home > by publication type > podcasts > Smart Power in Pakistan
Email
| Interviewees: | Suzanne Nossel, Chief of Operations, Human Rights Watch |
|---|---|
| Jonah Blank, Chief Policy Advisor for South Asia, Central Asia, and Archipelagic Southeast Asia, Majority staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | |
| Interviewer: | Jayshree Bajoria, Staff Writer, CFR.org, Council on Foreign Relations |
February 26, 2009
The Obama administration has pressed for a foreign policy based on smart power -- picking the right combination of diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural tools for a particular situation. The phrase was first coined in 2004 by Suzanne Nossel, now chief operating officer for Human Rights Watch, in a Foreign Affairs article. Nossel says the Bush administration "embodied a very depleting brand of American power" which placed too much emphasis on military power.
One of the most important tests for this approach may be Pakistan, say experts. The nuclear-armed country--riddled with a weak government, a faltering economy, deteriorating relations with India, and terrorist safe havens--is crucial to the United States winning the war in Afghanistan. Jonah Blank, chief policy adviser for South Asia on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says the best example of smart power in Pakistan may be the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act. The bill, if passed, would triple U.S. nonmilitary aid to Pakistan, and grant $7.5 billion over five years in assistance for development projects.
However, Blank admits that balancing soft and hard powers in Pakistan will not be easy, especially when using hard power turns public sentiment against the United States. Reported attacks by U.S. unmanned drone aircraft in Pakistan's tribal region have increased anti-Americanism in Pakistan. According to a December 2008 survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, only 19 percent of Pakistanis had a favorable view of the United States in 2008. Nossel says the current financial crisis will present its own challenges and the United States will have to make "tough trade-offs" as it tries to deploy its resources most effectively in the short term.
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
I understand that I may access this podcast solely for my personal use. Any other use of the file and its content, including display, distribution, reproduction, or alteration in any form for any purpose, whether commercial, noncommercial, educational, or promotional, is expressly prohibited without the written permission of the copyright owner, the Council on Foreign Relations. For more information, write webmaster@cfr.org.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
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.
Complete list of CFR Books
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.