The Navy shouldn't underestimate the strategic benefits of some of its less exciting tools.
As U.S. defense budgets continue to shrink, policymakers must use innovative strategies to project power worldwide. Power projection takes two forms: soft and hard power, the carrot and the stick. American policymakers have tended to neglect the former. Indeed, U.S.soft-power programs have been on thedecline over the past half-century. This is to our detriment, as soft power can potentially pay huge long-term strategic dividends when utilized correctly. But winning the hearts and minds of a population isn’t easy. How can we foment pro-U.S. sentiments abroad?