Soft Power Resources Research Articles

Chinese Culture and Modern Life—On the Theory of Resources and Basic Context of Chinese Cultural Soft Power to Enhance

To enhance the soft power of Chinese culture, an important issue is to analyze and clean up the theory of cultural soft power resources and the Current Context. Cultural soft power to enhance the theoretical resources that is Chinese traditional culture, Context that enhance cultural soft power is the modern life. But, traditional culture is not a dead, past existence, but a process of constant development; the modern life is not the life style and the thinking mode which the West leads; traditional culture is a national, special, modern life is also diverse, optional. Key words: Soft power; Tradition; Traditional culture; Modern life

Soft Power: A Comparison of Discourse and Practice in Russia and China

In the past two decades the concept of soft power has attained a global recognition, moving beyond academic discourse to emerge as an item of discussion and debate among policy analysts, the popular mass media, and government leaders. This paper seeks to compare soft power as a normative and operational construct in the Russian and Chinese political context. Specifically, I examine Russian and Chinese discourse on soft power, comparing how it is conceived and its envisioned application. I then turn to an assessment of the approach to soft power adopted by the Russian and Chinese leaderships, including their efforts to develop soft power resources as a means of attraction. This paper argues that both the Russian and Chinese leaderships have a dualistic approach to soft power, which exemplifies the tensions inherent in their endorsement of the concept. On the one hand, soft power is viewed as a pragmatic tool, a means to achieve regime goals through the promotion of an attractive image. On the other hand, soft power is regarded as a potential danger, an instrument of Western penetration that threatens the sovereignty of the state and challenges its ideological premises.

Strengthening the Tourist Soft Power and Promoting the Economic Development of Taian City

Building an internationally famous tourist city involves the strong tourist soft power and rich tourist resources which can attract tourists at home and abroad. Tourism has become the pillar industry in Taian’s economy. The paper first analyses the advantages of Taian’s tourist industry, and then puts forward some specific strategies for strengthening the tourist soft power to promote the rapid economic development of Taian city.

The Internet: An (other) agent that disseminates Japanese 'soft power' resources

The popularity of the Internet has affected international politics in many ways; however, it is seemingly overlooked by most scholars, and in particular, realists who view the Internet as low-politics. This article argues that the impact of the Internet on international politics should not be underestimated. By focusing on the capabilities of the Internet in general and P2P networks in particular, this paper shows how the Internet is able to disseminate soft power resources. This is demonstrated by an examination of the dissemination of Japanese soft power resources through BitTorrent. Finally, it is concluded that the Internet is a plausible agent for distributing the resources of soft power; however, once disseminated, soft power resources do not always transform into soft power. In the end, contextual conditions within states always apply.

Analyzing Rising Power from the Perspective of Soft Power: a new look at China's rise to the status quo power

A rising power has traditionally been considered as a revisionist power in realist international relations theories. However, a preliminary analysis of the rising China's foreign policy behavior doesn't uphold such conventional wisdom. Through the case study of China's rise, this article investigates whether the soft power concept provides a new approach in analyzing a rising power. Firstly, empirical connections between soft power and the rise of China are established by discussing the Chinese idea of soft power. This is followed by an examination of how China adopts a soft power-based global strategy and wields soft power in its rise to a status quo power. The findings suggest that the soft power concept can be applied to analyze a rising power. Moreover, when a rising power tries to develop its soft power resources and wield its soft power, its revisionist policy orientation will greatly decrease. This in turn allows for a smoother transition to a status quo power.

