Joseph S. Nye Jr., is an American political scientist  and former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Univesity.He currently holds the position of  University Distinguished Service Professor.

He received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, did postgraduate work at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, and earned a PhD in political science from Harvard.

He has served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and Deputy Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. Besides, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, The British Academy, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

The 2011 TRIP survey of over 1700 international relations scholars ranks Joe Nye as the sixth most influential scholar in the field of international relations in the past twenty years. In 2011, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine to its list of top global thinkers

He pioneered the theory of soft power, which is appeared in his book, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics(2004). He also published other books: Understanding International Conflict (5th edition, 2004); and The Power Game: A Washington Novel (2004), The Powers to Lead (2008) and The Future of Power (2011).