The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force

Event Defense
Event Defense

February 15, 2017 The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force

In The Big Stick, Eliot A. Cohen, a scholar and practitioner of international relations, argues that hard power remains essential for American foreign policy. 

Wednesday, Feb 15, 2017

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

The Heritage Foundation

214 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC
20002

Featured Speakers

Eliot Cohen

Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Description

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” Theodore Roosevelt famously said in 1901, when the United States was emerging as a great power. It was the right sentiment, perhaps, in an age of imperial rivalry but today many Americans doubt the utility of their global military presence, thinking it outdated, unnecessary or even dangerous.

In The Big Stick, Eliot A. Cohen, a scholar and practitioner of international relations, disagrees. He argues that hard power remains essential for American foreign policy. While acknowledging that the U.S. must be careful about why, when, and how it uses force, he insists that its international role is as critical as ever, and armed force is vital to that role. 

Cohen explains that American leaders must learn to use hard power in new ways and for new circumstances. The rise of a well-armed China, Russia's conquest of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, and the spread of radical Islamist movements like ISIS are some of the key threats to global peace. If the U.S. relinquishes its position as a strong but prudent military power, and fails to accept its role as the guardian of a stable world order, we risk unleashing disorder, violence and tyranny on a scale not seen since the 1930s. The United States is still, as Madeleine Albright once dubbed it, “the indispensable nation.”

Books will be available for purchase and to be signed by the Author.