Module 2 Discussion
1. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on US-China relations offers a mixture of hard and soft power messages as he attempts to force and persuade other countries to join America’s fight against the rise of a threatening China. These days democrats and republicans hardly agree on anything — the one exception being confronting China. So Pompeo’s speech continues to be significant, for it is still shaping the US policy toward China.
Discuss at least ONE reference to hard power, and ONE reference to soft power from his speech (two well-developed paragraphs).
2. Joseph Nye argues that a world led by a dominant power is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, America has been acting as a “benevolent” superpower thanks to its preeminent hard AND soft power. Do you agree with this argument? Why or why not?
3.
Please choose one post from a fellow student and make a reasonably detailed comment (2-3 well developed paragraphs) on whether you agree/disagree with the argument presented by that student.