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| Author: | CSIS Commission on Smart Power |
|---|
November 6, 2007
Summary:
This report lays out the commission's findings and a discrete set of recommendations for how the next president of the United States, regardless of political party, can implement a smart power strategy. The United States must become a smarter power by once again investing in the global good -- providing things people and governments in all quarters of the world want but cannot attain in the absence of American leadership. By complementing U.S. military and economic might with greater investments in soft power, America can build the framework it needs to tackle tough global challenges. Specifically, the United States should focus on five critical areas.
Excerpt:
This report is about power and how America wields it in the world. The United States has been at war for six years now. During this time, debates over the best use of American power have tended to focus almost exclusively on fighting in Iraq and on the struggle against terrorists and violent extremism. Do we have the strategy and tools to
succeed? What would constitute victory? What role should our military play? These questions have defied easy answers and divided a weary but determined nation. The war debates will continue into 2008 and beyond. This report, to the extent possible, seeks to replace the narrow lens focused on Iraq and terrorism with a broader one that looks at U.S. goals, strategies, and influence in today's world. What principles should guide U.S. foreign policy in the next administration?
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Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
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