Influential American political scientist and author of the term "soft power" Joseph Nye has died at the age of 88. 8 May 2025

Joseph Nye, an influential American political scientist who held many government positions, has died at the age of 88. He became best known for introducing the term "soft power". Since Donald Trump's return to the US presidency, Nye has criticized the American leader for using "hard coercive force". This was reported by UNN with reference to AFP.  

Details

Joseph Nye, a versatile and influential political scientist and American politician who introduced the term "soft power" - a concept that means nations gain dominance through attractiveness, which is now despised by President Donald Trump, died on Wednesday

The political scientist became best known for developing the term "soft power" in the late 1980s.

What is "soft power"

Unlike hard power, such as weapons and economic sanctions, soft power includes values and culture that can persuade others.

Soft power is when others want the results you want - co-opting people rather than forcing them

Among other examples, he pointed to the growth of US influence in Latin America when Franklin Roosevelt introduced the "Good Neighbor Policy" and, conversely, to how the Soviet Union lost Eastern Europe through brutality.

Nye criticized Trump

Since returning to office in January, Trump has sharply cut US soft power, including by ending foreign aid and instead seeking to increase military spending.

In February, Nye, in a comment to Agence France-Presse, said that "Trump doesn't really understand power. He only thinks in terms of coercion and payment."

He mistakenly takes short-term results for long-term consequences. Hard coercive force (such as the threat of tariffs) may work in the short term, while creating incentives for others to reduce their dependence on the United States in the long term.

Nye added that the success of the United States over the past 80 years was based precisely on soft power, which, admittedly, was cyclical, pointing to the "unpopularity" of the United States during the Vietnam War.

We will probably recover somewhat after Trump, but he has undermined confidence in the United States

As the publication notes, Nye was considered as a possible national security advisor if John Kerry had won the White House in 2004. He was also particularly active on Japanese issues, where former President Barack Obama considered appointing him as ambassador.

Add

Nye, who was 88 years old at the time of his death, first joined the faculty of Harvard in 1964.

And in December 1995 - became the dean of the Harvard Institute of Public Administration named after John F. Kennedy.

In addition, he held high government positions. In 1977-1979 he was Assistant Deputy Secretary of State for Security Support, Science and Technology, Chairman of the National Security Council Group on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1993-1994 - Chairman of the National Intelligence Council. In 1994-1995 - Deputy Minister of Defense for International Security.

Nye is the author of 14 books and more than 200 journal articles. The political scientist studied various topics, including arms control and Pan-Africanism.

Nye focused on nuclear policy for much of his government career. He argued that the risk of nuclear weapons could have deterred major powers from entering World War I, but the proliferation of nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War poses new dangers.

Former Formula 1 driver Jochen Mass dies at 7805.05.25, 10:41 • 10594 views