Soft Power

In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defining feature of soft power is that it is non-coercive; the currency of soft power includes culture, political values, and foreign policies. In 2012, Joseph Nye of Harvard University explained that with soft power, "the best propaganda is not propaganda", further explaining that during the Information Age, "credibility is the scarcest resource".

Nye popularised the term in his 1990 book, ''Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power''.

In this book he wrote: "when one country gets other countries to want what it wants might be called co-optive or soft power in contrast with the hard or command power of ordering others to do what it wants". He further developed the concept in his 2004 book, ''Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics''.

Description

Joseph Nye introduced the concept of "soft power" in the late 1980s. For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want. There are several ways one can achieve this: you can coerce them with threats; you can induce them with payments; or you can attract and co-opt them to want what you want. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them.

It can be contrasted with ' hard power', which is the use of coercion and payment. Soft power can be wielded not just by states but also by all actors in international politics, such as NGOs or international institutions. It is also considered the "second face of power" that indirectly allows you to obtain the outcomes you want. A country's soft power, according to Nye, rests on three resources: "its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when others see them as legitimate and having moral authority)."

Soft power resources are the assets that produce attraction, which often leads to acquiescence. Nye asserts that, "Seduction is always more effective than coercion, and many values like democracy, human rights, and individual opportunities are deeply seductive." Angelo Codevilla observed that an often overlooked essential aspect of soft power is that different parts of populations are attracted or repelled by different things, ideas, images, or prospects.Angelo M. Codevilla, "Political Warfare: A Set of Means for Achieving Political Ends," in Waller, ed., ''Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare'' (IWP Press, 2008). Soft power is hampered when policies, culture, or values repel others instead of attracting them.

In his book, Nye argues that soft power is a more difficult instrument for governments to wield than hard power for two reasons: many of its critical resources are outside the control of governments, and soft power tends to "work indirectly by shaping the environment for policy, and sometimes takes years to produce the desired outcomes."Lord, Carnes, "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power,"in Waller, ed., ''Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare'' (IWP Press, 2008.) pp. 59–71. The book identifies three broad categories of soft power: "culture", "political values", and "policies."

In ''The Future of Power'' (2011), Nye reiterates that soft power is a descriptive, rather than a normative, concept. Therefore, soft power can be wielded for nefarious purposes. "Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all possessed a great deal of soft power in the eyes of their acolytes, but that did not make it good. It is not necessarily better to twist minds than to twist arms." Nye also claims that soft power does not contradict the international relations theory of realism. "Soft power is not a form of idealism or liberalism. It is simply a form of power, one way of getting desired outcomes."

Limitations of the concept

Soft power has been criticized as being ineffective by authors such as Niall Ferguson in the preface to ''Colossus''. Neorealist and other rationalist and neorationalist authors (with the exception of Stephen Walt) dismiss soft power out of hand as they assert that actors in international relations respond to only two types of incentives: economic incentives and force.

As a concept, it can be difficult to distinguish soft power from hard power. For example, Janice Bially Mattern argues that George W. Bush's use of the phrase "you are either with us or with the terrorists" was in fact an exercise of hard power. Though military and economic force was not used to pressure other states to join its coalition, a kind of force – representational force – was used. This kind of force threatens the identity of its partners, forcing them to comply or risk being labeled as evil. This being the case, soft power is therefore not so soft.

There are also recent articles about the concept's neglect of its defensive use. Since Nye's approach "mainly focuses on how to get others to do your bidding", some researchers argued that rising powers, such as China, are creating new approaches to soft power, thus using it defensively.

Additionally, others have argued that more attention needs to be paid towards locating and understanding how actors' attempts at soft power can backfire, leading to reputational damage or loss, or what has been termed 'soft disempowerment'.

Measurement

The first attempt to measure soft power through a composite index was created and published by the Institute for Government and the media company ''Monocle'' in 2010. The IfG-Monocle Soft Power Index combined a range of statistical metrics and subjective panel scores to measure the soft power resources of 26 countries. The metrics were organized according to a framework of five sub-indices including culture, diplomacy, education, business/innovation, and government. The index is said to measure the soft power resources of countries, and does not translate directly into ability influence. ''Monocle'' has published an annual ''Soft Power Survey'' since then. As of 2016/17, the list is calculated using around 50 factors that indicate the use of soft power, including the number of cultural missions (primarily language schools), Olympic medals, the quality of a country's architecture and business brands.

