The use of soft power
Soft power is one of those concepts that is on the interface between comparative politics and international relations (two of the sub-fields of political science). For comparative purposes I think we need to emphasize policy decisions that are made to use soft power and policy decisions about how to react to the use of soft power by others.The USA is not the only country to use soft power.
China is also seen as using soft power, especially in its dealings with its Asian neighbors and with energy rich countries.
The International Herald Tribune describes it this way, China's 'soft power' winning allies in Asia"It looks like a pleasant place to conduct affairs of state, a broad, palm-fringed compound by the side of the sea with reflecting pools, a rock garden and fluttering flags.
"It is the future Foreign Ministry of East Timor, as depicted on a large billboard at the gate of a construction site - and it is a gift from the Chinese government.
"Together with a new presidential palace that is also being built by the Chinese, it will be one of the most impressive buildings in this low-rise capital...
"China's friendly stance is part of a broad diplomatic and economic policy throughout the region that has acquired the epithets 'soft power' and 'charm offensive.' Most analysts say East Timor seems to be of interest less as a prize in its own right than as a natural extension of China's energetic courtship of its neighbors in Southeast Asia...
"Reversing a more confrontational policy after the Asian economic crisis of 1997, China plays down any self-interest as it increases trade and aid throughout Southeast Asia...
"In the longer term, some analysts say, China may want to create its own sphere of influence, elbowing aside the United States in the region. Washington's preoccupation today with wars and terrorist threats has left inviting openings for China's advances in Southeast Asia..."
A Xinhua article about the March 2007 meeting of the National People's Congress, adds this about Chinese "soft power" and extends the domestic theme of building a harmonious society to a foreign policy goal of "building a harmonious world."
Soft Power, a New Focus at 'Two Sessions'
"To develop China's 'soft power', a term first invented by Harvard professor Joseph Nye... emerged as a hot topic at this year's annual sessions of China's parliament and top political advisory body.
"Mr. Nye defined 'soft power' as the ability to get what a nation wants through attractions -- rather than coercion -- such as culture, political values, and foreign policies. He regarded these attractions as the true means to success in world politics...
"Such an expression of soft power can be found in government agendas and suggestions offered by legislators and political advisors...
"'We should never underestimate the importance of building soft power as economic miracle is only one side of China's rising in the world arena,' said NPC deputy Peng Fuchun, a philosophy professor at Wuhan University in central Hubei Province.
"In light of this, China is striving to achieve the other side, namely exerting more international influence through diplomacy and national image lifting...
"China was widely believed to have used the three major events to foster its soft power by strengthening cooperation, publicizing the concept of 'building a harmonious world' and allaying fears over its rising from other countries..."
Labels: China, concepts, globalization, pedagogy, SoftPower, theory
posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:54 AM
2 Comments:
Rebecca MacKinnon is a former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief and is now Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre.
Her blog entry at RConversation for 9 September describes a discussion in China that centered on soft power, which one Chinese official rejected and another appeared to use.
It is titled "Thomas Friedman gets the middle finger in the Middle Kingdom."
"The panel was about how China's rising economic power in the world has brought it growing geopolitical influence - but is its low-key diplomatic stance incongruous and inappropriate for a country with so much influence throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa?
"Friedman accused China of being a "free loader" in the post-cold war world, while the U.S. has shouldered the role of global "guardian." He said that China needs to pull its weight by doing things like joining the U.S. in calling for sanctions against to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He said China needs to do more to stop genocide in Sudan...
"Friedman also argued that it's in China's interest to work more directly with the U.S. on geopolitical issues because if the U.S. fails, then China will have to pick up the pieces. 'If there is too little American power China will be forced to respond to that,' he said.
"[China's U.N. Undersecretary-General Sha Zukang] rejected the whole idea of 'soft power,' calling it a 'condescending approach' and 'notion created by Western developed countries.' When it comes to world leadership, he said the world's leaders should not be 'self-proclaimed' - he said they should be elected. China, he said, would not self-proclaim itself a world leader, because China's policy is always to treat other countries as 'equals.'
"It's interesting that China's diplomatic strategy is to score points with other countries who chafe at American superpowerdom by advocating geopolitical democracy. No wonder Chinese leaders see U.S. support for internal democracy in China as an effort to score points against them.
"At one point Li Ruogu, Chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, took a jab at U.S. interventionism in Iraq. 'When you want to force others to accept an idea, you are doomed to fail,' he said. The net effect of U.S. intervention in Iraq has been less peace, he rightly pointed out. Many in the audience - Western and Chinese - were nodding their heads..."
There's a link to an edited video of the sesson on YouTube at her blog.
Here's another comment about Friedman's criticism of the Chinese leadership and a connection to soft power.
Clay Chandler, Fortune Magazine's Asia Editor wrote for CNNMoney.com, an op-ed essay, Chasing the Dragon.
He was discussing presentations at the World Economic Forum in September 2007 by American writer Thomas Friedman, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, and Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Chandler concludes with observations about China's use of soft power.
"Friedman led off with an assertion that China has been 'free-riding' on US global leadership. Wen, he argued, should have used his speech to declare China’s opposition to Iran’s bid to become a nuclear power. In a later exchange, he charged Beijing with aiding and abetting genocide in the Sudan.
"Those comments inspired heated rebuttal from the Chinese panelists. Sha... declared that China isn’t about to emulate the US as global bully. To applause from many Chinese in the audience, he dismissed the notion that China is only interested in the Sudan to plunder its oil reserves as 'the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.' It was one of the conference’s liveliest exchanges – and perhaps its most revealing.
"I concluded two things about soft power from this encounter. One is that Friedman... seems to have quite a lot of it. The other is that, to wield soft power effectively, it helps to have thick skin. In a carefully staged Q&A with the WEF’s Klaus Schwab after his Dalian keynote, Wen averred that the most important thing for leaders of the world’s “new champions” is to “have a truly global perspective.” Well, um…yes. But a good test of whether one has a global vision is the ability communicate it. By that measure, Hu, Wen and Wu all flunk. Beijing’s reluctance to engage in open debate — and its reflexive prickliness in response to even mild forms of foreign criticism — augers poorly for its hope to win friends and influence people in the wider world."
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