India’s Soft Power

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rani D. Mullen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
Foreign Assistance ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Indian Foreign Policy

Indian foreign policy is increasingly drawing on a perception of its rising soft power. If effective, it should make global partners more open to Indian views and interests. However, significant impediments remain to cementing India’s fragile gains in leveraging its soft power on the global stage. Its assets include its ancient and distinct cultural heritage, the Bollywood film industry, and its status as the world’s largest democracy, albeit one that is developing and changing rapidly. The government’s increasing foreign assistance and public diplomacy programs are soft power instruments. It nevertheless remains unclear whether New Delhi can translate these assets into increasing the influence of India in policy circles internationally and among the broader international publics. For this to happen, India must design and resource coherent strategies for promoting its soft power abroad at the same time as it addresses domestic challenges that reflect little credit on it internationally.

World Guru India

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-104
Author(s):  
Ian Hall
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Indian Foreign Policy

This chapter analyses one of the most prominent aspects of Narendra Modi’s attempt to reinvent Indian foreign policy: his push to turn India into a ‘world guru’. It argues that this idea is deeply embedded in Hindu nationalist thinking and is widely supported on among the contemporary Hindu Right. The chapter traces the development of the idea that India ought to do more to build and leverage ‘soft power’ in international relations from the early 2000s onwards. It explores the Modi government’s effort to infuse India’s public diplomacy with Hindu nationalist themes, to promote yoga and supposedly Hindu ideas about the management of the environment and climate. It looks too at the unusual methods that the Modi government used to try to make India a world guru, including the use of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogues.

scholarly journals Higher Education as a Bridge between China and Nepal: Mapping Education as Soft Power in Chinese Foreign Policy

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Priya Gauttam ◽  
Bawa Singh ◽  
Vijay Kumar Chattu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Educational Aid ◽  
Cultural Dialogue

In this globalized world, education has become an important medium to enhance people-to-people contact. The Delores report of the International Commission on Education for the 21st century highlights the enormous potential of higher education to use globalization as a resource for bridging the knowledge gap and enriching cross-cultural dialogue. As a major contributor to soft power and an important field of public diplomacy, international education can have a wealth of advantages, including the ability to generate commercial value, promote a country’s foreign policy goals and interests, and contribute to economic growth and investment. The People’s Republic of China, well-known for being the world’s most populous nation and the global economic powerhouse, prioritizes the internationalization of the country’s higher education system. China is looking to expand its higher education program and carry out its diplomatic project in South Asia. In this sense, the South Asian zone, especially Nepal, is significant for China, where its educational diplomacy is playing as a “bridge between Sino- Nepal relations.” In this review, we describe the place and priority of “Education” in China’s foreign policy; explore China’s mediums of investment in Nepal’s education sector; and highlight the importance of educational aid in Sino-Nepal relations. Chinese educational aid to Nepal takes many forms, where Nepali students and officials engage with Chinese investment to enhance their career prospects and the education system in Nepal.

Turkey’s Islamic Public Diplomacy in the Post-Davutoğlu Era: Neo-Ottomanism, Humanitarianism and the Legitimation of Hamas after the Arab Spring

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Hae Won Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Turkish Government ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Arab Spring

Summary What are the public diplomacy strategies for legitimising a pro-Islamist foreign policy? This research unveils how Turkey, which has been a vocal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates across the Middle East since the Arab Spring, draws on pan-Islamic soft power, neo-Ottoman myth-making and public diplomacy strategies embedded in the precepts of the strategic depth doctrine to rationalise its pro-Hamas foreign policy position under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). By employing critical discourse analysis to the political speeches delivered by the Turkish government officials in domestic and international fora, this article suggests that Turkey has sought to legitimise its pro-Islamist foreign policy and subvert the terrorist designation of Hamas internationally through the humanitarian, Islamic and neo-Ottoman framings of the Palestinian issue. It is argued that Turkey’s public diplomacy of Hamas constitutes part and parcel of the AKP’s grand strategy to project Islamic soft power.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF CONFUCIAN VALUES ON CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE PERIOD OF “REFORMS AND OPENNESS”

2020 ◽  
pp. 100-113
Author(s):  
Tetyana Meteliova ◽  
Vira Chghen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The State ◽  
Confucian Values ◽  
China’S Foreign Policy ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Impact

The article is devoted to identifying the role of the Confucian component in shaping China’s foreign policy during the period of “reforms and openness”. The author analyzes the Chinese “soft power” model and its differences from the classical one, the theoretical foundations of which were formulated by J. Nye, and discovers the China’s “soft power” features in foreign policy and establishes its meaningful connection with Confucian values and concepts. The article provides an overview of “soft power” interpretations in the main works of Chinese scholars, examines the reflection of Confucian “soft power” ideas in the state and party documents and decisions of the period of “reforms and openness”, shows the application of Confucian principles in the foreign policy of China. It is shown that the creation of effective Chinese “soft power” tools is becoming a part of a purposeful and long-term policy of the state. Such tools include the swift reform of leading media, TV and radio companies using modern technologies and focusing on foreign audience abroad, promoting China’s traditional and modern culture in foreign cultural markets, increasing China’s presence on the world market, spreading and promoting the Chinese language, “Education Export” and widening educational contacts, economic ties development and scientific and technical cooperation, public diplomacy development, support of the compatriots living abroad. Geopolitically, China’s soft power strategy is focused on developing relations with its close neighbors and creating a security belt around China. It has been proved that modern China seeks to proclaim itself as a new “soft power” center, the creation of which is a part of the State purposeful long-term policy. It is accompanied by the active appeal of Chinese ideologists to the country's traditional cultural heritage and basing of this new foreign policy on the conservative values of Confucianism, which is a kind of civilizational code determining all aspects of social life for China.

