China, Football, and Development: Socialism and Soft Power

The article examines the correlation of two concepts: «soft power» and «propaganda» in International Relations. The author argues that within realism these concepts are used synonymously, but within neoliberalism they have fundamental differences. The parameters of comparison of the neoliberal and realistic approaches are given with reference to the concept of soft power. It is noted that, despite the differences between these approaches and between the concepts of hard power and soft power, the opposition of the concepts is not an absolute one. Soft power and hard power, according to J. Nye, can be represented as a continuum. Similarly, propaganda and soft power can also merge into one another. It is shown that, contrary to the widespread notion that the field of application determines the choice between soft and hard power (for example, education, culture are associated with soft power), in fact it does not. The coercive imposition of cultural norms, educational models is a manifestation of hard power. One of the most common tools for implementation of soft power is public diplomacy, which can be carried out through both official channels (public speeches of officials) and informal channels (NGOs, universities, etc.). It is emphasized that non-state actors can be agents of states’ soft power. There are also a number of other features of soft power that must be considered. Among them are such characteristics as specificity of a region and a country; competition in soft power of different countries in the same region; negative consequences of the use of soft power and others.

The research aims to identify how China articulated soft and sharp power while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The main argument is that the articulation between soft and sharp power is an inherent characteristic of Chinese public diplomacy. This argument features soft power as a power style operating not only in the international dimension, but also in the domestic dimension. After China’s contextualization, the analytical matrix was built from the operationalization of key concepts, namely public diplomacy, soft power and sharp power, paying attention to Chinese characteristics. The case study was led with data collected from primary and secondary sources. Besides the indication of paths for future developments, the conclusion summarizes how Chinese public diplomacy managed soft and sharp power with positive results in the international sphere and suggests that incorporating sharp power to diplomatic toolbox may be useful. Keywords: China; COVID-19; soft power; sharp power; public diplomacy

The power of attraction (soft power), as developed by Joseph Nye, has been increasingly discussed in international relations literature and policy, yet soft power has not been fully utilized because of under‐specified tools and mechanisms by which soft power influences international actors. This article revises the concept of soft power by generating a continuum of power based on the tools useful for implementing different degrees of soft or hard power. In addition, the article describes two mechanisms through which soft power influences international actors, beginning the call for exploration of other such mechanisms. Reconceptualizing soft power in terms of objects that are controlled and utilized by policy‐makers, such as agenda‐setting and framing, provides us with more useful analytical variables to understand international relations and to provide policy recommendations.

Being the soft creative power of a nation, the soft power is an integrated statement of cohesiveness, competitiveness, creativeness, and emotional appeal. The soft power is consisted of elements including unconscious passion, spiritual elasticity, and creative elasticity of system operation of a nation. Its intrinsic guidance is the humanized beliefs, ideas and knowledge; its extrinsic regulation is freedom, equality and justice; its fundamental impetus is folk-custom, art, philosophy; its basic approach is morality, aesthetics, politics and ecological environment; the polybasic and open approach of social practice is an epochal re-build of scientific culture, economic culture, political culture, civil culture, art culture, religious culture, ideological culture, ethical culture and educational culture. Systematic research on theory and practice of soft power constitute the discipline of soft power; the theoretical approach to this discipline shapes the ontology, constitution, creativeness, value, development and methodology of soft power; while its practical approach forms the practical basis, practical function and vertical developmental research of this discipline. Key words: Hard cultural creative power; Soft cultural creative power; Ideology; Political value; National cohesive power

This chapter explores the conditions for soft power to deliver the desired results and the need to combine soft and hard power in the exercise of smart power. First, it discusses the use of hard power in public governance and administration. Next, it accounts for the emergence of the notion of soft power in International Relations (IR) theory and then proceeds to discuss the changing face of public governance and the growing importance of soft power. Drawing on Foucault’s governmentality theory (Foucault, 1991) and the dual notions of “technologies of agency” and “technologies of performance,” it scrutinizes how public health campaigns mobilize citizens as active and self-responsible agents who are caring for their own health by behaving in accordance with public standards for healthy living. This analysis is followed by a study of crime prevention that illustrates how soft and hard power can be combined in the exercise of smart power. The conclusion reflects on the future research on hard, soft and smart power in the field of public administration and governance.