''The Soft Power 30'', which includes a foreword by Joseph Nye, is a ranking of countries' soft power produced and published by the media company ''Portland'' in 2015. The ranking is based on "the quality of a country’s political institutions, the extent of their cultural appeal, the strength of their diplomatic network, the global reputation of their higher education system, the attractiveness of their economic model, and a country’s digital engagement with the world."

The ''Elcano Global Presence Report'' scores the EU first for soft presence. Soft power, then, represents the third behavioral way of getting the outcomes you want. Soft power is contrasted with hard power, which has historically been the predominant realist measure of national power, through quantitative metrics such as population size, concrete military assets, or a nation's gross domestic product. But having such resources does not always produce the desired outcomes, as the United States discovered in the Vietnam War.

The success of soft power heavily depends on the actor's reputation within the international community, as well as the flow of information between actors. Thus, soft power is often associated with the rise of globalization and neoliberal international relations theory. Popular culture and mass media are regularly identified as a source of soft power, as is the spread of a national language or a particular set of normative structures. More particularly, international news was found crucial in shaping the image and reputation of foreign countries. The high prominence of the US in international news, for example, has been linked to its soft power. Positive news coverage was associated with positive international views, while negative news coverage with negative views.

Research

Academics have engaged in several debates around soft power. These have included:
* Its usefulness (Giulio Gallarotti, Niall Ferguson, Josef Joffe, Robert Kagan, Ken Waltz, Mearsheimer vs Nye, Katzenstein, Janice Bially Mattern, Jacques Hymans, Alexander Vuving, Jan Mellisen)
* How soft power and hard power interact (Giulio Gallarotti, Joseph Nye)
* Whether soft power can be coercive or manipulative, (Janice BIally Mattern, Katzenstein, Duvall & Barnet vs Nye, Vuving)
* How the relationship between structure and agency work (Hymans vs Nye)
* Whether soft balancing is occurring (Wohlforth & Brooks vs Walt ''et al''.)
* Soft power and normative power in Europe (Ian Manners, A Ciambra, Thomas Diez, A Hyde Pryce, Richard Whitman)
* How civil resistance (i.e., non-violent forms of resistance) can often involve certain uses of soft power, but remains a distinct concept (Adam Roberts, Timothy Garton Ash)

Examples

Worldwide

The Soviet Union competed with the U.S. for influence throughout the Cold War. The Soviets were engaged in a broad campaign to convince the world of the attractiveness of its Communist system. In 1945, the Soviet Union was very effective in attracting many in Europe from its resistance to Hitler, and in colonized areas around the world because of its opposition to European imperialism. The Soviets also employed a substantially large public diplomacy program that included: promoting their high culture, broadcasting, disseminating information about the West, and sponsoring nuclear protests, peace movements, and youth organizations. Despite all of this, the Soviets' closed system and lack of popular culture impeded the ability of the Soviet Union to compete with the U.S. in terms of soft power.

A number of non-democratic governments have attempted to use migration as an instrument of soft power: Egypt under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser trained and dispatched thousands of teachers across the Arab world in an effort to spread ideas of anti-colonialism and anti-Zionism. In Cuba, the Fidel Castro regime's medical internationalism programme has dispatched thousands of medical professionals abroad for cultural diplomacy purposes. The Chinese-sponsored Confucius Institutes across the world rely on Chinese teachers in order to strengthen the country's soft power abroad. More recently, Turkey's migration diplomacy involves sponsoring the short-term emigration of imams across Europe and North America.

After Pope John Paul II visited Poland in 1979, some political commentators said his visit influenced events against Poland's communist government, the Soviet Union, and ultimately communism, which promoted atheism.

Besides the Pope's visit, American-government broadcasting and propaganda into Soviet-occupied Europe, particularly Poland, contributed to the rise of the Solidarity movement and to the collapse of the Soviet-backed governments there and in the rest of the Warsaw Pact alliance.

