So should the world read your comment as a ditching of soft power to use hard power? Is america going to war?

Is that why you made that statement in the context of everything that was built on that hard power being demolished?

I'm not sure what you're asking. I think you're trying to make a point, but it is going over my head.

The world should read "less carrot, more stick" from the Trump admin.

But what stick? The stick doesn't work when they know you aren't going to use it

Reminds me of that scene in The Irishman: "Just show it to him, don't use it."

I think Trump will use the stick.

He caved on tariffs to both Mexico and Canada now, so I guess we'll move on to the next concept of a stick.

Soft power seems like mostly wishful thinking at best and a fraud on the taxpayer at worst. I don't think the noble savages feel forever indebted to their kind and wise master for throwing them a few scraps. Countries align with what interests them. Look how quickly countries all over Africa, South America, Middle East, the subcontinent turn to China and Russia. All the vaccines and condoms in the world aren't going to stop people and countries wanting to get the best price for the things they buy and sell.

USAID also has a fairly sketchy record in funding regime change efforts, so countries cooperate with it on a purely transactional basis, "trust" is zero.

if you are talking about the formation of germany, That was also a lot of soft power and politics to keep socialists from gaining any real political power and a lot of soft power to get all other german states to form into germany.

there where two major wars during that time which mattered for the formation of germany, (the franco prussian war and the austro-prussian war, which was an extent of the politicals about who should form the german state).