The Future of Power

Joseph S Nye Jr

Feb 2011 · Sold by PublicAffairs

About this ebook

The Future of Power examines what it means to be forceful and effective in a world in which the traditional ideas of state power have been upended by technology, and rogue actors. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a longtime analyst of power and a hands-on practitioner in government, delivers a new power narrative that considers the shifts, innovations, bold technologies, and new relationships that are defining the twenty-first century. He shows how power resources are adapting to the digital age and how smart power strategies must include more than a country's military strength.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, unsurpassed in military strength and ownership of world resources, the United States was indisputably the most powerful nation in the world. Today, China, Russia, India, and others are increasing their share of world power resources. Information once reserved for the government is now available for mass consumption. The Internet has literally put power at the fingertips of nonstate agents, allowing them to launch cyberattacks from their homes. The cyberage has created a new power frontier among states, ripe with opportunity for developing countries. To remain at the pinnacle of world power, the United States must adopt a strategy that designed for a global information age.

Ratings and reviews

I'm a fan of Joseph S. Nye Jr., but I find it difficult to give this book more than two stars. As a fan of the author, I also own his 2002 book The Paradox of American Power. Nye recycles sizable portions of his earlier work for this book -- I'm talking about entire paragraphs. In some cases, there are minor adjustments made and updates to some numbers. In other cases, numbers used in 2002 that certainly had changed over 9 years before this book was published were left the same. I found this highly disappointing. None of the publisher's descriptions I have seen for this book indicate that it is updating the 2002 work. I expected original work or a clear indication that this book would recycle substantial portions from the previous work.

Ok

About the author

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, was Chairman of the National Intelligence Council and Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration. He is the author of several books, including The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone and Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power. PublicAffairs also published his political thriller, The Power Game.