Hard power uses material assets to compel and coerce others to bow to your will. War is not necessarily required; threats backed by economic and military assets may suffice to change how others behave. Payment for goods or services rendered can also be hard power.

Soft power, by contrast, is noncoercive. It uses policies, culture and political values to persuade or co-opt others to follow your example or suggestions. It shapes what others do through appeal and attraction. To blend both material and intangible assets with skill and wisdom, we need smart power.

America’s debacles in Vietnam and the Middle East derived from mindless applications of hard power. The greatest U.S. success abroad, the Marshall Plan for Europe’s reconstruction, employed America’s wealth and wisdom for mutual gain — not for one-sided exploitation. In 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall asked........

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