Soft power: what is it and how does it function?

The idea of ‘soft power’ comes from the distinction between coercive policies and co-operative policies in international relations. Although soft power itself is not new, its increasing significance has only come to be recognised in the last decade. The term was first coined by the American academic and former Assistant Secretary of State for Defence in the Bill Clinton administration, Joseph Nye, in his 1990 Foreign Policy article (Nye 1990a). Since that time he has expanded upon his ideas in further articles and books (Nye 1990b, 1991, 2002, 2004).