Country's Soft Power Research Articles

Unveiling Translation's Role in Soft Power: The Case of the TEDA Project

Literary translation has been one of the most intriguing fields of study in terms of translation studies. Like other forms of translation, it encompasses not only linguistic transfer but also cultural transfer. Considering that cultural elements and literary features are prominent in literary texts, it is no surprise that literary translation gained significant ground in translation research. Despite the challenges faced in the process of literary translation, its contributions to literature, readers, and intercultural understanding outweigh. Apart from these, translation's role in fostering a country's soft power should not be underestimated. As a resource reflecting a nation's culture with abundant cultural elements, literary translation is one of the most substantial domains of translation that can have a pivotal role in soft power. In parallel with all these contributions of translation, the promotion of literature through translation on a global scale comes into prominence. Promoting literature belonging to less prevalent languages is even more crucial as the authors of such literature need to show more effort to make their voices heard in broader geographies. To fulfill this goal, translation projects that provide such an opportunity for authors play a significant role. From this point of view, this study aims to present a clear framework of literary works translated from Turkish literature into Spanish language within the scope of TEDA project funded by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The literary works translated into Spanish are presented based on elements such as the authors, translators, publishing houses, literary genres, countries, years, and titles of the books in the source language and target language. The results reveal that there is a remarkable amount of effort to make Turkish literature recognized in Spanish-speaking regions; however, there is still a long way to go as the number of translations and diversification in terms of authors, translators, and literary genres are still limited and translations of the book titles sometimes could not avoid stereotypes about Turkish culture.

Türkiye Bursları as the Soft Power in the Reflection of Bilateral Relations between Türkiye and Indonesia

Türkiye Bursları is a scholarship program for international students, but who would have thought that the existence of this scholarship was in line with Turkey's public diplomacy mission and thus became the country's soft power? Indonesia, as a friendly country, is Turkey's main target in expanding its reputation and cultural promotion mission through Türkiye Bursları, as evidenced by the government's policy in 2020 which plans to increase the quota for students from Indonesia. With its historical ties, similarities in religious identity, and cultural harmony, Turkey is certainly an alternative for Indonesian students to experience the experience of studying abroad. On the other hand, Indonesia, with its large population and GDP, is certainly Turkey's target in spreading its cultural values to create many agents who can fulfill national interests comprehensively from many sectors. This research seeks to analyze the influence and opportunities of the Türkiye Bursları scholarship on Turkey's diplomatic relations with Indonesia in detail. The methodology used in this research is qualitative with references in the form of books, reports, and relevant journal articles according to the topic of Türkiye Bursları's role as Turkey's soft power and its relationship with Indonesia.

On the Path of High Level Development of Tourism and Cultural Industry in Ethnic Minority Regions

Comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and focusing on promoting high-quality development is a major strategic deployment proposed in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Promoting the higher-level development of the tourism and cultural industry in ethnic minority areas is not only a concrete manifestation of implementing the new development concept and continuously consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation, but also an inherent requirement for promoting the rapid development of the cultural industry, enhancing the country's soft power and competitiveness. It is also an inevitable choice for advancing the task of comprehensively building a socialist modernized country. However, due to multiple factors such as geographical location and historical conditions, there is still significant room for adjustment in achieving higher levels of development in the tourism and cultural industry in ethnic minority areas. This article focuses on ethnic minority areas with relatively lagging economic development in the rural revitalization strategy, studies the current development status and improvement paths of the tourism and cultural industry in these areas, comprehensively analyzes the problems and reasons faced by the tourism and cultural industry in ethnic minority areas, and proposes corresponding countermeasures and suggestions based on reality.

