2014 National Convening Skills Presenations National Convening 2014 | Página 3

the Great White Fleet, the new American navy, on a tour around the world,
he wanted both to display the country’s
new military power and to advertise
America as a force for good. In effect, he
used a hard-power tool – the navy – as a
soft-power symbol. This kind of exercise
of smart power is why Teddy Roosevelt
often ends up on lists of the best half
dozen or so presidents in U.S. history.
Do women encounter barriers
when they try to use smart power
in public life?

Definitely. It’s much harder for a woman
to exert smart power than it is for a
man. If you think of classic women leaders – Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi,
and Golda Meir – they all came up fighting the gender stereotype and emphasizing the Iron Lady aspect of their leadership. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former
prime minister of Norway and later the
head of the World Health Organization,
was effective in her use of smart power.
She could be tough in domestic affairs,

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but she used soft power for Norway internationally. Mary Robinson, a former
president of Ireland, and Vaira VikeFreiberga, a former president of Latvia,
also come to mind, but we haven’t seen
a female leader of a major country use
smart power. Germany’s chancellor,
Angela Merkel, is a promising candidate, but she hasn’t been in office long
enough for us to judge.
The United States makes it particularly
difficult for women to use smart power
in public life, in part because of macho
myths that dominate American culture
and in part because of the climate of fear
that followed September 11. Look at this
year’s Democratic presidential primaries.
In terms of political leadership, gender is
still a greater obstacle than race. There
are lots of ways in which the stereotypes
of African-Americans work against them,
but an African-American male doesn’t
have to prove he’s tough. Geraldine
Ferraro said this during the campaign
between Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton and was castigated for it, but

9/26/08 6:34:36 PM