As noted the text, power is a key concept for IR theorists, particularly realists. it is utilized, for example, in balance-of-power, power-transition, and hegemonic -power theorizing. Using the United States as his principal case, the author the sees power of a state as including both hard and soft components-the former traditional economic and military and the latter composed of cultural dimensions or the values that define the identity and practices of a state. Soft power involves at tracing others to your agenda in world politics and not just relying on carrots and g sticks. Soft power entails getting others to want what you want. Combining hard soft power assets effectively smart power as Nye now calls it-is essential to attaining national objectives and affecting the behavior of others. Soft power becomes manifest in international institutions (listening to others) and in foreign policy promoting peace and human rights. An advocate of multilateralism, the author- a policy-oriented classical realist sees sustaining American power as de- pendent upon "strategic restraint, reassuring partners and facilitating cooperation," not just "because of unmatched American hard power." Consistent with classical realism as well theorists working within the liberal image of international relations, we find in this article an argument that addresses the ideational, not just the material, dimensions of power Nye also addresses the limits of balance of power. and hegemonic-power theories as applied to the United States.