The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone

New
Paperback
2003
$18.93

Not since the Roman Empire has any nation had as much economic, cultural, and military power as the United States does today. Yet, as has become all too evident through the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the impending threat of the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iraq, that power is not enough to solve global problems-like terrorism, environmental degradation, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction-without involving other nations. Here Joseph S. Nye, Jr. focuses on the rise of these and other new challenges and explains clearly why America must adopt a more cooperative engagement with the rest of the world.

Synopsis

Not since the Roman Empire has any nation had as much economic, cultural, and military power as the United States does today. Yet, as has become all too evident through the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the impending threat of the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iraq, that power is not enough to solve global problems-like terrorism, environmental degradation, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction-without involving other nations. Here Joseph S. Nye, Jr. focuses on the rise of these and other new challenges and explains clearly why America must adopt a more cooperative engagement with the rest of the world.

$18.93

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 246
Edition: New e.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
Published: 27 Mar 2003
ISBN 10: 0195161106
ISBN 13: 9780195161106
Book Overview: Named a Best Book of the Year for 2 002 by ^IThe Economist^R A ^IWashington Post^R Best Book of 2002

Media Reviews

This elegantly constructed essay is about why an unrivalled military and economic power still needs allies or partners, and why, as world leader, America should rely also on the soft, persuasive kind of power: the appeal of its values and culture. -The Economist
This reasoned and timely essay on the uses of power makes a valuable contribution to American public discourse. -Publishers Weekly
Admirably compact...illuminating. -Christian Science Monitor
Joseph Nye-consistently one of the wiser heads around-has produced, yet again, a lucid, forceful critique of American foreign policy and a sensible, far-sighted prescription for making American power more palatable and more effective around the world. In the wake of September 11, The Paradox of American Power could hardly be more timely. It reflects Nye's multiple experiences in government as well as his perspective as a scholar and thinker. -Strobe Talbott, Yale University
Joe Nye is one of the most astute observers of the changing nature of international politics. His new book provides an excellent framework for viewing U.S. role in the 21st century and especially after the events of September 11. -Madeleine Albright
Before the book was finished the events of Sept. 11 came along and underscored his thesis.... If the United States is bound to lead, it is also bound to cooperate.... Nye argues that the interests of the international community are not illusory, that they are part and parcel of our national interests, which cannot be achieved without help from other nations.... There is no going it alone in a globalized world. -H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe
In lucid and concise prose, Joe Nye sums up the ambiguities and complexities of American power. He provides a valuable context for understanding how to maximize our strength and minimize our vulnerabilities in the post-September 11th world. -Richard Holbrooke, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Could not be more timely.... Nye's objection to unilateralism, or realism in the sense used here, is not that they are conceptually insecure; his point is that they just don't work. -New York Review of Books

Author Bio

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, was Chairman of the National Intelligence Council and an Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, he is the author several books, including Governance in a Globalizing World and Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.