‘Soft power’ way forward after Iraq

Date: 17/04/03

AMERICA and Europe should concentrate on developing their "soft power" after the war, Charles Grant, director of London-based think-tank the Centre for European Reform, has argued. In a new paper, he defines soft power as the "ability to influence events through persuasion, rather than military or financial coercion".

"President Bush could do wonders for America's image by adopting a more diplomatic style and by focusing on the Middle East peace process," Grant explained. "Tony Blair will need to show his European partners that Britain's support for the US is not unconditional and that it has a European destiny. Jacques Chirac should abandon the idea that the rationale of EU foreign policy is to resist the US."

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, argues in a paper published in April 2003, that the EU and the United States should concentrate on developing their 'soft power' after the crisis concerning Iraq.