Joseph Samuel Nye, Jr. (born January 19, 1937) is an American
political scientist. He is the co-founder, along with
Robert Keohane, of the
international relations theory of
neoliberalism, developed in their 1977 book
Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and
complex interdependence. They also explored transnational relations and world politics in an edited volume in the 1970s. More recently, he pioneered the theory of
soft power. His notion of "smart power" became popular with the use of this phrase by members of the
Clinton Administration, and more recently the
Obama Administration. He is the former Dean of the
John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University where he currently holds the position of University Distinguished Service Professor. He has been a member of the faculty since 1964. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a foreign fellow of The British Academy. Nye is also a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.