Public diplomacy and soft power: building a positive image of the state

In modern international politics, not only the image of political figures is becoming increasingly important, but also the perception of nation states in the international arena. The emergence and active participation of new actors in world politics has increased the role of soft power as an impact strategy for governments that seek to strengthen their positions. This article examines the role of soft power and public diplomacy in shaping or creating a country's image. Using cultural elements and public diplomacy, States set themselves the goal of creating an attractive image in the minds of the population of another State. Effective initiatives in the field of public diplomacy not only strengthen the country's soft power and influence, but also contribute to building strong relations and strengthening interstate cooperation. Structural and functional, discourse analysis, institutional, and systemic approaches were used to study soft power and public diplomacy. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systematization and comparison of approaches to defining the concept of soft power and public diplomacy, as well as the components and forms of implementation of soft power by foreign researchers. Special attention is also paid to cultural peculiarities and the unique perception of the image of states. The author came to the following conclusions: soft power is an alternative to military and economic force. Successful implementation of soft power contributes to the formation of a positive image, which in the long term seems to be more effective and sustainable than traditional methods of influence. Soft power and public diplomacy are becoming not only tools for creating a country's image, but also an important part of its foreign policy, contributing to even greater support from the international community to strengthen its position on the world stage.

HISTORY OF JAPAN'S USE OF SOFT POWER TO ACHIEVE NATIONAL INTERESTS: LESSONS FOR UKRAINE

This article focuses on the phenomenon of soft power in the context of Japan. It examines the historical development of the country's soft power, the institutions and initiatives that ensure it, and the challenges that have been shaped in different historical periods. Given that today Japan is a country with one of the most effectively developed mechanisms of cultural diplomacy, it can serve as an example for states seeking to develop their own soft power institutions and fields. In particular, the author describes the relationship between Japanese soft power and the economy in its various sectors, and explains the phenomenon of the popularity of Japanese cultural products abroad. Various international rankings are used to analyse these phenomena. The research methods used include description, synthesis, generalisation, and comparison. The author also analyses the history and historical and foreign policy factors that influenced the development of Japan's soft power. Accordingly, the author describes how Japan has managed to overcome historical and geographical challenges in building soft power and how it protects its national interests. From this analysis, the author also derives recommendations for Ukraine in building its own soft power, having described and characterised its current state. Accordingly, it was found that the success factor for Japanese soft power was economic development, which allowed for the rapid expansion of various industries from gastronomy and sports to music and literature. But the most attractive thing about the Japanese cultural product is its modernity and compliance with trends, as well as the wide choice that attracts many people. In addition, Japan has made efforts to become a leader in unique policy areas such as the environment or know-how.

The guidance culture in the context of building society 5.0.

The purpose of the study was to analyze the development of educational policy, which should contribute to significant social improvements and still remains a major problem area in most democratic societies. The article focuses on educational institutions and, in particular, their leaders, who must confront the challenges of education in the twenty-first century. It is noted that educational institutions should be transformed into institutions to promote internal change, stimulate social transformation and prepare students for active participation in increasingly diverse, complex and dynamic communities. Attention is focused on educational managers and leaders who should be agents of change, civic leaders and promoters of social development, playing the role of leaders, in particular within the framework of the five-pillar spiral model and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The article is devoted to the analysis of the phenomenon of leadership as a new stage of leadership development of future education managers in the context of building Society 5.0. The obtained results demonstrate the need for synergistic modeling of the concept and programs for the development of leadership culture in future education managers, with the inclusion in the «orbit» of this training of the goals of sustainable development, achieving social justice, translating knowledge and innovation in society, strengthening the foundations of the country's soft power on the basis of transformational leadership and deep conscious personal motivation. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying the conclusions and recommendations in the process of optimizing the university training of future education managers.

Intercultural Communication Strategy Of Our Country Traditional Culture

Since the 21st century, China's economic strength has been continuously enhanced, its international status has been significantly enhanced, and its voice and influence in the world has been significantly enhanced. Meanwhile, western countries have also created the "China threat theory", which has caused many people who do not know China's national conditions and traditional culture to have a negative impression on China. the reason is closely related to the extreme lack of cross-cultural communication in China. Culture is not only the symbol and important embodiment of a country's soft power, but also the spiritual soul of a country and a nation. After 5, 000 years of development, Chinese culture has become a treasure in the history of human development. In order for China to enhance its own influence, it is particularly important to improve the attraction and appeal of Traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen cross-cultural communication, spread Traditional Chinese culture to all parts of the world, so that people in the world can really love, understand and accept Traditional Chinese culture, and form an influential Chinese culture.