The article examines the main constructs of China's "soft power" and reveals that it is based on the values of Confucianism as the foundation of Chinese civilization. It is noted that in the modern world, the tools of "soft power" act over time, and sometimes have a more effective effect than the methods of force. Over the past five years, according to the international Soft Power Index, China has been among the top five countries using Soft Power methods most successfully. The purpose of our research is to identify the value base of Chinese "soft power" and its main constructs that allow China to effectively interact in the international political space. The article applied both general scientific methods, including systematic and comparative approaches, analysis and synthesis, and actively used empirical research methods. The authors conducted a sociological survey of Russian youth aged 18-35 years. The aim of the empirical part of the article was to identify the effectiveness of the impact of Chinese "soft power" in Russia, and above all, on a young audience. More than half of the respondents rate the relations between China and Russia as positive and very positive, and two thirds of the respondents noted a positive attitude towards Chinese citizens. A significant part of the respondents considers the education sector to be the main instrument of Chinese "soft power" in the Russian Federation. At the same time, respondents have an equally positive assessment of both the growth in the number of Chinese students in Russian universities and the education of Russian students in China. Young people also have a positive attitude towards Chinese economic investments, recognizing the mutual benefits and strategic importance of economic ties. Two thirds of the respondents support learning Chinese in schools and universities. More than half of the respondents consider Chinese culture attractive or very attractive and highly appreciate Chinese cultural events taking place in our country. At the same time, some respondents noted that it is necessary to strengthen control over Chinese cultural and educational influence, as this may threaten Russian national identity. The article notes that the peculiarity of the implementation of China's "soft power" distinguishes it favorably from the specifics of the aggressive "soft power" of the West, which is significantly focused on changing the political regimes of competing countries. The results of a sociological survey in Russia have shown that Chinese tools of "soft power" demonstrate their effectiveness, including among young people. Confucianism as its value base remains relevant in the modern world. The theoretical significance of the article is to identify the main parameters of Chinese "soft power" and ways to promote it in foreign countries. The practical significance of the article is to identify the degree and effectiveness of the perception of the Chinese "soft power" by the Russian audience, and primarily by young people. This is particularly important in a situation of urgent geopolitical tension, as a result of which Russia and China are becoming close partners in opposing the West. The article concludes that the prospects for cooperation between Russia and China in the value field of "soft power" look optimistic and open up wide opportunities for further strengthening both bilateral relations and strengthening the international positions of the two largest Eurasian powers.

The article provides a review of national economic image, brand, and soft economic power evaluation methods based on opinion polls or objective indicators. The author elaborates and tests a webometric method for evaluation of specific components of national economic image and soft power. National economic image is measured as the share of positive messages in total number of messages about economy of a country. Soft economic power is described as national economic image adjusted for absolute amount of positive economic information about a country. Various key words and expressions are used for web search query to analyze specific components of economic image (trade, inflation, finance, budget, quality, competitiveness, investment, business, corruption, corporate governance, wages, economic cooperation or conflicts, economic growth or crisis). The advantages and limitations of the suggested approach are discussed. The sample for testing the method includes Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Romania, Germany, and Moldova. Germany and Poland have almost no major weaknesses, while Russia and Ukraine have almost no major strengths among economic image components. Germany is a soft power leader in the majority of areas, followed by Russia, Turkey and Poland. Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova can improve their image and soft power by better real economic performance and wider coverage of positive economic information about these countries.

East Asia is a powerhouse of economic and social development, with cultural industries that have burgeoned as countries in the region have generated consumer economies and a middle class. Despite ongoing security tensions, growing evidence suggests that a vigorous cultural trade in such commodities as comics, cinema and TV drama is creating a shared regional popular culture. The widespread diffusion of the Internet, and the concomitant rise of non-professional online publishing and social networking, is creating new communities among the consumers of these cultural commodities. Rivalry for leadership in the sphere of the culture industries provides a fertile field for the study of soft market power versus hard political power. The competing national discourses of the Korean Wave (hallyu) and Japans Gross National Cool indicate a struggle for new forms of influence in the East Asian region, a struggle that is becoming more intense as China, too, starts to exert soft power influence on a global scale in the form of cultural industries and foreign aid. Complicated Currents: Media Flows, Soft Power and East Asia addresses transnational production and consumption of media products such as cinema, television dramas, popular music, comics and animation in Japan, South Korea and China. Its multidisciplinary approaches include cultural studies, gender studies, media studies, and a content analysis of the popular discourse of otherness in the East Asian context. While suggesting the emergence of a shared East Asian popular consumer culture, it critically examines the proposition that such a shared popular culture can resolve tensions between nation-states, and highlights the appropriation of popular culture by nation-states in an attempt to exercise soft power. Complicated Currents: Media Flows, Soft Power and East Asia will be of interest to researchers and students in Asian Studies, Cultural Studies and Media Studies, and will be particularly useful to researchers in the emerging area of Inter-Asian Cultural Studies.

