When you’re exploring an important and widely held concept or idea in the world of policy and academia, it’s rare that you’re able to go straight to the original source. Joseph Nye is a former dean of the Kennedy School and now a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus. During his storied career in academia and government service, he’s also served as United States deputy secretary of state, as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, and as an assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. But he may be best known for a moment of inspiration at his kitchen table, when he was trying to define what gives governments influence in the world beyond the size of their armies or the wealth in their economies. He called it “soft power,” and the term quickly became an indispensable staple of serious conversations about geopolitics and global diplomacy. Nye says the concept is also rooted in subtlety, meaning it is at serious odds with the smashmouth ethos of the Trump presidency here in the United States. Joe Nye joins PolicyCast host Ralph Ranalli to talk about the history of American soft power, how it is already declining under Trump, and what that could mean for the future. Joseph Nye’s Recommendations for how non-government can contribute to American soft power: * Universities can contribute to long-term resilience by continuing to educate foreign students and fostering better understanding of the United States. * American foundations can exert soft power through global humanitarian efforts (e.g., vaccinations in Africa). * American civil groups can attract people abroad to American values and set an example by robustly pursuing their constitutionally-protected domestic activities, including criticizing the government and supporting a free press.