The debate opened with remarks from President Anthony Marx, who introduced the two debaters and outlined the format of the debate. Each participant made a 15-minute opening presentation. The presentations were followed by five-minute rebuttals. The event finished with a period for questions from the audience.
Nye advocated that the U.S. accomplish policy initiatives by the use of soft power, a term which he coined in the 1980s and which his book of the same name describes as the "ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion"-e.g., alliances and treaties, economic assistance programs like the Marshall Plan, intervention to foster democracy and prevent genocide (instead of merely denouncing it), and, more generally, a less "go it alone" attitude.
"Unless you attract the moderate majority [of the country] with soft power, you're not going to win," he said. Nye asserted that the militaristic thinking of foreign policy that dominated the Cold War period should be completely done away with, due to its severe drawbacks. "The Iraq war helped recruitment by Al Qaeda. We became one-dimensional thinkers in a two-dimensional world," he said.
Kristol, in contrast, considers military force to be a valid and effective means to achieve political and diplomatic goals. He asserted that hard power is an essential component of the current international equilibrium.
"Hard power still underlies a lot of the security in this world," said Kristol. "Public opinion polls [in opposition to war used as a diplomatic tool] are misleading. It is more important to really look at what is happening … We know what a real disaster looks like … and this is not what this world is."
The rebuttals focused on the war in Iraq. Nye criticized President George W. Bush for the war, saying Bush took advantage of U.S. military superiority. "[In Iraq], our neglect of soft power hurt our hard power. We're now paying the price for it, in trying to win the peace and in maintaining healthy alliances."
Kristol maintained that the breakout of the war in Iraq was inevitable. "It wouldn't have mattered if we had waited six months or 12 months. ... Bush made the right choice," he said. "The risk is not that we're too quick. ... .I'm still more worried about American reluctance to act."
During the question-and-answer period, the debaters touched upon world public opinion of the use of American force to instill global order. Kristol argued that the U.S. should not be discouraged by public sentiment. "People resent a powerful country, sure … but basically the world is a better place because we're powerful."
Nye argued that U.S. military superiority has never been in question, even though the U.S. sometimes acts as though it is. "We are indeed the strongest power. … How American power is used determines the degree of envy or resentment."
Jason Klinghoffer '06 was impressed with Kristol. "I was impressed with Kristol's robust defense of the need for the United States to use hard power in today's world," he said.
However, Mahesha Subbaraman '06 was surprised that Nye and Kristol did not have a more heated interaction. "The Nye/Kristol lecture was, much to my regret, precisely that: a lecture," he said. "I frankly expected more sparks to fly between the two of them."
Marx spoke at the end of the debate. He was pleased with the level of discussion and the tolerance of both the debaters and the audience. "The power of this society has been ably demonstrated tonight," he said." [It] seems to me the future of the republic [is in good hands]."