Abstract
Since the 1990s, alongside China's economic growth, the international community has fostered a general anxiety towards a "China threat." In order to relieve itself from suspicion, China adopted the dual strategies of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy." The strategies led to the use of soft power in China's foreign policy. China aimed to reduce security concerns implied by the threat theory by supporting an image that caters to international peace and development. This article seeks to explain how China achieves its interests in Southeast Asia through the use of soft power. The authors address the concepts of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy" and how the twin strategies and soft power have shaped China's foreign policy in recent years. This article aims to provide insights into China's policy options in Southeast Asia in the near future.
Highlights
Swords into ploughshares? China’s Soft Power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges focused on military strength and domination; technology, education and economic development are all important aspects of power (Nye 1990b, 179)
The US and China’s respective economic relationship with ASEAN and economic assistance towards Southeast Asia are often cited as empirical evidence of growing competition between the two powers in the region (US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 2008; Lum, Morrison, and Vaughn 2008)
In an article that criticized the US and brought attention to China’s increasing political influence, Zhang Weiwei (2006) argued that the so-called Washington Consensus is largely driven by ideology and with little regard for local conditions
Summary
Swords into ploughshares? China’s Soft Power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges focused on military strength and domination; technology, education and economic development are all important aspects of power (Nye 1990b, 179). Hard power forces others to do things they do not want to do through the use of rewards or threats; soft power induces others to voluntarily pursue the wishes of the powerful through the use of attraction (Keohane and Nye 1998, 86). Together, both kinds of power encompass influences that range from coercion to attraction and rely on influencing other’s behavior to achieve one’s self interest (Nye 2002, 9–10, 176). Co-optive power refers to the ability to shape other’s expectations through the attraction of culture and values or the ability to influence political agenda (see Table 1)
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