Language, Soft Power and Asymmetrical Internet Communication

This paper rejects Joseph Nye's interpretation of the international spread of English as a soft power resource of the United States. As an alternative to Nye's model of the attractive power of America, this paper proposes an interdependence model in which communication occurs in a common language between participants pursuing diverse interests. If there is symmetry in understanding between participants A and B, neither gains an advantage. If understanding is asymmetrical, then soft power is enjoyed if B understands A better than A understands B. Succeeding sections document the dominant role of English as the common language of international political communication and the Internet's role in expanding the trans-national use of English as a foreign language (EFL).It argues that the dominance of English encourages Americans to be introverted while people who use English as a second language are more likely to have a cosmopolitan understanding of American political interests as well as their own. It follows from this that the diffusion of English as a foreign language will tend to increase the soft power of non-Americans for whom English is not their native language and weaken the influence of Americans who mistakenly assume that because those with whom they communicate are speaking English they also share the same political values and goals.The conclusion identifies how understanding, rather than language, can give countries lacking hard power a degree of persuasive or manipulative soft power, and that countries with hard power but lacking understanding must rely on brute power rather than smart power.

International Organizations and Social Insurance in Mexico

AB STRACT How do international organizations (IOs) influence domestic social policy? This article answers this question using a comparison of IO participation in the social insurance policy making process in Mexico in the 1940s and 1990s. There are similarities and differences between the periods. During both periods, IOs contributed technical expertise to the policy design process. The principal IO participating in policy discussions and the means of influence differed in the 1990s from the 1940s. The comparison suggests that IOs use both hard and soft power resources to influence domestic social policy.

Public Diplomacy and Soft Power

Soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment. A country's soft power rests on its resources of culture, values, and policies. A smart power strategy combines hard and soft power resources. Public diplomacy has a long history as a means of promoting a country's soft power and was essential in winning the cold war. The current struggle against transnational terrorism is a struggle to win hearts and minds, and the current overreliance on hard power alone is not the path to success. Public diplomacy is an important tool in the arsenal of smart power, but smart public diplomacy requires an understanding of the roles of credibility, self-criticism, and civil society in generating soft power.

Dragon’s underbelly: An analysis of China’s soft power

Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this paper extends Joseph Nye’s analytical framework on soft power to the China case, in order to provide a more balanced and updated analysis of the country’s power status. We argue that the rise of China is not simply an expansion of hard power; it has also been accompanied by tremendous efforts to develop soft power. Soft power helps Beijing redraw geopolitical alliances in ways that will propel its rise as a global power. This process is nevertheless complicated by the deficiency of its soft power resources and the uneven progress in projecting the soft power abroad. The paper concludes that despite Beijing’s growing ability to shape other people’s worldview or political agenda, soft power remains Beijing’s underbelly and China still has a long way to go to become a true global leader.

Sources and limits of Chinese ‘soft power’

In current analysis and debate concerning China's rise, the subject of soft power is either missing or misapplied. Since the 1990s, China has achieved impressive gains both in terms of soft power resources and the ability to convert the resources into desired foreign-policy outcomes. Unlike the former Soviet Union, China appears to be more successful in developing hard and soft power in tandem. Its steppedup endeavours in expanding its soft power nevertheless continue to be constrained by three factors: imbalance in resources, legitimacy concerns regarding its diplomacy, and a lack of coherent agenda. How Washington and its allies respond to this unique power pattern will shape the future strategic landscape of East Asia and beyond.

Making the Case for Soft Power

��� t is not about domination. It is not about fear. Joseph Nye dispels conventional understandings of power and places the forces of attraction and persuasion center-stage. As the United States seeks to democratize Iraq through war, Nye’s book warns policy-makers against over-reliance on military power and reminds them of the effectiveness of soft power. Nye introduced the concept of soft power in his 1990 book Bound to Lead and discussed it in more detail in his article “Soft Power” which appeared in Foreign Policy the same year. While this concept gained recognition and has been applied in policy fields, it is often misunderstood and misused due to a lack of academic refinement. In Soft Power, Nye intends to disabuse policy-makers of their erroneous interpretations of soft power as cultural dominance. Similar misconceptions are prevalent and Nye elucidates its true meaning to avoid future misuses of the concept. The events of September 11, 2001 compelled Nye to revisit the concept of soft power in The Paradox of American Power in 2001, Power in the Global Information Age in 2004, and in articles appearing in leading foreign policy journals such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. However, it is only in Soft Power that he refines this concept. This book consists of five chapters. In the first chapter, Nye clarifies and elaborates the concept of soft power. In the second chapter, Nye delineates the various soft power resources available to the United States, and argues that America’s unilateral foreign policy toward Iraq has eroded its soft power, although the it possesses significantly large soft power resources overall. Chapter Three contends that non-state actors such as NGOs and international organizations also possess soft power. Chapter Four discusses the implications of a non-state actor’s soft power, and the consequent importance of strengthening the soft power resources of the U.S. government. The final chapter stresses the need for cooperation with other states and various non-state actors in the war against terrorism. More specifically, he argues that in Iraq, soft power is neces sary to foster cooperation on such issues. Overall, Nye’s book contributes to the academic debate by clarifying the definition and function of soft power. This essay will analyze his success in doing so and discusses the significance and shortcomings of Soft Power. Nye defines power as a relational concept and argues that actors cannot

