Scribd
Upload
67 views1 page

Hard Power's Role in U.S. Diplomacy

Hard military ("hard") power provides legitimacy to back up diplomatic commitments and soft ("soft") power. A decline in US military strength would directly weaken its diplomatic influence, as seen in concerns from key Asian allies about America's ability to counter China's growing ambitions. For the US to advance its diplomatic goals and reassure allies, it needs a powerful military ("big stick") as the foundation for its soft power efforts.

Uploaded by

Ian Mackey-Piccolo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
67 views1 page

Hard Power's Role in U.S. Diplomacy

Hard military ("hard") power provides legitimacy to back up diplomatic commitments and soft ("soft") power. A decline in US military strength would directly weaken its diplomatic influence, as seen in concerns from key Asian allies about America's ability to counter China's growing ambitions. For the US to advance its diplomatic goals and reassure allies, it needs a powerful military ("big stick") as the foundation for its soft power efforts.

Uploaded by

Ian Mackey-Piccolo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Hard power’s key to soft power – provides the legitimacy to back up diplomatic

commitments
Holmes, 09 (Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, assistant secretary of state
under Bush, 6-1-2009, "Sustaining American Leadership with Military Power", Heritage Foundation,
[Link]
DA: 7-9-2015)

The Importance of Sustaining Military Power The consequences of hard-power atrophy will be a direct
deterioration of America's diplomatic clout. This is already on display in the western Pacific Ocean, where
America's ability to hedge against the growing ambitions of a rising China is being called into question by some
of our key Asian allies. Recently, Australia released a defense White Paper that is concerned primarily with the
potential decline of U.S. military primacy and the implications that this decline would have for Australian
security and stability in the Asia-Pacific. These developments are anything but reassuring. The ability of the
United States to reassure friends, deter competitors, coerce belligerent states, and defeat enemies does not
rest on the strength of our political leaders' commitment to diplomacy; it rests on the foundation of a
powerful military. Only by retaining a "big stick" can the United States succeed in advancing its diplomatic
priorities. Only by building a full-spectrum military force can America reassure its many friends and allies and
count on their future support.

You might also like