What is "Smart Power"?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

America's new brand of foreign policy: Smart Power

In today's confirmation hearings, future SoS Hilary Clinton (she'll be confirmed easily, her hearing was far from the brawl the press predicted) continuously referred to the concept of Smart Power. ( See: instant media coverage)

I had never heard of it before -- and wasn't even sure it was a phrase to be capitalized as opposed to a less than veiled dig at the Bush Doctrine. Which would, by comparison, be Dumb Power? Heh.

Smart Power "means knowing that the United States’ own hand is not always its best tool: U.S. interests are furthered by enlisting others on behalf of U.S. goals, through alliances, international institutions, careful diplomacy, and the power of ideals" (Nossel, 138).

Smart Power has its roots in liberal internationalism. Liberal internationalism is credited to Woodrow Wilson, who wasn't able to apply the concept nearly as effectively as FDR, Truman, and to a lesser extent, Kennedy. 

The idea behind liberal internationalism is that a world of stable, democratic nations are less likely to progress conflicts into war. Meaning that the US government should use diplomatic, economic, and military methods to advance foreign policy goals including: self-determination, human rights, free trade, the rule of law, economic development, and the quarantine and elimination of dictators and weapons of mass destruction (wmd) (Nossel, 131).


Citation: Nossel, Suzanne, "Smart Power." Foreign Affairs 18.2 (2004): 131-142.

Full article available to buy here.

Also, from About.com:

In foreign policy circles, the term "hard power" refers to guns and bombs, the military force of a country. "Soft power" is used to describe other forms of persuasion a country can employ: trade deals, foreign aid, diplomacy, cultural influence (like movies and music), and more.

America frequently uses both hard and soft power to protect interests and maintain influence around the world. But a new term is catching on. "Smart power" is being used to describe how the nation can wisely use (and preserve) both hard and soft power in the world.