The Impact of China's Urban Per Capita Disposable Income on Education, Culture and Entertainment Services

This study is from the perspective of China's cultural consumption, to study the impact of China's urban per capita disposable income on education, culture and entertainment service expenditure, with local financial budget revenue, consumer price index, regional GDP as control variables, so as to more accurate China's urban per capita disposable income on education, culture and entertainment service expenditure, Then explore how to expand China's cultural consumption in order to enhance the country's soft power. In this paper, the multiple regression model of economic variables and expenditure on education, culture and entertainment services is established, and the data of each year are found to form time series data, called panel data, and the necessary tests are carried out to obtain a more suitable and reliable model and the final regression results, which can provide direction for the government's economic policy.

A Comparative Study of Compulsory Education Between China and France

Compulsory education is the embodiment of a country's soft power. Only by strengthening compulsory education can people improve the overall level of education. Due to historical reasons, China is facing with huge difficulties. Therefore, learning from the advanced is of much necessity. As one of the first countries to implement compulsory education, France has a high level of national education and can be used as the object of the study. Therefore, in this article, by comparing both countries on their financial systems, teachers’ salary system, poverty alleviation policies and laws and regulations, several conclusions are gained so as to find the direction for the future improvement of China's compulsory education. China still lacks legal systems in quite many fields, while the establishment of regulatory bodies and departments is still in need of improvements. Meanwhile, it is also necessary that China increases the social status of the teaching and administrative staffs.

Winning Hearts and Minds: Soft Power, Cinema, and Public Perceptions of the United States and China in Brazil

Abstract In this article, we explore the relationship between soft power projection and public opinion, specifically investigating how cinema as a soft power resource can shape people's positive perceptions about a country. While soft power has been defined as a form of persuasive power associated with intangible resources such as culture, ideology, and institutions, the link between these resources and public opinion has received limited attention in previous research. This study aims to fill this gap by using the film industry as a proxy for soft power projection. We compare the United States’ and China's soft power sources and projections through an online survey with 908 participants in Brazil. Our findings indicate that exposure to soft power via films can shape people's positive perceptions of countries. However, some dimensions of soft power appear to be more challenging to activate than others, such as patriotic films’ association with admiration for US military power. The study also discovered that soft power activation may be context dependent, with greater knowledge of a country's soft power resources in a particular context leading to increased soft power projection/activation. We contribute to research by empirically expanding our understanding of soft power dynamics and how power resources can be converted into public opinion in world politics.

Общественная дипломатия в условиях новой реальности: контекст культурного иммунитета, ценностно-смысловые основы, технологии проектирования и формы реализации

The article discusses the phenomenon of public diplomacy in the context of strengthening the cultural immunity of the society. It highlights that the culture serves as the base for the formation of the relations with the world, with other people and allows a person to enrich his picture of the world. The author notes that public diplomacy in today's controversial and difficult conditions can and should act as one of the main factors of the country's soft power, which is crucial in the contours of foreign policy communications being an important resource for strengthening the joint responsibility of the citizens. It optimizes the possibilities for the dialogue between the state and the society within the framework of harmonizing the discourse of internal political communications.

Research on Etiquette Culture from the Perspective of University Ideological and Political Education

Courtesy is an important part of China's thousands of years of civilization history. Despite the washing of time, etiquette is still a yardstick to measure the level of personal ideology and morality, the soft power of a country's culture and the degree of civilization. Although the contents of different rulers' Ideological and political rule over the people in different periods are different, the tradition of using rites to stabilize social security, standardize people's behavior and carry out ideological and moral education to the people has a long history. In the new era, the research on etiquette culture from the perspective of University Ideological and political education is of great value to carry forward Chinese traditional culture, enrich the content of University Ideological and political education, improve the ideological and moral quality of college students, spread civilized etiquette and letters, improve the country's cultural soft power, "point to area" to lead the society and the formation of a good social atmosphere of "courtesy to each other". Therefore, in view of the lack of effectiveness of Ideological and political education in universities, it is an urgent task to carry out targeted research on the cultivation of College Students' Ideological and moral quality and civilized and polite behavior by Chinese traditional etiquette culture.