The United States and Europe have consistently been sources of influence and soft power. European culture's art, literature, music, design, fashion, and even food have been global magnets for some time. Europe and the U.S. have often claimed to support human rights and international law throughout the world. In 2012, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for over six decades t hascontributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe." In 2019, the U.S. has the second largest diplomatic network in the world, the largest number of foreign journalists based in the country, and is the most popular destination for international students. American films, television, music, advertising, fashion, food, economic models, political culture, and literature have contributed to the Americanization of other cultures.

Asia and more recently China have been working to use the potential soft power assets that are present in the admiration of their ancient cultures, arts, fashion and cuisine. China is presenting itself as a defender of national sovereignty, which became an issue after the NATO air campaign to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and NATO's support of the rebels in Libya. The Chinese are also competing with the United States to gain influence throughout the South Pacific, however some commentators have said their recent assertiveness in this region has created an appeal for nations in this region to align with the United States thus increasing U.S. soft power in this area.

Soft power extends beyond the operations of government, to the activities of the private sector and to society and culture at large. Soft power has gained more influence because it addresses the underlying dispositions of the people who have increasingly become more active in their governments. This is true even in authoritarian countries where people and institutions are increasingly able to shape the debate.

The information age has also led to the rise of soft power resources for non-state actors, Primarily, through the use of global media, and to a greater extent the internet using tools such as the World Wide Web, non-state actors have been able to increase their soft power and put pressure on governments that can ultimately affect policy outcomes. Instead of front organizations, non-state actors can create cyber advocacy organizations to recruit members and project their voice on the global stage.

India

India has a long history of cultural dialogue with many regions of the world, especially within Asia, where its cultural influence has spread through the philosophy of religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc. – particularly in East and Southeast Asia. Indian culture has spread to foreign lands through wandering traders, philosophers, migration and not through conquest.

The origins of the numbering system, the concept of zero, logic, geometry, Trigonometry, basic algebra, calculus, probability, astronomy etc., lies in Ancient India which were later introduced in the West by Arab mathematicians.

In the recent times the Indian cinema has played a major role in spreading Indian culture worldwide. Indian cinema transcended its boundaries from the days of film ''Awaara'', a great hit in Russia. Bollywood films are seen in central and west Asia. Indian films have also found audience in eastern societies and are now becoming increasingly popular in Western society, with Bollywood festivals occurring in numerous cities and Bollywood dance groups performing in New Year's Eve celebrations, treatment which other non-English film industries generally do not receive.

The popularity of Ancient Indian school of Yoga throughout the globe is another example of India's soft power in the modern world. Indian commentator Harshil Mehta wrote that Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic, can invoke cultural and civilisational connection of India with other Asian countries; thus, can be utilised as a soft power.

Since Independence, India has regained its more progressive schools of thought, like – democracy, secularism, rule of law, esteem for human rights, rational deductive reasoning, development of Science and Technology, etc. – are making slow but steady inroads into the collective modern Indian psyche. India's diversity forces it to evolve strong foundations of tolerance and pluralism, or face break-up. The Indian public is now also accepting modern western influences in their society and media – and what is emerging is a confluence of its past local culture with the new western culture ("Social Globalisation"). For some futuristic social thinkers, the miscegenation of diverse ancient culture with modernity, spirituality with science/technology, Eastern with Western world-view is potentially making India a social laboratory for the evolution of futuristic global-unity consciousness.

China

China's traditional culture has been a source of attraction, building on which it has created several hundred Confucius Institutes around the world to teach its language and culture. The enrollment of foreign students in China has increased from 36,000 a decade before to at least 240,000 in 2010. China is the most popular country in Asia for international students, the leading destination globally for Anglophone African students, and the second most popular education powerhouse in the world. China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has attracted many western countries to join. China has the largest diplomatic network in the world, overtaking the US in 2019. The provision of Chinese medical aid during the COVID-19 pandemic has been dubbed "facemask diplomacy".

China ranked 2nd out of 20 nations in the Elcano Global Presence Report for 2018 by the Elcano Royal Institute and 27th out of 30 nations in the Soft Power 30 index for 2018 and 2019 published by Portland Communications and the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. According to the index, China is a "cultural juggernaut", being ranked 8th in the Culture category and 10th in the Engagement category.

