HON351
Spring Semester 2008
Study Guide
Perceptions of America and Its Role in the World
Edward Luce, In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India, Doubleday, 2007
Readings:
Pew Global Attitudes Project, Global Unease with Major Powers (browse on line)
Joseph S. Nye, "The Decline of America's Soft Power," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 3, May/June 2004, pp. 16-20.
Michael Mandelbaum, "David's Friend Goliath," Foreign Policy, Vol. 152, January/February 2006, pp. 50-56 (electronic reserves).
Other articles (optional)
"If the Shoe Fits," Christian Science Monitor, June 27, 2006
"Britons Tire of Cruel, Vulgar US: Poll," Agence France Presse, July 3, 2006
"The Language Was Universal," Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 11, 2006
Questions to consider while browsing the Pew Global Attitudes Project:
1. How is the US viewed in the court of world opinion?
2. Do foreign publics distinguish between Americans in general and the policies of the United States government?
3. To what extent is there a discrepancy between how Americans and foreigners view the United States and its policies.
Questions to consider while reading the Nye article:
1. What does the author mean by the term "soft power?" What distinguishes "soft power" from "hard power"?
2 . Why does the author believe that maintaining soft power is important for the United States?
3. What types of soft power resources are available to the United States?
4. What is meant by the term "public diplomacy'? What are the primary instruments of American public diplomacy?
5. What roles can the private sector play in enhancing American soft power?
6. What message does Nye have for Americans in general?
Questions to consider while reading the Mandelbaum article:
1. What does the author mean when he suggests that the United States is a "benign hegemon"?
2. What services does the United States provide to other countries and the world as a whole?
3. How does the author explain the criticism and hostility directed at the United States by other governments even while they benefit from the services the US provides?
4. Are there legitimate reasons for other countries to criticize or resist the international role played by the United States?
5. Could the United States conduct its foreign policy in ways that would provoke less criticism and hostility?
6. Should the United States be willing to continue to foot the bill for the services that it provides to the outside world?