A Study on the Value of Cultural Self-confidence Cultivated by the Rise of "National Tide"

Culture, as a country's soft power, internally condenses the hearts and minds of the people, and externally displays the "image of a big country". In recent years, "National tide" has quietly emerged carrying Chinese culture. Boosting the development of "National tide" aims to strengthen cultural confidence. However, cultural inferiority and dregs restrict the development of "National tide", the growth space of "National tide" is not fully expanded, and the "pseudo-National tide" hinders the rise of "National tide", which restricts the cultivation of cultural confidence. To lead the "National tide" and strengthen cultural confidence, we should take some measures such as inheriting and developing excellent traditional culture, expanding the "National tide" development circle and strengthening the guidance of socialist core values of enterprises.

Maximising Soft Power: the Role of Digital Diplomacy in Building Trust with Nation-Branding

Perceptions of attractiveness and trustworthiness impact the prosperity and influence of countries. A country's soft power is not guaranteed. Countries have their brands, an image shaped by the behaviour of governments, by what they do and say, whom they associate with, and how they conduct themselves on the global stage. Increasingly, digital diplomacy plays a crucial role in the creation and application of soft power. This paper argues that digital diplomacy is increasingly vital in the articulation of soft power. Digital diplomacy is a new way of conducting public diplomacy, offering new and unparalleled ways of building trust with previously disengaged audiences. Soft power is now the driving force behind reputation and influence on the global stage, where increasingly digital diplomacy plays an essential role.

Indonesia's Position in Asia: Increasing Soft Power and Connectivity through the 2018 Asian Games

AbstractHosting a sports mega-event strengthens connectivity with the world and provides opportunities to establish or increase networks and to build soft power. These events operate as hubs for the global flow of capital, people, knowledge and technology, and they perform important rituals and symbolic functions. In particular, they become coveted opportunities to enrich the soft power portfolio of governments or individual leaders. Despite its regional character, the Asian Games have developed into such a mega-event. In 2018 – only for the second time in the history of the Asian Games – Indonesia staged the event in Jakarta and Palembang. This paper scrutinises the ways in which Indonesia used or failed to use the Asian Games as a platform to increase the country's soft power and reputation and to strengthen intra-Asian connectivity. Three aspects serve as examples to assess Indonesia's soft power initiatives: (1) the “spirit of 1962”, (2) the host country's emergence on the Asian stage and (3) Indonesia's cooperation with other countries and intra-Asia connections in the context of the sports event. Examining the prominence of domestic politics reveals shortcomings and untapped potential. The analysis shows that the inward-looking foreign policy approach of the Jokowi administration limited the initiatives to increase Indonesian soft power and to establish and address Asian themes and debates; consequently, this approach downgraded the sports event to a tool to generate political capital for domestic affairs.

An Examination on the Support of Library Information to the Construction of National Research Organizations

The country's economic development determines the political and cultural status. At the present time, China's rapid economic development has greatly improved the country’s international prominence. Although China has high economic and political achievements, China's cultural soft power is still in a weak position. Cultural soft power is of great significance in improving the country's overall national strength and international competitiveness. Research organizations are an important part of the country's soft power and are of great significance to the strengthening of national soft power. Research organizations are the “peripheral brain” in the decision-making process of the government. National government agencies need democratic science in making decisions, and the adopted policy methods must have positive and effective outcomes on the people. Therefore, the national government agencies cannot achieve this without the help of research organizations. This resulted in the development and rising construction of research organizations. With the comprehensive development and construction of research organizations, whilst making progress, has also exposed several shortcomings. The construction of China’s research organizations requires various supports; especially the intelligence agencies and access to library information, which has a unique advantage in promoting the construction of research organizations [1]. This paper first introduces the definition, classification and characteristics of a research organization. It will also provide a preliminary understanding of research organizations. The paper will then highlight and analyze the problems encountered by the research organization. Finally, through the grasp of the advantages of the library and intelligence agencies, a solution is proposed.

