Confronting the Myth of Soft Power in U.S. Foreign Policy

This research examines soft power influence by focusing on the elite discourse and foreign policy decisions of states that are the target of soft power influence. It tests whether U.S. soft power was part of key policymakers' decision calculus and finds that it does not account for their policy decisions to support U.S.-led policy interventions in Kosovo in 1999 or against ISIS in 2014. The results suggest the potential of soft power influence and its implications on scholarship and U.S. foreign policymaking.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

For the past three decades, policymakers, scholars, and political analysts have been captivated by the concept of soft power. Soft power typically concentrates on assessing public opinion towards a power holder and using that opinion to determine a state's level of soft power. This study investigates the influence of soft power by examining the elite discourse and foreign policy choices of states that are subject to soft power influence. This book explores whether U.S. soft power played a role in the decision-making of key policymakers by examining Joseph Nye's notion that soft power is an appealing force that influences state policy decisions and the level of support for another state's policies.

Soft power is put to the test against two plausible alternative explanations: balancing and state identity. Data from the discourse of key foreign policymakers in France and Germany suggest that U.S. soft power did not influence those states' decisions to support U.S.-led policy interventions in Kosovo in 1999 or against ISIS in 2014. The findings of this research offer insightful implications regarding the potential of soft power influence and its ramifications for scholarship and U.S. foreign policymaking.

Weight: 445g
Dimension: 228 x 160 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666909524