This link has been bookmarked by 21 people . It was first bookmarked on 26 Oct 2006, by Amanda.
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11 Jun 12
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25 Mar 12
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07 Oct 11
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To lead is to help a group define and achieve a common purpose.
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power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes one wants
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- You can coerce them with threats.
- You can induce them with payments.
- Or you can attract or co-opt them.
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, soft power is attractive power. Soft power resources are the assets that produce such attraction.
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Soft power has always been a key element of leadership. The power to attract—to get others to want what you want, to frame the issues, to set the agenda—has its roots in thousands of years of human experience. Skillful leaders have always understood that attractiveness stems from credibility and legitimacy. Power has never flowed solely from the barrel of a gun; even the most brutal dictators have relied on attraction as well as fear.
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07 Feb 11
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A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries admire its values, emulate its example, aspire to its level of prosperity and openness. This soft power—getting others to want the outcomes that you want—co-opts people rather than coerces them.
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ability to shape the preferences of others.
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more than just persuasion or the ability to move people by argument,
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not merely the same as influence
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It is also the ability to attract, and attraction often leads to acquiescence. Simply put, in behavioral terms, soft power is attractive power. Soft power resources are the assets that produce such attraction.
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10 May 10
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19 Apr 10
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The information revolution
The conditions for projecting soft power have transformed dramatically in recent years. The information revolution and globalization are transforming and shrinking the world. At the beginning of the 21st century, those two forces have enhanced American power. But with time, technology will spread to other countries and peoples, and America's relative preeminence will diminish. -
Transnational corporations and nongovernmental actors will play larger roles. Many of those organizations will have soft power of their own as they attract citizens into coalitions that cut across national boundaries.
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- multiple channels of communication that help to frame issues,
- cultural customs and ideas that are close to prevailing global norms,
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Information is power, and today a much larger part of the world's population has access to that power.
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"paradox of plenty."
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Attention
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Among editors and cue-givers, credibility is an important source of soft power.
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role of credibility
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propaganda
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24 Feb 09
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A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries admire its values, emulate its example, aspire to its level of prosperity and openness. This soft power—getting others to want the outcomes that you want—co-opts people rather than coerces them.
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jihshienlu"Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others... The ability to establish preferences tends to be associated with intangible assets such as an attractive personality, culture, political values and institutions, and policies that are
@Article @Example TheSoftOvercomingTheHard ConflictResolution Relationship Balance Paradox Trustworthiness AttentionManagement Personality MeaningManagement Storytelling Politics Leadership Nondualism Charisma Globalization KnowledgeManagement IntangibleA
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21 Nov 08
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But as America's military superiority has increased, its ability to persuade is at low ebb in many parts of the world, even among its oldest allies.
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To lead is to help a group define and achieve a common purpose.
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leadership means going ahead or showing the way.
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- You can coerce them with threats.
- You can induce them with payments.
- Or you can attract or co-opt them.
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when people define power as synonymous with the resources that produce it, they sometimes encounter the paradox that those most endowed with power do not always get the outcomes they want.
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Converting resources into realized power in the sense of obtaining desired outcomes requires well-designed strategies and skillful leadership.
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military and economic might often get others to change their position
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inducements ("carrots") or threats ("sticks")
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"the second face of power."
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admire its values, emulate its example, aspire to its level of prosperity and openness
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This soft power—getting others to want the outcomes that you want—co-opts people rather than coerces them.
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leadership is not just a matter of issuing commands, but also involves leading by example and attracting others to do what you want
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power that comes from attraction
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Soft power is a staple of daily democratic politics
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If a leader represents values that others want to follow, it will cost less to lead.
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soft power is attractive power
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Soft power resources are the assets that produce such attraction.
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if my behavior is determined by an observable but intangible attraction—soft power is at work.
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attraction to shared values
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Co-optive power—the ability to shape what others want
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politicians speak of storing up political capital to be drawn upon in future circumstances
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Soft power is also likely to be more important when power is dispersed.
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Even more important, the information revolution is creating virtual communities and networks that cut across national borders. Transnational corporations and nongovernmental actors will play larger roles. Many of those organizations will have soft power of their own as they attract citizens into coalitions that cut across national boundaries. Political leadership becomes in part a competition for attractiveness, legitimacy, and credibility. The ability to share information—and to be believed—becomes an important source of attraction and power.
