The Harvard Professor whose name will forever be carved inside the Harvard Kennedy School died on Tuesday, aged 88. Joseph Samuel Nye coined the term “soft power” and was the pioneer of the foundational International Relation Theory, the Soft Power Theory.
He, along with Robert Keohane, coined the Theory of Neoliberalism during his six decades association with the Harvard University. He is one of the most celebrated contemporary Political Scientists and also a text book name popular among students of International Politics.
Nye joined Harvard as a faculty in 1964, and from 1995-2004, he remained the Dean of the Kennedy School, which he also helped establish.
Remembering Nye and his legacy, the current Dean of the Kennedy School wrote in an email to students and faculty, “Joe was a singular scholar, a visionary dean, and a committed mentor. Even in a place as steeped in history as HKS, Joe stands out as a transformational figure. He helped build this institution into what it is today, while transforming the field of international relations. All who have had the privilege of working and learning here are beneficiaries of his visionary leadership.”
Apart from his theoretical contributions to the discipline of International Relations, Joseph Nye was a Japan affairs expert, and a strong advocate of US-Japan relations.
Nuzhat Rana is the Managing Editor (website) at The Diplomatic Insight.
