Nye - soft power

Type of power involved in soft power

• Cultural power

Comparison to hard power

• Cheaper

• Less risky

• More opportunities due to the internet and globalisation

Global reputation

• Can take years to build

• Can also be destroyed very quickly

Gov’ts role in soft power

• Very small as films, universities and literature are independent of government

Top 5 countries for soft power 2025

1. 🇺🇸

2. 🇨🇳

3. 🇬🇧

• 👑, ex-colonialism, investment in aid, English language, active member of UNSC

4. 🇯🇵

• Trade links, electronics, technology

5. 🇩🇪

Examples of success of soft power — 🇺🇸

• Ending of CW

  • Totalitarianism (🇷🇺) vs materialism/consumerism of FMC (🇺🇸)

Examples of lack/failure of soft power — 🇺🇸

• Prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison during occupation of 🇮🇶

• 2021 — storming of the Capitol

Examples of success of soft power — 🇨🇳

• 2004 — Confucius Institutes founded globally, often linked to unis, to encourage appreciation of 🇨🇳 culture

  • Some say are actually just used to advance 🇨🇳 interests through future decision-makers

• 2022 — 30 on 🇬🇧 uni campuses

  • Security minister Tugendhat announced PM would look to close them

Examples of success of soft power — international sporting events

• Allow host and guest nations to assert soft power

• 2012 — London Olympics opening ceremony presented powerful image of 🇬🇧 tradition and multiculturalism

• Commonwealth games join commonwealth countries through sport

Examples of success of soft power — academic scholariships

• 1946 — Fulbright Scholarship allows foreign students to study in 🇺🇸

  • 41 of these students have since served as head of state/gov’t in their country

    • Advances 🇺🇸 interests abroad

• 1902 — Rhodes Scholarship allows foreign students to study at Oxford

  • E.g. Bill Clinton

Examples of success of soft power — vaccine diplomacy

• Vaccines used as form of soft power during COVID

Vaccine diplomacy — West

• Domestic popularity > global soft power

  • Gatekept their vaccines — 🇺🇸 First

  • Then channelled extra vaccines into programmes like COVAX (distributed to poorest)

  • Gave vaccine-distribution power to companies, often determined by highest bids

Vaccine diplomacy — 🇷🇸

• Got vaccines from 🇷🇺 and 🇨🇳 and supplied to neighbouring countries, welcoming citizens from other countries to 🇷🇸 to get vaccinated too

Vaccine diplomacy — 🇷🇺

• Sold vaccines to 🇭🇺

• Worked on licensing deals w/🇨🇳 to allow 🇮🇩 and 🇦🇪 to make vaccines themselves

  • Supported by WHO and UNICEF

Vaccine diplomacy — 🇨🇳

• Added vaccines into Belt and Road, sold them to Latin America

• Worked on licensing deals w/🇷🇺 to allow 🇮🇩 and 🇦🇪 to make vaccines themselves

  • Supported by WHO and UNICEF

• Moved from 8th to 4th place on Global Soft Power Index

🇨🇳 — 2022 vaccine distribution

• 102 countries

• 476.8m doses

Vaccine diplomacy — 🇮🇳

• Supplied vaccines to neighbours

• Was overshadowed by mismanagement of COVID

Examples of success of soft power — 🇪🇺

• Created a single market

• 2004 — expansion with E.European countries

• High Representative role allows 🇪🇺 to speak with one voice and send a representative to IGO meetings (G7, G20, IMF)

• Since 2003

  • Involved in 30 missions and operations to help with security and humanitarian aid

• 2013 — negotiations began w/🇮🇷

• 2015 — Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed by UNSC P5, 🇩🇪, 🇪🇺 and 🇮🇷

  • Not solved by 🇺🇸’s hard power

Catholic Church and soft power

• Pope Leo criticised war with Iran

  • Trump called him weak and ill-informed

• Vatican has no hard power but relies on soft power of moral authority

  • Pope’s comments on migration, war and governance aim to shape understanding of political issues instead of behaviour directly

  • Shown by Pope’s African tour — Cameroon announced temp ceasefire during his visit and he linked peace to justice

• Also shows limitations of full-realist model as despite Church only being the Holy See it’s administration and institution has large influence

Charles’ 2026 state visit

• Carries symbolic weight due to being first visit since 2007

• Emphasis on shared history and key moments like his address reinforce long-term ties

• Managed diplomatic friction by maintaining influence

• Lack of partisanship reinforces legitimacy

  • But shows that symbolic engagement has not led to any major policy reversals or resolution of deeper structural divergences