Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Decline of
America’s Soft Power
Why Washington Should Worry
Volume 83 • Number 3
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The Decline of
America’s Soft Power
Why Washington Should Worry
Anti-Americanism has increased in and should simply accept that others will
recent years, and the United States’ soft envy and resent it. The world’s only super-
power—its ability to attract others by the power does not need permanent allies;
legitimacy of U.S. policies and the values the issues should determine the coalitions,
that underlie them—is in decline as a not vice-versa, according to Rumsfeld.
result. According to Gallup International But the recent decline in U.S. attractive-
polls, pluralities in 29 countries say that ness should not be so lightly dismissed. It
Washington’s policies have had a negative is true that the United States has recovered
eªect on their view of the United States. from unpopular policies in the past (such
A Eurobarometer poll found that a as those regarding the Vietnam War), but
majority of Europeans believes that that was often during the Cold War, when
Washington has hindered eªorts to fight other countries still feared the Soviet Union
global poverty, protect the environment, as the greater evil. It is also true that the
and maintain peace. Such attitudes United States’ sheer size and association
undercut soft power, reducing the ability with disruptive modernity make some re-
of the United States to achieve its goals sentment unavoidable today. But wise poli-
without resorting to coercion or payment. cies can reduce the antagonisms that these
Skeptics of soft power (Secretary of realities engender. Indeed, that is what
Defense Donald Rumsfeld professes not Washington achieved after World War II:
even to understand the term) claim that it used soft-power resources to draw others
popularity is ephemeral and should not into a system of alliances and institutions
guide foreign policy. The United States, that has lasted for 60 years. The Cold War
they assert, is strong enough to do as it was won with a strategy of containment that
wishes with or without the world’s approval used soft power along with hard power.
[16]
The Decline of America’s Soft Power
The United States cannot confront adopt policies that appeal to those mod-
the new threat of terrorism without the erates and use public diplomacy eªectively
cooperation of other countries. Of course, to communicate that appeal. Yet the
other governments will often cooperate world’s only superpower, and the leader
out of self-interest. But the extent of their in the information revolution, spends as
cooperation often depends on the attrac- little on public diplomacy as does France
tiveness of the United States. or the United Kingdom—and is all too
Soft power, therefore, is not just a mat- often outgunned in the propaganda war
ter of ephemeral popularity; it is a means by fundamentalists hiding in caves.
of obtaining outcomes the United States
wants. When Washington discounts the LOST SAVINGS
importance of its attractiveness abroad, With the end of the Cold War, soft power
it pays a steep price. When the United seemed expendable, and Americans
States becomes so unpopular that being became more interested in saving money
pro-American is a kiss of death in other than in investing in soft power. Between
countries’ domestic politics, foreign polit- 1989 and 1999, the budget of the United
ical leaders are unlikely to make helpful States Information Agency (usia) de-
concessions (witness the defiance of Chile, creased ten percent; resources for its
Mexico, and Turkey in March 2003). And mission in Indonesia, the world’s largest
when U.S. policies lose their legitimacy in Muslim nation, were cut in half. By the
the eyes of others, distrust grows, reduc- time it was taken over by the State De-
ing U.S. leverage in international aªairs. partment at the end of the decade, usia
Some hard-line skeptics might counter had only 6,715 employees (compared to
that, whatever its merits, soft power has 12,000 at its peak in the mid-1960s).
little importance in the current war During the Cold War, radio broadcasts
against terrorism; after all, Osama bin funded by Washington reached half the
Laden and his followers are repelled, not Soviet population and 70 to 80 percent
attracted, by American culture and val- of the population in Eastern Europe
ues. But this claim ignores the real metric every week; on the eve of the September
of success in the current war, articulated 11 attacks, a mere two percent of Arabs
in Rumsfeld’s now-famous memo that listened to the Voice of America (voa).
was leaked in February 2003: “Are we The annual number of academic and
capturing, killing or deterring and dis- cultural exchanges, meanwhile, dropped
suading more terrorists every day than from 45,000 in 1995 to 29,000 in 2001.
the madrassas and the radical clerics are Soft power had become so identified with
recruiting, training and deploying fighting the Cold War that few Americans
against us?” noticed that, with the advent of the in-
The current struggle against Islamist formation revolution, soft power was
terrorism is not a clash of civilizations; it becoming more important, not less.
is a contest closely tied to the civil war It took the September 11 attacks to
raging within Islamic civilization between remind the United States of this fact.
moderates and extremists. The United But although Washington has rediscov-
States and its allies will win only if they ered the need for public diplomacy, it