Pursuing soft power through cinema: censorship and double standards in mainland China

The Chinese government is seeking to promote the country's soft power internationally through cinema as China becomes the world's second-largest economy. China's current censorship rules, which feature a dual-track censoring mechanism for films circulated on different channels, and a double standard for foreign and independent films in comparison with domestic and official productions, have become an obstacle for creativity. Whilst this dual-track and complex censorship mechanism can help release tension under the government's media control and offer market protection for domestic films, it will not help with Chinese cinema's ‘go abroad’ strategy. As economic globalization and new media technology constitute effective forces in opening up and diversifying China's film market, Chinese cinema will present more varieties of film despite the government's rigid censorship control. It is this pluralism that would boost creativity and help expand China's cultural influence through cinema around the world.

Эффективность “мягкой силы”: проблема оценки

The article focuses on the task of measuring and evaluating a state's soft power. While the soft power concept developed by Joseph Nye is currently widely accepted and used, its theoretical understanding and practical application remains challenging. Both international relations scholars and those responsible for soft power in governmental and non-state agencies are looking for the tools to assess their work and the country's standing in the world in terms of soft power. As the author of the concept and other researchers noted, evaluation and measurement may be difficult due to the number of influencing factors including the use of hard power that can overshadow soft power efforts, and also because soft power efforts can bring results only in a distant period of time. However, in response to the researchers' and policy makers' need to evaluate, measure and compare soft power related parameters, a number of international ratings evolved during the past several years, such as various ratings of soft power, nation brands, countries' reputation and presence. At the same time, such rankings have several weaknesses. First of all, they present mainly the western point of view which focuses on the parameters important for western audiences and may overlook characteristics important for other, non-western cultures. They also may be subjective due to financial reasons. Besides that, while some of the ratings aim to evaluate resources or assets of nations' soft power, other focus on results like influence or reputation. Evaluation of instruments used to enhance a country's soft power and their effectiveness is also important. In many cases, even significant resources of soft power do not guarantee strong positions in this context. Comparing certain countries' positions in different ratings helps to understand a country's standing in terms of soft power, identify strong sides and analyze whether a state's soft power potential transforms into the desired outcomes.

Research on Technological Innovation Talents of the Six Provinces of Mid-China based on BP Artificial Neural Networks of the Golden Section Theory

Technological innovation talent is the core element of economic and social development. It is a symbol of a country's soft power reflected from the perspective of knowledge. Therefore it is theoretically valuable and practically significant for a country to evaluate the comprehensive level technological innovation. Based on the construction of evaluation index system of the technological innovation talents’ competitiveness, we will use BP neural network to evaluate in this paper. We determine the actual situation of the evaluation system according to the input layer, hidden layer and output layer of the model as well as the number of neurons in each layer. The number of neurons in the input layer is the number of indices of technological innovation talents evaluation. The output layer represents the comprehensive ability level and has only one neuron. However, it is difficult to figure out the number of hidden layers of BP neural networks. We use the golden section method to accurately select their layers. This can effectively avoid the problem of excessive training error due to the random selection of hidden layer. Then we illustrate the accuracy and usefulness of this algorithm with the case of the technological innovation talents of the six central provinces. Tests show that the comprehensive ability of technological innovation talents of Hubei is the most powerful in the six central provinces and is followed by Anhui. The remaining four provinces have similar levels. The actual development of technological innovation talents agree well with the experimental results.

Education and Soft Power: Analysis as an Instrument of Foreign Policy

Nowadays, the number of countries that regard that education is the best way to promote their national interests on the world stage is increasing. Especially big powers started to pay special attention and importance to the use of education as an effective instrument/source of soft power. Also, a successful national education system can help create a more favourable and lasting image among the international audience, thus further enhancing a country's soft power.