Soft power#Japan

File:Soft Power (2004) by Joseph Nye.jpg

The Oxford English Dictionary records the phrase "soft power" (meaning "power (of a nation, state, alliance, etc.) deriving from economic and cultural influence, rather than coercion or military strength") from 1985.

{{oed | soft power}} - "S. Boonyapratuang Mil. Control in S.E. Asia iii. 72 Musjawarah (decision by discussion) and 'soft power' became the stances of his control."

Joseph Nye popularized the concept of "soft power" in the late 1980s.

{{cite book

|last1 = Nye

|first1 = Joseph S.

|author-link1 = Joseph Nye

|date = 16 March 2004

|title = Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wuqOAAAAMAAJ

|publication-place = New York

|publisher = PublicAffairs

|page = ix, xi

|isbn = 9781586482251

|access-date = 16 March 2023

|quote = [...] I had coined the term 'soft power' a decade or so earlier. [...] I first developed the concept of 'soft power' in Bound to Lead, a book I published in 1990 [...].

}}

For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want. There are several ways one can achieve this: one can coerce others with threats; one can induce them with payments; or one can attract and co-opt them to want what one wants. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes one wants – co-opts people rather than coerces them.{{sfn|Nye|1990}}

Soft power contrasts with "hard power" – the use of coercion and payment. Soft power can be wielded not just by states but also by all actors in international politics, such as NGOs or international institutions.{{sfn|Nye|2004a}} It is also considered by some an example of the "second face of power"

{{cite book

|editor-last1 = Parlak

|editor-first1 = Bekir

|date = 15 October 2022

|title = The Handbook of Public Administration, Vol. 2

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5tWYEAAAQBAJ

|publisher = Livre de Lyon

|page = 346

|isbn = 9782382363003

|access-date = 16 March 2023

|quote = The second face of power is soft power.

}}

that indirectly allows one to obtain the outcomes one wants.

{{cite book

|last1 = Sobrinho

|first1 = Blasco José

|year = 2001

|title = Signs, Solidarities, and Sociology: Charles S. Peirce and the Pragmatics of Globalization

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BtwpzP9qKawC

|publication-place = Lanham, Maryland

|publisher = Rowman & Littlefield

|page = 115

|isbn = 9780847691791

|access-date = 16 March 2023

|quote = [...] the notion of a 'second face of power'" — less 'obvious' to empirical observation — introduced in 1962 by Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz in 'The Two Faces of Power.' The views of Bachrach and Baratz, presented comprehensively in their 1970 book Power and Poverty drew [...] upon post-empiricist (post-positivist) philosophy of science to argue that [...] social science should consider those aspects of political life that are covert and 'nonobvious.' [...] Bachrach and Baratz put forward the concept of the 'nondecision,' which they defined as 'a decision that results in suppression or thwarting of a latent or manifest challenge to the values or interests of the decision-maker.'

}}

{{cite book

|last1 = Mattern

|first1 = Mark

|year = 2006

|title = Putting Ideas to Work: A Practical Introduction to Political Thought

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QTCTywjlr-IC

|series = Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series

|publication-place = Lanham, Maryland

|publisher = Rowman & Littlefield

|page = 372

|isbn = 9780742548909

|access-date = 16 March 2023

|quote = The exercise of the second face of power often occurs in the form of a nonaction or nonbehavior by the policy makers . Unlike the first face of power , in which A makes B do something that B would not otherwise do , in the second face of power A prevents B from doing something that B would like to do.

}}

A country's soft power, according to Nye, rests on three resources: "its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when others see them as legitimate and having moral authority)."{{sfn|Nye|2011|p=84}}

{{Blockquote|"A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries – admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness – want to follow it. In this sense, it is also important to set the agenda and attract others in world politics, and not only to force them to change by threatening military force or economic sanctions. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them."{{sfn|Nye|2004a}}

}}

Soft power resources are the assets that produce attraction, which often leads to acquiescence.{{sfn|Nye|2004a}} Nye asserts that, "Seduction is always more effective than coercion, and many values like democracy, human rights, and individual opportunities are deeply seductive."{{sfn|Nye|2004a|p=x}} Angelo Codevilla observed that an often overlooked essential aspect of soft power is that different parts of populations are attracted or repelled by different things, ideas, images, or prospects.Angelo M. Codevilla, "Political Warfare: A Set of Means for Achieving Political Ends", in Waller, ed., Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare (IWP Press, 2008). Soft power is hampered when policies, culture, or values repel others instead of attracting them.

