Roundtable Wrap-Up: RT 11-Tuesday

Exciting day for RT11. We started off the conversation with commentary on Mr. Ethan Zuckerman’s speech. This led into a discussion on how the Internet has changed the way people protest and communicate. We talked about the old ways--TV, news media, radio-- and how hard it was to mobilize a large group of people. This line of thinking led us into how the budget crisis was viewed by the rest of the world. Basically we decided that America was almost hypocritical in that we can’t manage our own budget but expect others to do so. Politicians were childish and dramatic but a positive note is that it shows America can resolve differences without resorting to violence.

The conversation really got lively when we moved into the definition of Soft Power. Multiple definitions were brought; the most popular ones being, “cultural, political values and foreign policy,” and “influencing others by attraction rather than by coercion.” But what happens when Soft Power isn’t enough? The US should use a policy of “Smart Power”-- a combination of Hard Power and Soft Power into a national strategy. 3/C Klimchuk brought up an excellent example citing the Cold War as a prime example of Smart Power in action. The outward appearance of US policy towards the Soviet Union was one of Hard power-- the arms race, nuclear calculus and Containment policy being specific cases. But on the inside, we applied Soft Power, in the form of cultural dissemination, to allow the Soviet people to see a world outside the Soviet Union. 

Naturally, culture is a significant part of any Smart Power policy and the question was brought up on how exactly culture plays a part in foreign policy. While American culture can attract others to our cause or way of life, countries around the world are trying to block the push of Westernization, mainly China. China is very sensitive to cultural change and fears what freedom of Internet could do. They fear, not democracy per se, but pornography, gambling, and potential cyberspace attack and hacking. This is a very real fear and one the United States can not necessary stop. We should find the balance between spreading our values and respecting national identity.