Cyberterrorism:

At the end of the twentieth century, the 1999 National Security Strategy advanced the conclusion that the United States should contribute to the expansion of information technology globally, to worldwide benefits and democracy, and to the employment of new technologies in order to improve American public diplomacy in the new Information Age. Today, in the twenty-first century, it is evident that such globalization has changed the nature of governments and sovereignty and has transformed economies, societies, and world politics.5 In fact, the Information Age has turned out to be a pivotal point for the United States. The impact of the technological revolution of the past 10 years on American foreign policy has proved to be as determining in scope and character as was the origin of the cold war. The United States is better positioned than any other country to communicate its hard and soft power resources through information technology.6 Nevertheless, the top American foreign policy issue is its vulnerability to new security threats. Introduction

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Soft Power and American Empire

Matthew FraserToronto: Key Porter, 2003. 288pp, $32.95 cloth (ISBN 1-55263-250-4)If United States abolished its diplomatic and consular services, kept its ships in harbour and its tourists at home, and retired from world's markets, its citizens, its problems, its towns and countryside, its roads, motor cars, country houses and saloons would still be familiar in uttermost corners of world...The film is to America what flag was once to Britain. By its means, Uncle Sam may hope some day, if he be not checked in time, to Americanize (p. 44). That striking prediction was made by London's Morning Post as long ago as 1923, and Matthew Fraser, editor in chief of National Post, believes it has something to tell us about our world today.Fraser's central thesis is that while US military and economic power is indispensable to America's superpower status, power historically has been a key strategic resource in U.S. foreign policy (p. 9). Quoting this reviewer, he defines soft power as the ability to achieve desired outcomes in international affairs through attraction rather than coercion (p. 18). He argues that no empire--Greek, Roman, French, Ottoman, British--has been indifferent to effects of its soft power resources and that remains true for contemporary America (p. 13).The book is divided into four main parts that deal with movies, television, pop music, and fast food that he characterizes as America's soft power arsenal of awesome weapons of mass distraction. I found these chapters extremely informative, full of interesting history and observations. As someone who has written on American soft power, I was impressed by extent of his research and amount of new material that he has uncovered. I was particularly impressed by his history of film, both in Hollywood and its competitors like Hong Kong and India's Bollywood. He describes interaction between Washington and Hollywood well, and illustrates way two have used each other over years.Fraser refutes simplistic view that spread of American popular culture is leading to homogenization on a centre-periphery model. He recounts how early prophecies that television would lead to a central global network were misleading, and have been replaced by local controls despite popularity of some American shows. In fact, United States has proven to be less dominant in television than in cinema. In popular music industry, four of five major companies are controlled outside United States, and MTV in 1990s had to decentralize into regional and country units to keep up with its competition. The formula remained same, but content varies. He might have added that in popular new genre of reality television shows, formula originated in Europe and was imported to United States. And in matter of fast food, from French ban on Coca Cola after World War II to Jose Bove's sophisticated political manipulation of MacDonald's in 1990s, Fraser shows that much of political agenda related to French domestic politics rather than global issues. He also illustrates how MacDonald's replied by adopting local menus and adapting to local politics.I am less convinced by Fraser's discussion of empire. …