He coined the term, arguing that a country’s global influence can’t be built on military might alone. Diplomats around the world paid heed.

Joseph Nye who popularized the concept of "soft power" in the late 1980s, dies at the age of 88. The Harvard professor and co-founder Of the Theory Of Neoliberalism, was a significant architect of modern international relations.

Observers say that while Nye’s ideas were widely praised in China, his attitude towards Beijing was not as friendly as believed.