In his book, Nye argues that soft power is a more difficult instrument for governments to wield than hard power for two reasons: many of its critical resources are outside the control of governments, and soft power tends to "work indirectly by shaping the environment for policy, and sometimes takes years to produce the desired outcomes."{{sfn|Nye|2004a|p=x}}Lord, Carnes, "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power", in Waller, ed., Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare (IWP Press, 2008.) pp. 59–71. The book identifies three broad categories of soft power: "culture", "political values", and "policies."

In The Future of Power (2011), Nye reiterates that soft power is a descriptive, rather than a normative, concept.{{sfn|Nye|2011|p=81}} Therefore, soft power can be wielded for nefarious purposes. "Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all possessed a great deal of soft power in the eyes of their acolytes, but that did not make it good. It is not necessarily better to twist minds than to twist arms."{{sfn|Nye|2011|p=81}} Nye also claims that soft power does not contradict the international relations theory of realism. "Soft power is not a form of idealism or liberalism. It is simply a form of power, one way of getting desired outcomes."{{sfn|Nye|2011|p=82}}

Soft power has been criticized as being ineffective by authors such as Niall Ferguson in the preface to Colossus.{{cn|date=October 2024}} Neorealist and other rationalist and neorationalist authors (with the exception of Stephen Walt) dismiss soft power out of hand as they assert that actors in international relations respond to only two types of incentives: economic incentives and force.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

As a concept, it can be difficult to distinguish soft power from hard power. For example, Janice Bially Mattern argues that George W. Bush's use of the phrase "you are either with us or with the terrorists" was in fact an exercise of hard power. Though military and economic force was not used to pressure other states to join its coalition, a kind of force – representational force – was used. This kind of force threatens the identity of its partners, forcing them to comply or risk being labeled as evil. This being the case, soft power is therefore not so soft.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1177/03058298050330031601|title = Why 'Soft Power' Isn't So Soft: Representational Force and the Sociolinguistic Construction of Attraction in World Politics|year = 2005|last1 = Mattern|first1 = Janice Bially|journal = Millennium: Journal of International Studies|volume = 33|issue = 3|pages = 583–612|s2cid = 144848371|url=https://www.academia.edu/1141856}} Page 586.

There are also recent articles about the concept's neglect of its defensive use. Since Nye's approach "mainly focuses on how to get others to do your bidding", some researchers argued that rising powers, such as China, are creating new approaches to soft power, thus using it defensively.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/pafo.12153 |title=China's Charm Defensive: Image Protection by Acquiring Mass Entertainment |year=2020 |last1=Eliküçük Yıldırım |first1=Nilgün |last2=Aslan |first2=Mesut |journal=Pacific Focus |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=141–171 |doi-access=free}}

Additionally, others have argued that more attention needs to be paid towards locating and understanding how actors' attempts at soft power can backfire, leading to reputational damage or loss, or what has been termed 'soft disempowerment'.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1093/ia/iiy125 |title=The soft power–soft disempowerment nexus: The case of Qatar |year=2018 |last1=Brannagan |first1=Paul Michael |last2=Giulianotti |first2=Richard |journal=International Affairs |volume=94 |issue=5 |pages=1139–1157 |doi-access=free}}

Amit Kumar Gupta has written on what he regards as a flaw in the definition provided by Nye,{{Cite book |last=Nye |first=Joseph S |title=SOFT POWER: The Means to Success in World Politics |date=2004 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn= 978-1-58648-306-7 |edition=1st |location=New York |publication-date=2004 |pages=X |language=English}} and has made an effort to redefine the concept. Citing Nye's definition, the author writes that, "a country's behaviour in the international platform is not in the least determined by the other parties' attraction in soft power terms. Every country weighs its interest and follows its convictions before taking any decision."{{Cite journal |last=Gupta |first=Amit Kumar |date=2023 |title=Re-examining the Concept of Soft Power and Initiating a Debate on How to Define the Concept from the Negative and Positive Connotations |url=https://www.softpowerjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SOFT-Taco-19-ottobre-2.pdf |journal=Soft Power Journal: Euro-American Journal of Historical and Theoretical Studies of Politics and Law |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=164–187 |via=University of Salerno and Universidad Católica De Colombia}} Gupta proposes the terms "positive soft power" and "negative soft power" to replace Nye's definition.

