Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
Bill,
It took a long time for the UK, or the British Empire after 1945. to learn it was no longer a superpower, but a medium-sized power.

Power we are often told is no longer measured in divisions or warships, but in "softer" terms.

I don't think the world accepted the USA was the global leader; the USA may have thought it was the global leader.
David,

I think only a Brit could make that comment. The U.S. has a been in fact, and has been perceived as a global leader since WWII. I can't think of any major effort by the free world during the Cold War, or any major global effort that was successful since the Cold War that wasn't led by the U.S. Putting patriotic pride aside, I know from experience when the U.S. asks other nations to step up and lead, most refuse to do so, and will only support if the U.S. leads the effort. I think we can dismiss that comment as being inaccurate.

Moving to today, that reality is certainly changing. There are a number of factors that are influencing that, to include the emergence of new financial and military power bases, the impact of increasing globalization in all domains, social media, the leveling impact of new technologies, and so forth. However, there are moral factors also. The Bush/Chenney/Rumfeld team seriously damaged our credibility by invading Iraq in a hubristic manner, based on bad intelligence. When you don't think it can worse, we get the Obama administration, whose preferred way of fixing our misstep is to simply withdraw and pretend it didn't happen. New political leadership could turn the moral factors around, but it won't happen over time. New leadership won't change the other factors.

I have "The Pivot" sitting on my desk, it is number 3 in the cue, but I already anticipate that that Campbell's recommendation's will fall short of changing the current trend. Hard power still matters, soft power accomplishes little without hard power parked in the garage. I think most realize that hard power can force change, to include undoing anything accomplished with soft power. I think we need both soft, medium, and hard power. Russia is accomplishing little with soft power, and soft power is not effectively countering the bear or the dragon. While I like considering my an idealist, I'm also a realist.