Joseph S. Nye Jr.
Political scientist and former official
Joseph S. Nye Jr. was an American political scientist who coined the term soft power. He taught at Harvard and held senior US government roles.
1 summary 16 min of listening
Born 1937 in South Orange, New Jersey, United States Died 2025
About Joseph S. Nye Jr.
Joseph S. Nye Jr. was born in South Orange, New Jersey, on 19 January 1937 and died on 6 May 2025. He was an American political scientist and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1964. He later served as Dean of the Kennedy School of Government. In government he served as an Assistant Secretary of Defense (international security affairs) and as head of the National Intelligence Council. With Robert Keohane, Nye helped found the neoliberal theory of international relations, set out in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. He is best known for the idea of soft power, which is also the title of his book Soft Power. He also promoted the idea of smart power, which means combining hard and soft power in one strategy.