Soft Power and Global Governance with Chinese Characteristics

Abstract

Recent Anglo-American scholarship suggests that China’s soft power strategy has failed the country. Chinese culture and values have not gained their expected appeal, and China has failed to create an alliance structure similar to that of the United States in support of its leadership. This article suggests a reinterpretation of the evidence by means of recontextualising the concepts of soft power and global governance in the context of China’s undertaking of a peaceful ascension. China’s approach to, and objectives in world affairs are different from those of the United States, and therefore China’s soft power strategy cannot be evaluated using an American yardstick. If analysed according to China’s specific objectives and the world in which China lives, one can see that China’s soft power serves the country relatively well. Certain leading American theorists of China’s global role, such as Shambaugh, Nye, Ikenberry, and many others have claimed that China has not succeeded in developing its soft/attractive power. Since China has not managed to attract the world to 1 G. John Ikenberry, ‘The Rise of China, the United States, and the Future of the Liberal International Order’, in David L. Shambaugh, ed., Tangled Titans: The United States and China (Lodon: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012); Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004); Joseph S. Nye, ‘Think Again: Soft Power’, Foreign Policy, February 23, 2006. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2006/02/22/think_ again_soft_power; Joseph S. Nye, ‘What China and Russia Don’t Get About Soft Power’, VC The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Institute of Modern International Relations, Tsinghua University. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 2014, 421–447 doi: 10.1093/cjip/pou033 Advance Access Publication Date: 23 June 2014