Joseph S. Nye
Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
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
December 16, 2012
"Immigration and American Power"
Op-Ed, The Korea Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"While too rapid a rate of immigration can cause social problems, over the long term, immigration strengthens U.S. power. It is estimated that at least 83 countries and territories currently have fertility rates that are below the level needed to keep their population constant. Whereas most developed countries will experience a shortage of people as the century progresses, America is one of the few that may avoid demographic decline and maintain its share of world population."
December 3, 2012
"Seoul, Tokyo Should Look to the Future"
Op-Ed, The Korea Herald
By Sang-ho Song and Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
In addition to the festering territorial row over Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, historical issues such as Japan's wartime sexual enslavement have overshadowed the prospect of the two countries' cooperation on security and other issues. Diplomatic tension is expected to escalate further as security hawk Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party is likely to return to Japan's premiership following the parliamentary elections slated for Dec. 16.
November 2012
"Declinist Pundits"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Decline is a misleading metaphor that assumes there is an organic life cycle for countries as there is for individuals. We know little about the life cycle of states. It took three centuries for the Western Roman Empire to decline from its apogee to collapse. After Britain lost its American colonies in the 18th century, writer Horace Walpole lamented that Britain was reduced to the insignificance of Sardinia. He missed the fact that the Industrial Revolution was about to produce Britain's greatest century. Put simply, we do not know where the United States is in its supposed life cycle."
October 9, 2012
"The Cuban Missile Crisis at 50"
Op-Ed, Moscow Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"We can conclude that nuclear deterrence mattered in the crisis and that the nuclear dimension certainly figured in Kennedy's thinking. But it was not the ratio of nuclear weapons that mattered so much as the fear that even a few nuclear weapons would wreak intolerable devastation."
October 9, 2012
"Fear Factor: The Illusion of American Decline"
Op-Ed, World Politics Review
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Once the electoral dust settles, and no matter who is president, what will be the status of American power in global politics? Conventional wisdom, reflected in current polls at home and abroad, is that American power is indeed in decline. But such polls tell us more about psychology than about power. After all, in the 1960s, a majority of Americans thought the Soviets were 10 feet tall. Then in the 1980s, it was the Japanese who were going to eat our lunch. Today it is China."
August 2012
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia
Report
By Richard Armitage and Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
The following report presents a consensus view of the members of a bipartisan study group on the U.S.-Japan alliance. The report specifically addresses energy, economics and global trade, relations with neighbors, and security-related issues. Within these areas, the study group offers policy recommendations for Japan and the United States, which span near- and long-term time frames. These recommendations are intended to bolster the alliance as a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
AP Photo
August 9, 2012
"Obama's Foreign Policy Doctrine"
Op-Ed, Gulf News
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"...Obama did not back away from rhetorical expressions of transformational goals regarding such issues as climate change or nuclear weapons, in practice his pragmatism was reminiscent of more incremental presidential leaders like Dwight Eisenhower or George H. W. Bush."
AP Photo
July 15, 2012
"Energy Independence in an Interdependent World"
Op-Ed, Aljazeera
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"...[A] revolution in Saudi Arabia or a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could still inflict damage on the US and its allies. So, even if America had no other interests in the Middle East, such as Israel or nuclear non-proliferation, a balance of energy imports and exports would be unlikely to free the US from military expenditures — which some experts estimate run to $50 billion per year — to protect oil routes in the region."
AP Photo
June 12, 2012
"The Intervention Dilemma"
Op-Ed, Namibian
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Prudence does not mean that nothing can be done in Syria. Other governments can continue to try to convince Russia that its interests are better served by getting rid of the current regime than by permitting the continued radicalisation of his opponents. Tougher sanctions can continue to delegitimise the regime, and Turkey might be persuaded to take stronger steps against its neighbour."
AP Photo
May 15, 2012
"Judge the U.S. Candidates by Their Self-mastery and Openness"
Op-Ed, Daily Star
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"But the most important variable for voters to examine is the candidate's biography. I do not mean the slick books and television advertisements that are produced for their campaigns. While image consultants and acting ability can mask a candidate's character, an integrated life over time is the best basis to judge the authenticity of the next president's temperament and how he will govern."
