In Memoriam: Joseph S. Nye
Joseph S. Nye, distinguished political scientist, public servant, and former Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, passed away on May 6, 2024 at the age of 88. His passing was unexpected despite his age—he remained intellectually and institutionally engaged until the very end, often seen walking to campus and attending faculty meetings at HKS.
Nye’s contributions to political thought, public policy, and international relations were profound. He is best known for coining the term “soft power”—a concept that transformed how global influence is understood. In Nye’s words, soft power is “the ability to affect others without coercion or payment, by means of attraction.” This idea not only became central to academic discourse but shaped U.S. foreign policy debates for decades.
Yet Nye's legacy extends beyond the vocabulary of power. He was also a builder of institutions that gave human rights a formal place in policy discourse. In 1999, during Harvard Kennedy School’s commencement, Dean Nye announced the establishment of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, founded in collaboration with HKS alumnus Greg Carr and under the early leadership of Samantha Power and Michael Ignatieff. Just one month before Nye’s passing, the center was renamed the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, reflecting its continued growth and impact.
Nye believed deeply in the centrality of human rights to American soft power. He often argued that the moral dimensions of U.S. foreign policy—when sincere—enhanced national credibility and global influence. “America’s reputation for protecting human rights, for standing up for individual liberties and freedoms is a great source of soft power and attraction in the rest of the world,” he once wrote. He viewed values not as counter to national interest but as part of it, arguing that moral leadership and enlightened self-interest must co-exist in foreign policy.
His academic career was equally distinguished. Alongside Robert Keohane, he co-authored Power and Interdependence, a foundational text in international relations theory. His later work, including Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump (2020), applied a three-dimensional ethical lens—intentions, means, and consequences—to evaluating presidential leadership in foreign affairs.
Nye also served in public office, notably as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs under President Bill Clinton. His time in government reinforced his conviction that foreign policy must balance hard and soft power—a philosophy he termed “smart power.”
His impact on generations of scholars, policymakers, and human rights advocates was deeply personal. As one HKS faculty member recalled: “When I received tenure, Joe emailed to say it was one of the best things he’d ever done—hiring me. That moment made me feel I belonged at Harvard. Joe embodied the virtues of this institution.”
Joseph Nye’s work and example continue to shape how we think about leadership, morality, and America’s place in the world. His passing is a profound loss to the global community, but his vision endures—in the institutions he built, the students he mentored, and the ideas that continue to guide our search for a more just and interdependent world.
Wonderful mentor and advisor.
He and Robert Keohane wrote unsolicited letters in support of me in 1985 after students whom I taught as their professor for their PS mandatory capstone senior seminar on Theory and Practice in IR petitioned to have me fired because the curriculum I created was ‘too hard.’
The department made a precedent-setting decision that the requirements were worth more than the regular amount of credit, and we moved forward :)