Mailing address
Taubman 162
Visions of Governance in the 21st Century Project
79 John F. Kennedy St.
Cambridge, MA, 02138
Joseph S. Nye
Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: (617) 495-1123
Fax: (617)-496-3337
Email: Joseph_Nye@harvard.edu
Experience
Joseph S. Nye, Jr. is Dean Emeritus of the Kennedy School, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations, and a member of the Belfer Center Board of Directors. He joined the Harvard Faculty in 1964 and has served as Director of the Center for International Affairs, Dillon Professor of International Affairs, and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. From 1977 to 1979 he served as Deputy to the Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology and chaired the National Security Council Group on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1993 and 1994 he was chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which coordinates intelligence estimates for the President. In 1994 and 1995 he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In all three agencies, he received distinguished service awards.
Dr. Nye is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Diplomacy and a member of the Executive Committee on the Trilateral Commission. He has served as Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, Director of the Institute for East-West Security Studies, Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the American representative on the United Nations Advisory Committee on Disarmament Affairs, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute of International Economics. Dr. Nye received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1958. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. In addition to teaching at Harvard, Dr. Nye has also taught for brief periods in Geneva, Ottawa, and London. He has lived for extended periods in Europe, East Africa, and Central America.
May 12, 2008
"Future of Japan-US Alliance"
Op-Ed, The Korea Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"The U.S. regards a triangular Japan-China-U.S. relationship as the basis of stability in East Asia, and wants good relations between all three of its legs. But the triangle is not equilateral, because the U.S. is allied with Japan, and China need not become a threat to either country if they maintain that alliance....a wise policy combines realism with liberalism. By reinforcing their alliance, the U.S. and Japan can hedge against uncertainty while at the same time offering China integration into global institutions as a "responsible stakeholder."
May 6, 2008
"The Mystery of Political Charisma"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"Followers are more likely to attribute charisma to leaders when they feel a strong need for change, often in the context of a personal, organizational or social crisis. For example, the British public did not see Winston Churchill as a charismatic leader in 1939, but a year later, his vision, confidence and communications skills made him charismatic in the eyes of the British people, given the anxieties they felt after the fall of France to the Nazis and the Dunkirk evacuation. Yet by 1945, when the public turned from winning the war to building the welfare state, Churchill was voted out of office. His charisma did not predict his defeat. The change in voters' needs was a better predictor....Barack Obama's charisma is in the eyes of his followers. Voters should be aware that charisma tells them something about a candidate, but even more about themselves, the mood of the country, and their desire for change."
AP Photo
April 15, 2008
"Good Leaders Must Avoid 'Emperor's Trap'"
Op-Ed, New Straits Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"Good leaders must manage their inner circle of advisers to ensure an accurate flow of information and influence. They must avoid the "emperor's trap" of hearing only about the beauty of their new clothes. Ironically, George W. Bush, the first president with an MBA, was weaker on this dimension than his father, who knew how to manage an able group of advisers."
April 1, 2008
"Good Leadership is Deciding How to Decide"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"The US president described his leadership style as having three core components: outline a vision, build a strong team and delegate much of the process to them. His decision-making on Iraq, however, has been criticised for the grandiosity of his vision, failure to manage the divisions in his team and failure to monitor the delegation of decisions. Without contextual intelligence, being a "decider" is not enough."
AP Photo
March 30, 2008
"Is Bush Our Woodrow Wilson?"
Op-Ed, The Los Angeles Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"Bush and Wilson have many similarities. Both were highly religious men who came to office without any foreign policy experience and who responded to a crisis — Wilson to World War I, Bush to 9/11 — with a bold, moralistic vision. Wilson vowed to make the world safe for democracy, and Bush tried to transform the Middle East by imposing democratic government on Iraq. Many of Bush's speeches about promoting democracy abroad could have been given by Wilson. The expressed ideals in both men's proposed visions of changing other countries were unachievable given our nation's capacities."
March 28, 2008
"Transformational Leaders Are Not Always Better"
Op-Ed, The Christian Science Monitor
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"More than two centuries ago, the newly independent American colonists had a transformational leader in George Washington. Nonetheless, they invented a very different type of institutional leadership when James Madison and other transactional leaders negotiated the Constitution and later explained it in the Federalist Papers."
March 18, 2008
"America Must Learn the Hard Facts of Soft Power"
Op-Ed, The South China Morning Post
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"Soft power is not good per se, and it is not always better than hard power. Nobody likes to feel manipulated, even by soft power. But soft power allows followers more choice and leeway.
Hard power has not become irrelevant, but leaders must develop the contextual intelligence to combine hard and soft power resources into a "smart power" strategy. The next US president will need to learn that lesson."
AP Photos
March 14, 2008
"Judging the Capacity to Govern"
Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"...The rigors of our prolonged election campaign in a variety of state caucuses and primaries provide some clues about stamina and self discipline. Tears have destroyed some candidates in the snows of New Hampshire while helping others. How a candidate relates to his or her political party platform, while often derided, tells us something about independence and future appointments. But most important is biography.
While latter day conversions and acting can disguise character, an integrated life over time is the best source of clues about the authenticity of the next president's temperament and how he or she will govern."
March 14–March 20, 2008
"Hard vs Soft Power: Contenders in the US Presidential Race Must Respond to a Changed World"
Op-Ed, Nepali Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"The fact that the final three contenders in the US election race are a woman, an African-American, and an older man who often challenged his own party suggests that the United States, after a decline in popularity during the Bush years, retains some capacity to reinvent itself. But the next president will need to recognise that the nature of leadership also is changing."
March-April 2008
"Toward a Liberal Realist Foreign Policy: A Memo for the Next President"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Harvard Magazine, issue 4, volume 110
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"On January 20, you will inherit a legacy of trouble: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, North Korea for starters. Failure to manage any one of them could mire your presidency and sap your political support—and threaten the country’s future. At the same time, you must not let these inherited problems define your foreign policy. You need to put them in a larger context and create your own vision of how Americans should deal with the world."
