Soft Power is the use by a nation of its ideals, culture or values to influence other countries to support its policies. Following decades of cultivation by Washington of soft power to augment the hard power of its military, momentous change is underway by the Trump Administration in foreign policy, such as the effective closure of the US Agency for International Development, the US Institute of Peace, the Voice of America, and other institutions. What has been lost in these changes and what will replace soft power are themes of this presentation.

Thomas E. Garrett is a Lecturer with Cornell University’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the Lund Practitioner-in-Residence for the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. He returned to the United States in Fall 2024 following two, three-year elected terms as the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies (CoD), a global intergovernmental coalition based in Warsaw. The CoD was founded by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and is comprised of Member States coordinating efforts on the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. As Secretary General, Garrett is credited with elevating the CoD’s profile and participation in democratic policy processes and governance standards on the global stage. At the conclusion of his tenure, the Government of Romania in 2024 awarded Garrett the Order of Merit, Grand Officer, for his promotion of human rights.

Previously, Garrett was Vice President of Global Programs at the International Republican Institute (IRI) a prodemocracy, non-partisan NGO under the chairmanship of the late U.S. Senator John McCain, supporting elections, civil society, and democratic governance in 80+ countries. He led the global program portfolio while managing talent strategy for the expatriate and local national staff (200+) in 32 countries. He delivered significant expansion of IRI’s Middle East-North Africa division and served as IRI’s resident advisor to Mongolia’s parliament.

In recognition that work, Garrett received the Medal of Friendship from the Government of Mongolia. His work in democracy assistance in Ukraine began with IRI from 1994 to 2000 and Garrett continues engagement with this frontline-of-democracy country today, visiting the country three times since the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022, most recently in November 2024 to assess Ukraine’s state of democracy in wartime.

Earlier, Garrett was a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska; he began his federal government career at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs as the Director of Congressional & Legislative Affairs and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. He is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, an American Indian tribe. He earned a Master of Arts in Diplomacy-International Relations from Norwich University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Oklahoma. Garrett resides in Washington, D.C.