Introduction: The Soft Power of Hard States

Abstract

To what extent can authoritarian states wield soft power – the ability to shape the preferences of others through attraction rather than coercion – in their relations with other international actors? Over the past two decades authoritarian regimes across the world have increasingly embraced the idea of soft power. Yet, as argued by Joseph Nye (2013), their efforts to harness the ‘power of attraction’ are highly unlikely to bring any meaningful results. Looking at China’s and Russia’s soft power initiatives, Nye suggests that Moscow and Beijing simply ‘don’t get’ what soft power is about. In his view, soft power, with its roots in a vibrant civil society and an attractive political culture, is incompatible with authoritarian regimes. Although Nye’s piece focused on China and Russia, his neo-liberal conceptualisation of soft power is also applicable to authoritarian regimes in Africa and Latin America. In Nye’s view, a country cannot successfully wield soft power until it unleashes the full talents of its civil societies.