6. Obama and smart power 1

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Nye
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Smart Power ◽  
Power Resources

This chapter examines Barack Obama’s foreign policy agenda. The Obama administration referred to its foreign policy as ‘smart power’, which combines soft and hard power resources in different contexts. In sending additional troops to Afghanistan, his use of military force in support of a no-fly zone in Libya, and his use of sanctions against Iran, Obama showed that he was not afraid to use the hard components of smart power. The chapter first considers power in a global information age before discussing soft power in U.S. foreign policy. It then explains how public diplomacy came to be incorporated into American foreign policy and concludes by highlighting problems in wielding soft power.

8. The twenty-first century and smart power

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Nye
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
First Century ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Smart Power ◽  
Twenty First Century

This chapter examines US foreign policy as ‘smart power’, a combnation of hard and soft power, in the twenty-first century. The beginning of the twenty-first century saw George W. Bush place a strong emphasis on hard power, as exemplifed by the invasion and occupation of Iraq. This was evident after 9/11. While the war in Iraq showcased America’s hard military power that removed a tyrant, it failed to resolve US vulnerability to terrorism; on the contrary, it may have increased it. The chapter first considers the Obama administration’s reference to its foreign policy as ‘smart power’ before discussing Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy, the role of power in a global information age, soft power in US foreign policy, and how public diplomacy has been incorporated into US foreign policy.

scholarly journals India’s Public Diplomacy in the Twenty-First Century: Components, Objectives and Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Arijit Mazumdar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Nation Branding ◽  
First Century ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
International Broadcasting ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Rising Power

In recent years, several countries have made sustained efforts to project their ‘soft power’ abroad. Public diplomacy has been an important tool for this purpose. Public diplomacy involves activities usually undertaken by a national government to inform and influence foreign public opinion and attitudes in order to advance its foreign policy goals. Such activities include ‘nation-branding’, diaspora outreach, digital engagement, international broadcasting, and international exchange programmes, all of which are designed to promote a positive image and reputation of the country to a global audience. This paper discusses the role of public diplomacy in the service of India’s foreign policy goals during the twenty-first century. The practice of public diplomacy helps the country achieve two significant objectives. First, it helps allay any active or dormant fears within the international community about India as a rising power. Second, it helps India compete with other countries as it seeks to boost foreign tourist arrivals, attract foreign investment and secure new markets for its exports in an era of globalisation. This paper also briefly discusses some of the challenges associated with India’s use of public diplomacy.

scholarly journals India's New Public Diplomacy

Asian Survey ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1089-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
New Public

Abstract Over the past decade, India has invested significant resources in public diplomacy, using traditional and new approaches to build and leverage its soft power. This article examines the reasons for this investment, the various forms of public diplomacy India employs, and the effectiveness of its efforts to shape public opinion. It finds that Indian investment in public diplomacy is partly a response to concerns about the perceived growth of Chinese soft power and partly a function of changed beliefs in the foreign policy-making elite about the uses of new social media. It also finds that India's new public diplomacy seems to have met with some––albeit patchy––success in augmenting its soft power.

scholarly journals The Role of Iran’s «Soft Power» in Confronting Iranophobia

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-238
Author(s):  
S. M. Mirmohammad Sadeghi ◽  
R. Hajimineh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
International System ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran

«Soft power» is a set of activities designed by a government or regional and international actors aimed to influence external public opinion, promote external image or attract support for a particular policy, which is implemented through all the available tools and new technologies. The non-governmental actors also play an effective and important role in this diplomacy. Considering the public diplomacy and soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a deliberate and conscious approach can be of great importance in the country's grand strategies that will strengthen national interests in the domestic sphere and influence them at regional and global levels. The article analyzes the role of Iran’s soft power in confronting Iranophobia. The study is aimed at presenting a theoretical definition of public diplomacy and soft power in foreign policy and international system, and then examines its role in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an emphasis on confronting Iranophobia.The authors answer the research question: “What is the role of soft power in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in confronting Iranophobia?” The research method is descriptive-analytical based on historical evidence, documents, and analytical issues of theorists, authors, and media being expressed in the theoretical framework of soft power. The paper is based on a synthesis of Stephen Walt’s “balance of threat” theory with Alexander Wendt’s social constructivism to explain the Iranian “threat” in American foreign policy.The findings of this research show that without the use of force and disturbing the balance in the international relations, using a variety of tools and instruments the Iranian public diplomacy and soft power might be effective to reduce the global and regional atmosphere of Iranophobia and undermine anti-Iranian solidarity.

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