This essay's first section defines hard and soft power and how they work together to create soft power. Next, various instances of the two principles' application in the formulation of foreign policy are discussed in order to evaluate their efficacy. There are also instances of the application of smart power in this discussion. According to the article, soft power's durability and longevity make it a more effective and efficient notion in modern global politics. Hard power, however, is becoming less valuable as the world order shifts against it. In the modern international system, smart power tactics are just as significant as soft power tactics. Nye proposed the concept of hard power and soft power distinctions almost twenty years ago. He characterizes command or hard power as coercive power used through inducements or threats, and power as the "ability to affect others to get the outcomes one wants" in general. Hard power depends on concrete power resources like armed troops or financial resources and is based on economic sanctions , forceful diplomacy, and military action. Hard power examples include the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the UN economic sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1991 after the first Gulf War. Because of all of the above, it is important to analyze the types of power and their effectiveness, what is the impact of soft and hard power in modern international relations, both separately and in tandem.

The power dynamics of nation-states around the world have undergone a significant change in the twenty-first century with regard to how governments define and demonstrate their authority. Since today's political world is becoming increasingly interconnected, governments have no choice but to spend heavily in both their soft and hard power matrices. Because of the current state of world politics, India has a better chance than ever before of becoming a major player in international affairs. In India and around the world, the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has caused a sea change in public opinion about the dangers of religious militarism. These rights have become increasingly popular due to the increase of Hindutva rights. "Soft power" refers to the ability of a nation to achieve its foreign policy goals and objectives without resorting to coercion. With or without the use of "hard power," which can refer to methods such as the use of force or other very effective diplomatic initiatives, it is still a critical tenet of foreign policy. Hard power can be utilized in international and bilateral diplomacy to create a more expansive narrative. Economic, sociocultural, and even civilizational aspects all play a significant part in this wide-ranging topic. It all starts with messaging, which can be done through official channels like speeches and press conferences, or through the wide variety of media outlets available in today's hyper-connected world. Using India's "soft power" in international politics is the primary subject of this article.

The power dynamics of nation-states around the world have undergone a significant change in the twenty-first century with regard to how governments define and demonstrate their authority. Since today's political world is becoming increasingly interconnected, governments have no choice but to spend heavily in both their soft and hard power matrices. Because of the current state of world politics, India has a better chance than ever before of becoming a major player in international affairs. In India and around the world, the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has caused a sea change in public opinion about the dangers of religious militarism. These rights have become increasingly popular due to the increase of Hindutva rights. "Soft power" refers to the ability of a nation to achieve its foreign policy goals and objectives without resorting to coercion. With or without the use of "hard power," which can refer to methods such as the use of force or other very effective diplomatic initiatives, it is still a critical tenet of foreign policy. Hard power can be utilized in international and bilateral diplomacy to create a more expansive narrative. Economic, sociocultural, and even civilizational aspects all play a significant part in this wide-ranging topic. It all starts with messaging, which can be done through official channels like speeches and press conferences, or through the wide variety of media outlets available in today's hyper-connected world. Using India's "soft power" in international politics is the primary subject of this article.

The subject of the study includes the analysis and interpretation of the concept of "soft power" in the context of political science. The purpose of the article is to investigate the phenomenon of "soft power" in the context of the definition of Western and Chinese scientists and to analyze the balance between "soft power" and "hard power".The modern world is going through a profound large-scale development, changes and restructuring. Economic, political, social and cultural contradictions are accumulating, which leads to an aggravation of the dilemma of global governance, an escalation of international conflicts and a new round of national ups and downs. These processes have become typical symbols of international society in the new era, and the study of the conceptual paradigm of the use of "soft power" in the global governance model has become the subject of research by many scientists in the field of international relations and political science. In preparing this study, the author used: systemic, neo-institutional, comparative and other approaches. Methods of analysis, synthesis, analogy and comparison in the context of identifying common features and contradictions of Western and Eastern models of foreign policy in the context of the implementation of "soft power". An analysis of the scientific literature of Chinese and Western scientists gives grounds to assert the distinctive and original nature of the Chinese definition of "soft power", as well as the positioning of China as such a force in its own foreign policy projections. It has been established that Chinese "soft power" not only goes beyond the original ideological sphere proposed by the author of the concept of "soft power", but also has characteristic Chinese features, and also demonstrates enormous theoretical and practical strength. Special importance is given to the traditional culture of China, which is the basis and advantage of cultural "soft power" and emphasizes its unique advantages. The soft power of China's national culture is visibly reflected in national cohesion, and the strength of national cohesion depends on its core value system and the recognition of its core values in the world.

