Russian Soft Power Under Construction
Prospects for a fully-fledged, globally-oriented Russian soft power strategy are promising. But this change of attitude seems to be coming from the top down.
Envisioning a Multidisciplinary Research Agenda for Public Diplomacy
The diversity of activities labelled as public diplomacy obviates the need for a “theory” of public diplomacy. Investigations should instead examine how it offers new sites of inquiry.
Chinese Soft Power Starts at Home
Many Western analysts miss the fact that Chinese soft power is not merely a tool for building international relations. Just as important, its deployment is critical at home within the country as well as abroad. These differences are significant in practice, because they reflect the underlying differences in motivation and in stages of development.
‘Smart Power’: A change in U.S. diplomacy strategy
Smart power ‘is a concept that underscores the necessity of a strong military, but also invests heavily in alliances, partnerships, and institutions at all levels to expand American influence and establish the legitimacy of American action.’ More plainly, smart power is a combination of both hard and soft power approaches to diplomacy.
Soft Power and the Persian Gulf
In October 2009, Iran was due to host athletes from the Muslim nations in order to celebrate “harmony” in the Islamic World. But Tehran has had to cancel the ‘Islamic Solidarity Games’ because Arab states demanded that the Persian tag should be removed from the competition’s medals and promotional posters – 27 countries led by Saudi Arabia refused to compete unless the famous waterway was called the “Arabian Gulf” instead of the “Persian Gulf”. What does this tell us about soft power and diplomacy in the region?
