Soft Power Essay

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Soft Power

The term soft power was coined by Joseph Nye in 1990 and defined it as a country’s capability to influence other countries through diplomacy and dialogue instead of use of brutal force (coercion). He was of the opinion that soft power is cultivated through striking relations with allies, cultural exchanges and economic assistance. The increase in soft power popularity can be attributed to the failure of hard power that entailed the use of military and economic to control the rest of the world. A country is said to be possess more soft power if its institutions, culture and national values rouse high regard and reverence across the world.

Compared to the state of affairs during the Cold War, the world has greatly changed; indeed, the current world is quite dynamic. In recent years, the emerging markets led by China have been challenging the existing world order dominated by the Western countries. The dominance of old powers is rapidly diminishing and in fact, they are dropping down the international pecking order. Economically, the South East Asia countries account for more than half of the world Gross Domestic Product, have the highest economic growth rate (China leads with 11% growth rate p.a. closely followed by India at 9 percent) and they energy consumption is more than half the amount consumed in the world. It is predicted that in the next three decades, China and India will have attained the status of global powers and they will be competing for world leadership with the United States of America.

It is hard to predict the international system since it is both complex and contradictory simultaneously. For instance, no one foresaw Japan’s fall from grace, the September...

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...ican culture such as clothes worn by its hip-hop artists. It is admired for being a role model for democracy, respect for human rights and financial aid to the developing world. Nonetheless, its major role in the international affairs is still in hard power that has lost steam following its failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rise in the influence of non-state actors such as the international terrorist agency, Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility in the September 11 is closely tied to the rise in integration between nation state policies and religion.

It is evident that soft power is gradually creating a new form of international order. The old powers used coercion to influence the world but in a more enlightened world their tactics have become unpopular. Countries that have invested more in less provocative policies have risen as global powers.