The Hubert H. Humphrey Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor notable public service by a political scientist.
Citation from the Award Committee:
The American Political Science Association 2025 Hubert H. Humphrey Award Committee is pleased to honor Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (1937 – 2025) with its career service award. Nye’s career is distinguished by his stellar government service and academic accomplishments. He was Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus and former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government (1995 to 2004) as well as one of the founders of the school’s Belfer Center. Nye was a Princeton University undergraduate (1958), a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University and earned his PhD in Political Science from Harvard University (1964). That same year, he became a Harvard professor where he remained until his death in May. Nicholas Burns, former ambassador to China, described Nye as a “servant leader” in the many academic and governmental communities he served. “What really stood out for me was Joe’s commitment to be a servant leader in everything he did.” He was a thought leader in both his teaching and his public service.
Over six decades, Nye had a major impact on national and international institutions through his contributions to scholarship on international relations, national security, and to the practice of foreign policy. His concept of “soft power” brings together his important academic and public service work. Domestic and foreign leaders recognized his concept of “soft power” as a key resource in a country’s foreign policy tool chest. “Power,” he explained in a posthumous published article, “ is the ability to get others to do what you want. That can be accomplished by coercion (“sticks”), payment (“carrots”) and attraction (“honey”). The first two methods are forms of hard power; whereas attraction is soft power. Soft power grows out of a country’s culture, its political values, and its foreign policies.” The ultimate strength of soft power can be observed in the fall of the Berlin Wall. “The Berlin Wall did not succumb to an artillery barrage; it was felled by hammers and bulldozers wielded by people who had lost faith in Communism and were drawn to Western Values.” Whether it was in his dealings with foreign leaders or in the classroom, Nye linked the need to promote a country’s values through dialogue with supporting institutions such as the Peace Corps, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Voice of America as well as cultural and student exchange programs. Together, these and similar institutions represent a country’s often unappreciated strengths.
Professor Nye worked in government on a variety of consequential foreign and intelligence policies. Current Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru, pointed to the importance of Nye’s work with foreign leaders. “Professor Nye possessed profound insight into the Japan – U.S Alliance and made significant contributions to its strengthening through his dialogues and policy recommendations.” Nye’s involvement in the development of the Japanese – American alliance ultimately led in 1996 to the U.S. – Japan Joint Declaration of Security. In his work furthering a strong U.S. – Japanese relationship, Nye worked across the aisle. In this case, he worked with former Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage Jr (2001-2005). Additionally, he joined with George H. W. Bush National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and William Perry, Clinton Defense Secretary, to form the nonpartisan Aspen Institute’s Aspen Strategy Group.
He served in national security and foreign policy positions during the Carter and Clinton administrations. In 1977-1979 he served as Deputy to the Undersecretary Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. He also chaired the National Security Council Group on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1993-1994 during the Clinton years, he chaired the National Intelligence Council and served in 1994-1995 as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Among his many public service awards, Nye received the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award (1979) and the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster.
Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State, described Nye’s intellectual impact. “Few contributed as much to our intellectual capital, our understanding of the world and America’s place in it,” he said. His scholarship, including Power and Interdependence (1977, with Robert O. Keohane), Bound to Lead (1990), and Do Morals Matter ? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump (2019) shaped scholars’ and policymakers’ thinking about international relations and how leaders’ foreign policy choices influence the likelihood of conflict and cooperation. His scores of books and hundreds of articles have been cited more than any other international relations scholar. In its appreciation, the Kennedy School notes that a recent survey conducted with international relations scholars found Joe Nye “was ranked as the most influential scholar on American foreign policy.” For his part, Nye was most satisfied with his work deescalating tensions in a nuclear world. Graham Allison, his long-time colleague and friend, commented. “Joe grew up in the nuclear age under the shadow of the threat of nuclear annihilation of us all. Both in the academy and in government, he was proudest of his opportunities to do whatever he could to minimize that risk.”
Joe Nye’s influence came through the way he combined his teaching with public service, and a positive personal approach to considering issues. Roger Porter, IBM Professor of Business and Government at the Kennedy School and who served in senior White House economic and policy positions, knew Nye well though their years at Harvard. He commented “Joe Nye’s influence inspired thousands of his students to follow his example of embracing public service as a part of their career.” He did so, Porter continued, “by using illustrations from his service to teach others that lasting achievements are most frequently accomplished by building bridges, finding common ground, and persuading through ideas rather than through threats or force.” Nye’s style, he observed, was “not to disparage others but to help them see possibilities. His calm and measured demeanor contributed to his reputation in the academy and in governments around the world. He earned the trust that extended his influence and the admiration he enjoyed.” Nye’s notion of soft power, Porter commented, “was a product of his heart as well as his mind.”
Both as a scholar and public servant, Joe Nye made a difference in the functioning of institutions in the many positions he served. He developed intellectually complex and morally sophisticated views of international relations and foreign policy that influenced the policies of American presidents, foreign policy officials and foreign leaders. It is a pleasure to award Joe Nye the 2025 Hubert H. Humphrey career service award, despite the sadness of awarding it posthumously.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Dr. Martha Joynt Kumar (Chair) of The White House Transition Project, Dr. Danny Hayes of George Washington University, Dr. Lauren Young of the University of California, Davis, Dr. Michael Tesler of the University of California, Irvine, and Dr. Ronald Mitchell of the University of Oregon