The Future of Power

From the scholar who coined the term “soft power,” a bracing examination of what it means to lead in the digital age

“Nye is a master of his field at the height of his powers.” —The Washington Post

Power evolves. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, unsurpassed in military strength and ownership of world resources, the United States was indisputably the most powerful nation in the world. But the information age is creating new opportunities for developing countries to improve their standing on the global stage, and security threats such as cyberterrorism are rendering traditional measures of strength obsolete. To remain at the forefront of global leadership, the United States must adopt a strategy that is tailored to the digital age—one that accounts for how the internet is reshaping influence and redistributing advantage around the world. In The Future of Power, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a longtime analyst of power and a hands-on practitioner in government, examines what it means to lead in the twenty-first century and illuminates the road ahead.