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multiple channels of communication
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sometimes take years to produce the desired outcomes
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the fact that economic sanctions have historically failed to produce their intended outcomes in more than half the cases where they were tried
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soft power resources are slower, more diffuse, and more cumbersome to wield than hard power resources
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Technological advances have led to dramatic reduction in the cost of processing and transmitting information. The result is an explosion of information, and that has produced a "paradox of plenty." When people are overwhelmed with the volume of information confronting them, it is hard to know what to focus on. Attention rather than information becomes the scarce resource, and those who can distinguish valuable information from background clutter gain power.
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Politics in an information age may ultimately be about whose story wins.
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Information that appears to be propaganda may not only be scorned; it may also turn out to be counterproductive if it undermines a reputation for credibility.
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strong sharing
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to frame the issues
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Soft power has always been a key element of leadership.
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Skillful leaders have always understood that attractiveness stems from credibility and legitimacy
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polls showed a dramatic drop in American soft power
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leadership is inextricably intertwined with power
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Woe be to followers of those leaders who ignore or devalue the significance of soft power.
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18 May 08
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08 May 08
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29 Apr 08
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20 Dec 07
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- You can coerce them with threats.
- You can induce them with payments.
- Or you can attract or co-opt them.
What is power?
At the most general level, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes one wants. There are several ways to affect the behavior of others.
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09 May 07
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- You can coerce them with threats.
- You can induce them with payments.
- Or you can attract or co-opt them.
The Benefits of Soft Power
8/2/2004"Leaders have to make crucial choices about the types of power that they use," says Joseph S. Nye Jr., until recently the dean of Harvard's Kennedy School. Here's how to choose.by Joseph S. Nye Jr.It is a central paradox of American power: The sheer might of the United States is unquestioned: U.S. troops are stationed in some 130 countries around the globe, and no opposing army would dare to challenge it on a level playing field. But as America's military superiority has increased, its ability to persuade is at low ebb in many parts of the world, even among its oldest allies. In the following remarks, drawn from an address given on March 11 at the Center for Public Leadership's conference on "Misuses of Power: Causes and Corrections," Joseph S. Nye Jr., Dean [until June 30, 2004] of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, distinguishes between hard power—the power to coerce—and soft—the power to attract.
The dictionary says that leadership means going ahead or showing the way. To lead is to help a group define and achieve a common purpose. There are various types and levels of leadership, but all have in common a relationship with followers. Thus leadership and power are inextricably intertwined. I will argue below that many leadership skills such as creating a vision, communicating it, attracting and choosing able people, delegating, and forming coalitions depend upon what I call soft power. But first we should ask, what is power?
What is power?
At the most general level, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes one wants. There are several ways to affect the behavior of others.Sometimes I can affect your behavior without commanding it. If you believe that my objectives are legitimate, I may be able to persuade you without using threats or inducements. For example, loyal Catholics may follow the Pope's teaching on capital punishment not because of a threat of excommunication, but out of respect for his moral authority. Or some radical Muslims may be attracted to support Osama bin Laden's actions not because of payments or threats, but because they believe in the legitimacy of his objectives.
Practical politicians and ordinary people often simply define power as the possession of capabilities or resources that can influence outcomes. Someone who has authority, wealth, or an attractive personality is called powerful. In international politics, by this second definition, we consider a country powerful if it has a relatively large population, territory, natural resources, economic strength, military force, and social stability.
The virtue of this second definition is that it makes power appear more concrete, measurable, and predictable. Power in this sense is like holding the high cards in a card game. But when people define power as synonymous with the resources that produce it, they sometimes encounter the paradox that those most endowed with power do not always get the outcomes they want. For example, in terms of resources, the United States was the world's only superpower in 2001, but it failed to prevent September 11. Converting resources into realized power in the sense of obtaining desired outcomes requires well-designed strategies and skillful leadership. Yet strategies are often inadequate and leaders frequently misjudge—witness Hitler in 1941 or Saddam Hussein in 1990.
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29 Oct 06
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26 Oct 06
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08 Oct 06
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