marshall Plan. After World War II, the United States pumped billions of dollars into war-ravaged western Europe to prevent it from falling to the influence of the Communist Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan included humanitarian aid, such as food and medical care; expert advice for rebuilding destroyed infrastructures, such as transportation and communication networks and public utilities; and outright monetary grants. Educational exchange programs, such as President Obamas 100,000 Strong initiative with China, are also an element of soft power and so are all varieties of disaster assistance programs, such as flood control in Pakistan; earthquake relief in Japan and Haiti; tsunami relief in Japan and India; and famine relief in the Horn of Africa. Nye also sees American cultural exports, such as movies, soft drinks, and fast-food chains, as an element of soft power. While those also include the decisions of many private American businesses, U.S. international trade and business policies enable those cultural exchanges to occur. Cultural exchanges repeatedly impress foreign nations with the freedom and openness of U.S. business and communication dynamics. The Internet, which reflects American freedom of expression, is also a soft power. President Obamas administration has reacted harshly to attempts of some nations to curb the Internet to eliminate the influence of dissidents, and they readily point to the effectiveness of social media in encouraging the rebellions of Arab Spring. As such, Obama recently introduced his International Strategy for Cyberspace. Budget Problems for Soft Power Programs? Nye has seen a decline in the United States use of soft power since 9/11. The wars of Afghanistan and Iraq and the Bush Doctrines use of preventive warfare and unilateral decision making have all eclipsed the value of soft power in the minds of people at home and abroad. Given that perception, budget woes make it likely that the U.S. State Department- coordinator of most of Americas soft power programs- will take another financial hit. The State Department already suffered $8 billion in cuts to the remainder of its FY 2011 budget in April 2011 when the president and Congress made a deal to avoid a government shutdown. The August 2, 2011, debt ceiling deal which they reached to avoid a debt default calls for $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over by 2021; that amounts to $240 billion in cuts each year. Soft power supporters fear that, because military spending became so predominant in the 2000s, and because the State Department accounts for only 1% of the federal budget, it will likely be an easy target for cuts.

Farmland Conservation essays

Farmland Conservation essays There are many techniques used that are proven to conserve and improve farmland soil. The main reason for Southeast Asia's successful rice paddies is due to the countries strong focus on farmland conservation. If the United States were to follow suit, they too would have the same long-lasting, rich soil that Southeast Asia is still thankful for to this day. The reason for the Southeasts immense success can be explained through many of their ancient techniques but the most productive of which is the long used system of terracing. Which can be dated back to being in use for nearly more then a thousand years. What terracing involves is shaping of the land to create level shelves of earth which is proven to be useful for holding in the water and soil of a region. This method is usually used only in steep areas were no other form of agriculture can be made possible. Also, the perimeter of the terranced land is outlined by special plants set specifically to hold in place the grounds soil. With the roots of these plants set firmly into the earth it can make it much more difficult to find any place for soil to escape. During times of heavy erosion these plants can hold their ground and sustain the valuable nutrients available within the soil. Without this helpful technique the soil could easily be lost through wind or water erosion (The Agriculture With these two methods of soil conservation in place, there is already a strong system for maintaining the necessary materials for crop growth. However even with terracing in use much of the soil would still be lost over time. There must be a way of reconstructing new soil in place of older previously used soil in order to maintain a healthy productive farmland. With careful farming, soil is a renewable resource that can be recycled and reused for ...

Sasha Jensen's Interior Landscape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sasha Jensen's Interior Landscape - Essay Example How she sees the world and life, how individuals should treat them, is expressed in the scene she describes when remembering that job in the dress shop, dealing with the bald, old Englishwoman and her daughter. This is how she would like to be, not how she was, or is. Already, we see the complexity of this character. She has suffered betrayal, dreadful poverty, the death of a child and many hurts and views herself as a victim. Yet she retains a fine sense of irony, the ability to see through others, and a recognition of her own condition and despair. She is contradictory in the extreme, This last comment gives an insight into Sasha's alienation, 'they' always seeing her in ways she does not perceive herself, 'they' always wanting to take from her. On the other hand, in contradiction, she agrees to, then seeks the company of the young Russian, visits the painter and goes to great lengths to improve her appearance, with make up, hair dye and a new hat. That these 'improvements' make Sasha feel good, signifies a universal truth, without offending feminist principles; that most females would relate to these feelings. She becomes empowered, this person who is at times incapable of expressing her intelligent and perceptive thoughts aloud, past or present. Using the strength of that empowerment, she sees Rene, the gigolo, as an opportunity to pay back for the hurts endured throughout her life. In fact, they recognize in each other, two outsiders, wounded in many ways. Sasha's perceptions are so damaged that she is unable to trust that he will cause no further hurt. So ali enated is she from the concept of human kindness, just for its own sake, that she continues to let her experiences prevent her from accepting his offer of just loving kindness for one night. While the prospect of meeting him again excites, Sasha encapsulates her feelings thus: 'I won't do a thing - not a thing. I will not grimace and posture before these