The Republic of Korea plays one of the leading roles in the global economy and is a dynamically developing country. As one of the key elements of South Korea's success, many researchers in their works note the so-called concept of "soft power". The Republic of Korea has great resources of "soft power" and actively uses them. The concept of "soft power" considered in this paper was first proposed by J. Nayem and now this concept has firmly entered the lexicon of world science. The Republic of Korea turned to the concept of "soft power" about twenty years ago. The strategy of the modern concept of "soft power" of the Republic of Korea is based on the dissemination of traditional cultural values and pop culture. South Korea places a great emphasis on the "soft power" of culture, which helped it shape a positive image and create its South Korean attractive brand on the world stage. In this paper, the "soft power" of the culture of South Korea is considered using the example of cybersports and the phenomenon of "Korean wave" or "hullu" Korean pop culture plays a vital role in the global economy of Korea and is dynamically leading in the music industry around the world. The key element in this economy growth is often cited as ‘soft power’ by many researchers alike. The concept of soft power was first proposed by Joseph Nye in regards to the ability to achieve goals through attraction and persuasion, rather than coercion or fee. The concept of soft power in the Republic of Korea is based on the dissemination of their pop culture and cultural values. This concept paper looks at how Korea uses soft power in the phenomenon of “Korean wave” which helped shape a positive image and create its Korean attractive brand on the world stage. The discussion states that soft power is more is a more efficient and effective concept in global culture as it provides more sustainability for in terms of cultural growth.

One of the major reasons behind assassination of General Qasim Soleimani in US attack on Jan 3, 2020, was that he had projected Iranian hard and soft power in different parts of the world particularly in the Middle East. He was recognized as the architect of Iran's influence and presence from Lebanon to Syria, Iraq to Yemen and Bahrain. That is why, the killing of Qassem Soleimani has considered as an enormous setback to the country’s regional ambitions. This study is mainly focusing on utilization of hard and soft power by revolutionary ran as foreign policy tools especially in the Middle East. American war in Iraq (2003) and Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006 have provided Islamic Republic of Iran with an opportunity to expand its power in the Middle East in general and Lebanon in particular; King Abdullah of Jordan predicted that as “Shi’a Crescent” in 2004. Iran’s successful resurgence is widely misperceived as sole reliance on hard power and Shi’a proxies and partners. This study argues that it’s the effective use of “smart power” and complementary synergy between soft and hard power tactics, which has led to consolidation of Iranian influence in the countries like Lebanon. Hezbollah as the tool of Iran’s hard power is being supported by soft power tactics like Education, Media, cultural diplomacy and bonyads (Foundations). The study also argues that Iranian success in Lebanon in terms of hard power greatly lies with its ideological inspiration for Hezbollah both for institution of Vilayat-e-Faqih and Iran’s regional ambitions and being sole supporter for its followers.

This study discussed the role of soft power in enhancing the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as an influential regional organization. Soft power has become a key tool for achieving international influence alongside hard power. The research aimed to analyze the concept of soft power and the various tools employed by the Council, such as economic diplomacy, media, education, culture, and sports, focusing on the extent to which these tools have succeeded in achieving regional and international goals. The research adopted a descriptive-analytical approach to study how the Gulf states employ soft power, in addition to a historical approach to trace the development of the Council's strategies since its establishment. The study highlighted the experiences of the UAE in investing in cultural and sporting events, Qatar in media and diplomatic mediation, and Saudi Arabia in social reforms and cultural openness. This indicated that soft power has become a key element in the influence of the Gulf states, despite the challenges related to sustainability, coordination among member states, and regional political influence. The research concluded with a recommendation to adopt a unified Gulf strategy to enhance integration in soft power, develop public diplomacy, expand the media role using modern technologies, and achieve a balance between soft and hard power to strengthen the regional and international role of the GCC.