1. Introduction ◄ The USA, the path to power ►
HISTORY ◄ THE USA AND THE WORLD SINCE 1945 ►
Introduction ◄ The USA, the path to power ►
1. U.S. power
 The nature of power
World War II / the Second World War
1939/
Bipolar world
Unipolar/multipolar world
Cold War
/91
a world power
the USA, a superpower
a hyperpower ?
 The nature of power
Power is one’s ability to affect the behaviour of others to get what one wants. There are three basic ways to do this: coercion, payment and attraction. Hard power is the use of coercion and payment. Soft power is the ability to obtain preferred outcomes through attraction. If a state can set the agenda for others or shape their preferences, it can save a lot of carrots and sticks. But rarely can it totally replace either. Thus the need for smart strategies that combine the tools of both hard and soft power.
Joseph Nye, “Soft Power: The Means to Succeed in World Politics”, 2004.
Notions & Vocabulary
world power, superpower, hyperpower ; unipolar, bipolar, multipolar world
hard power (the stick), soft power (the carrot), smart power

2. Introduction ◄ The USA, the path to power ►
HISTORY ◄ THE USA AND THE WORLD SINCE 1945 ►
Introduction ◄ The USA, the path to power ►
2. US foreign policy
 Isolationism vs interventionism
 Unilateralism vs multilateralism
Published December 2, 1991.
United we stand, US poster 1945
Notions & Vocabulary
Isolationism, foreign vs domestic policy/affairs ; interventionism, to be involved/to intervene, imperialism.
Unilateralism ; multilateralism, cooperation, coalition.

3. Introduction ◄ The USA, a world power ►
HISTORY ◄ THE USA AND THE WORLD SINCE 1945 ►
Introduction ◄ The USA, a world power ►
2. US foreign policy
 Containment vs roll-back
3. Its impact on US domestic policy
 The (Second) Red Scare
 The Witch Hunt
Anticommunist propaganda posters used by senator McCarthy
in the mid-1950s
The Vietnam War
Notions & Vocabulary
Containment, roll-back. Red Scare, Witch Hunt