A spring 2014 Global Attitudes survey from Pew Research Center states China receives mostly positive reviews in the sub-Saharan African nations polled, although South Africans are closely divided (45% favorable, 40% unfavorable). China's increasing soft power can be explained by looking at China's economic growth and regarding economic engagement with many African countries. China's expansion of trade and investment on the African continent and the spread of Chinese-led infrastructure projects gives positive impressions of China to people in Africa. China's economic engagement in African countries is considered as much more pragmatic and in consistency with the priorities of many African countries. Moreover, China's increasing role as a global superpower seems appealing and this drives a desire to tie African economies more closely to China's economy.

Through the use of GONGOs (otherwise known as a Government-organized non-governmental organization), China exerts soft power through foreign aid and development in Africa. China has made a systematic effort to expand and give greater profile to its soft-power policies in Africa ever since the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000. The commitments of China's soft power ranges from health, humanitarian assistance to academic, professional and cultural exchange.

Cultural exchange between China and Africa can be a representative example of how China has been spreading its soft power.
In 2005, the first Confucius Institute was established in Africa. The institute is funded by the Chinese government and it provides Chinese language and cultural programming to the public. There are 19 institutes today in Africa and China has planned to spend 20 million renminbi for education projects in South Africa, including the teaching of Mandarin in 50 local high schools.

Furthermore, there is an increasing support for cultural visitors programs which gained momentum in 2004 when the African Cultural Visitors Program was established. There is a rising number of African entrepreneurs who choose to move to China and there are also diaspora communities in many Chinese cities that have been found.

Outside of Africa, Chinese soft power extends to countries like Barbados. Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson expressed admiration for the Chinese economic model and sought to emulate the way Chinese state controlled banks guided development. Chinese soft power in the Middle East countries has been expanding since the beginning of the millennium and includes many efforts in the fields of education, journalism, and popular culture. One of the most influential of China's soft power tools toward the Arab world, as Roie Yellinek et al. said in their article, are the 15 Confucius Institutes across the region.

France

France is a country in Europe and one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It has long exerted a great amount of soft power. The country and its culture have for centuries been admired in many parts of the world; so much so that Thomas Jefferson is famously quoted as saying "Every man has two countries, his own and France." In 2019, France had the third largest diplomatic network in the world.

France was a focal point of the Age of Enlightenment; its attachment to the ideals of liberty, equality, tolerance and reason was notably embodied in the writing and publishing of the ''Encyclopédie''. The French Revolution was one of the most significant events in European and world history. France has since then been instrumental in spreading Republican ideals. The Napoleonic Code, which influenced much of the rest of Europe and beyond, is regarded as one of the most important law documents of the modern era.Robert B. Holtman, ''The Napoleonic Revolution'' (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981)

The French language has for centuries been an important diplomatic language. For example, French has to be used – on par with English – for all documents issued by the United Nations Treaty Series, ensuring that all UN treaties are equally valid in their English and French versions.

France has also followed for decades a very active diplomatic and cultural policy. The ''Alliance Française'', whose aim is to promote the French language and French culture, was created as early as 1883. In ''Monocles 2015 "Soft Power 30" report, France was ranked first in the "engagement" criteria, which is intended to measure "the reach of states’ diplomatic network and their commitment to major challenges like development and the environment." ''Monocle'' further noted that "In terms of influential reach, France is the best networked state in the world and is member of more multi-lateral organisations than any other country." Overall, France ranked fourth in that study.

Secularism in France has inspired some countries over time. For instance, France was Atatürk's main role model for Westernization as part of the major reform efforts that he spearheaded when he was President of Turkey.

France, and in particular Paris, has long been considered one of the most romantic places to be. France was in 2014 the most visited country in the world.

Germany

The annual soft power rankings by ''Monocle'' magazine and the Institute for Government ranks 30 countries which "best attract favor from other nations through culture, sport, cuisine, design, diplomacy and beyond." ''Monocle'' magazine said: " Merkel may be painted as a stern taskmaster but it seems she has a softer side, or the country she leads does." It said Germany's rise as a soft power should not come as a surprise. "The country is traditionally excellent at pursuing its ideas, values and aims using diplomatic, cultural and economic tools," it said. "By quietly doing the simple things well it is a country that has become a global power and the rest of us can feel comfortable with that." Germans had been understandably wary about depicting a dominant image abroad, the magazine added, but it said that the country's rise should not make everyone else feel uncomfortable. In 2017, Germany had the eighth largest diplomatic network in the world.

