Calculating the Impact of Professor Joseph Nye, by Dr. Sherry Mueller
On May 7, PDCA member Aaron Franke and I were having a catch-up dinner. Aaron had taken my graduate practicum on Cultural Diplomacy and International Exchange in 2017 and later joined the focus group that helped design the Rising Professionals membership category in 2019. Thanks to PDCA Executive Director Bob Heath’s suggestion, Aaron Franke was elected as the first Rising Professional member of the PDCA board. Now a Foreign Service Officer, Aaron had concluded his posting in China where he had served as a Peace Corps volunteer several years earlier. Before beginning his next assignment in Belize, Aaron was taking some courses at FSI.
Knowing how much I admired Professor Joseph Nye, Aaron gently asked if I had heard the news of his passing earlier that day. That query sparked a wide-ranging discussion of Professor Nye’s contributions to the field of public diplomacy and the ways the impact of his impressive work and example might be measured.
I recalled the phone conversations I had with Professor Nye prior to the PDCA First Monday Forum featuring my interview with him on January 6. During our conversation I asked him how his views of soft power had evolved since he first introduced the concept in 1990. To hear Professor Nye’s views click on this link.
What a privilege it was to plan and then moderate this program with one of my heroes.
Professor Nye’s memoir published in 2024 A Life in the American Century recalls a life lived fully on both personal and professional levels. Many beautiful and heartfelt tributes have been written about Jospeh Nye. My conversation with Aaron prompted me to ask three questions that demonstrate the practically incalculable measure of his global impact.
1. How many times have professors (like me) assigned articles and books by Joseph Nye and how many students (like Aaron) have read them and discussed their significance in class?
Literally millions world-wide, I suspect.
2. How many IR concepts have inspired a play shown in NYC, LA, and the DC area?
I enjoyed the musical Soft Power, written by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori, at Signature Theatre last August. When I asked Professor Nye if he had seen it. He replied that the producers had invited him to attend the show in New York and that he found it delightfully entertaining.
3. How many times a day is the term soft power referenced in presentations around the world?
To illustrate, on May 8 at a special Stand for Fulbright event hosted by the Fulbright Association, Dan Szetela described lessons learned as a Fulbrighter in Russia. He said that the experience enabled him to hone his ability to connect with people from different backgrounds and appreciate “the strength of soft power.”
The term is part of our lexicon and used by many -- some perhaps blithely unaware of its origin. Whether a particular country is strengthening or squandering its soft power, the concept endures.
Dr. Mueller is the founding co-president of PDCA and previously served as President of the Public Diplomacy Council. She serves on the Global Ties Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.