Hard Power and Soft Power: The Utility of Military Force as an Instrument of Policy in the 21st Century - Softcover

Gray, Colin S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1257627244 ISBN 13: 9781257627240

Publisher: Lulu.com, 2011

Synopsis

Commentators distinguish between two kinds of power, "hard" and "soft." The promise in this logic is obvious. Unfortunately, to date, the idea of soft power has not been subjected to a critical forensic examination. The ill consequences of America's difficulty in thinking and behaving strategically are augmented perilously when unwarranted faith is placed upon soft power that inherently resists to strategic direction. Although it is appropriate to be skeptical of the utility of soft power, this must not be interpreted as advice to threaten or resort to military force with scant reference to moral standards. Not only is it right in an absolute sense, it is also expedient to seek, seize, and hold the moral high ground. The more challenging contexts for national security will still require the mailed fist, even if it is cushioned, but not concealed, by a glove of political and ethical restraint. (Originally published by the Strategic Studies Institute)

About this title

About the Author:

COLIN S. GRAY is Professor of International Politics and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, England. He worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), and at Hudson Institute (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) before founding the National Institute for Public Policy, a defense-oriented think tank in the Washington, DC, area. Dr. Gray served for 5 years in the Reagan administration on the President’s General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament. He has served as an adviser to both the U.S. and British governments (he has dual citizenship). His government work has included studies of nuclear strategy, arms control, maritime strategy, space strategy and the use of special forces. Dr. Gray has written 24 books, including: The Sheriff: America’s Defense of the New World Order (University Press of Kentucky, 2004); Another Bloody Century: Future Warfare (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2005); Strategy and History: Essays on Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2007; Potomac Books, 2009); National Security Dilemmas: Challenges and Opportunities (Potomac Books, 2009); and The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice (Oxford University Press, 2010). His next book will be Airpower for Strategic Effect. Dr. Gray is a graduate of the Universities of Manchester and Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1257627244
• ISBN 13: 9781257627240
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 70