Italy

The famous elements of Italian soft culture are its art, music, fashion, design, and iconic food. Italy was the birthplace of opera, and for generations the language of opera was Italian, irrespective of the nationality of the composer. Popular tastes in drama in Italy have long favored comedy; the improvisational style known as the '' Commedia dell'arte'' began in Italy in the mid-16th century and is still performed today. Before being exported to France and Russia, the famous Ballet dance and Opera arts also originated in Italy.
The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire and seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church. Rome is generally considered to be the "cradle of Western civilization and Christian culture". Florence was the heart of the Renaissance, a period of great achievements in the arts that ended the Dark Ages. Other important cities include Turin, which used to be the capital of Italy, and is now one of the world's great centers of automobile engineering. Milan is a fashion capital of the World. Venice, with its intricate canal system and ancient history of seafaring, attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Biennale.
Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (51) to date, and according to one estimate the country is home to half the world's great art treasures. The nation has, overall, an estimated 100,000 monuments of any sort (churches, cathedrals, archaeological sites, houses and statues).

Italy is considered the birthplace of Western civilization and a cultural superpower. In 2019, Italy had the ninth largest diplomatic network in the world.

Japan

"Cool Japan" is a concept coined in 2002 as an expression of Japan's popular culture. The concept has been adopted by the Japanese government as well as trade bodies seeking to exploit the commercial capital of the country's culture industry. It has been described as a form of soft power, "the ability to indirectly influence behavior or interests through cultural or ideological means." In a 2002 article in the journal ''Foreign Policy'' titled "Japan’s Gross National Cool", Douglas McGray wrote of Japan "reinventing superpower" as its cultural influence expanded internationally despite the economic and political problems of the "lost decade." Surveying youth culture and the role of J-pop, manga, anime, video game, fashion, film, consumer electronics, architecture, and cuisine, McGray highlighted Japan's considerable soft power, posing the question of what message the country might project. He also argued that Japan's recession may even have boosted its national cool, due to the partial discrediting of erstwhile rigid social hierarchies and big-business career paths.
In 2017, Japan had the fifth largest diplomatic network in the world. Anime, manga and Japanese films are considered to be soft power. Today, the culture of Japan stands as one of the most influential cultures around the world, mainly because of the global reach of its popular culture.

Russia

Russia has been developing its soft power by investing in various public diplomacy instruments throughout the 2000s but the term was first used in an official document in 2010 as President Medvedev approved an Addendum to the national Foreign Policy Concept. The term was not defined but it was described as related to cultural diplomacy. In 2013, the term appeared in a new version of the Foreign Policy Concept where the soft power was defined as "a comprehensive toolkit for achieving foreign policy objectives building on civil society potential, information, cultural and other methods and technologies alternative to traditional diplomacy." In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin was named ''Time'' Person of the Year. In 2013, he was named most powerful person by Forbes magazine. In 2015, Russia led the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union. In 2017, Russia had the fourth largest diplomatic network in the world. In the wake of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018, the BBC reported that "Its extensive diplomatic network reflects both its imperial history as a great power in the 19th Century, as well as its Cold War posture. It has a multitude of posts in Eastern Europe and former communist allies including China, Vietnam, Cuba and Angola, as well as legacies of the former USSR in Africa and Asia. The size of its network reflects the extent of its undiminished global ambition."

South Korea

"Hallyu", also known as the "Korean Wave", is a neologism referring to the spread of South Korean culture since the late 1990s. According to a '' The Washington Post, Washington Post'' reporter, the spread of South Korean entertainment has led to higher sales of other goods and services such as food, clothing, and Korean language classes. Besides increasing the amount of exports, the ''Korean Wave'' is used by the government as a soft power tool to engage with the masses of young people all over the world, and to try reduce anti-Korean sentiment.

In 2012, the BBC
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