An initial undertaking to measure soft power through a composite index was published by the Institute for Government (IfG) and the media company Monocle in 2010.{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=McClory |title=The new persuaders: an international ranking of soft power |date=2010-12-07 |publisher=Institute for Government |url=http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications_download.php?id=20 |work=Institute for Government website |page=13 |access-date=2011-05-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724053803/http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications_download.php?id=20 |archive-date=2011-07-24}} The IfG-Monocle Soft Power Index, created by then IfG senior researcher Jonathan McClory, combined a range of statistical metrics and subjective panel scores to measure the soft power resources of 26 countries. The metrics were organized according to a framework of five sub-indices including culture, diplomacy, education, business/innovation, and government. The index is said to measure the soft power resources of countries, and does not translate directly into ability influence. Monocle has published an annual Soft Power Survey since then. As of 2016/17, the list is calculated using around 50 factors that indicate the use of soft power, including the number of cultural missions (primarily language schools), Olympic medals, the quality of a country's architecture and business brands.{{cite web |url=https://monocle.com/film/affairs/soft-power-survey-2018-19/ |title=Soft Power Survey 2018/19 |date=2018 |publisher=Monocle |access-date=2018-12-21 |archive-date=2021-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413144356/https://monocle.com/film/affairs/soft-power-survey-2018-19/ |url-status=live}}

The Soft Power 30, which includes a foreword by Joseph Nye, is a ranking of countries' soft power produced and published by the media company Portland in 2015. The ranking is based on "the quality of a country's political institutions, the extent of their cultural appeal, the strength of their diplomatic network, the global reputation of their higher education system,{{cite journal |last1=Gauttam |first1=Priya |last2=Singh |first2=Bawa |last3=Singh |first3=Sandeep |last4=Bika |first4=Shankar Lal |last5=Tiwari |first5=Raghavendra P. |title=Education as a soft power resource: A systematic review |journal=Heliyon |date=2024 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=e23736 |doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23736 |doi-access=free|pmid=38268586 |pmc=10806264 |bibcode=2024Heliy..1023736G }} the attractiveness of their economic model, and a country's digital engagement with the world."{{cite web |last1=McClory|first1=Jonathan|title=The Soft Power 30 - A Global Ranking of Soft Power |url=http://softpower30.portland-communications.com/pdfs/the_soft_power_30.pdf |publisher=Portland |access-date=17 July 2015 |date=July 2015 |archive-date=23 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723161800/http://softpower30.portland-communications.com/pdfs/the_soft_power_30.pdf |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=Softly does it |url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657655-oxbridge-one-direction-and-premier-league-bolster-britains-power-persuade-softly-does-it |access-date=17 July 2015 |newspaper=The Economist |date=18 July 2015 |archive-date=17 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717004042/http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21657655-oxbridge-one-direction-and-premier-league-bolster-britains-power-persuade-softly-does-it |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=In 'soft power' terms, Japan ranks eighth out of 30 countries in U.K. consultancy report |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/15/national/soft-power-terms-japan-ranks-eighth-30-u-k-consultancy-gauge/#.Value4u-ra4 |access-date=17 July 2015 |work=Japan Times |date=15 July 2015 |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721192434/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/15/national/soft-power-terms-japan-ranks-eighth-30-u-k-consultancy-gauge/#.Value4u-ra4 |url-status=live}}

The Elcano Global Presence Report scores the EU first for soft presence.{{cite web |date=2018 |title=Elcano Global Presence Report 2018 |url=http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/897b80cc-47fa-4130-9c3d-24e16c7f0a66/Global_Presence_2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=897b80cc-47fa-4130-9c3d-24e16c7f0a66|access-date=December 5, 2018 |publisher=Real Instituto Elcano |page=20 |archive-date=January 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106153436/http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/897b80cc-47fa-4130-9c3d-24e16c7f0a66/Global_Presence_2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=897b80cc-47fa-4130-9c3d-24e16c7f0a66 |url-status=live}} Soft power, then, represents the third behavioral way of getting the outcomes you want. Soft power is contrasted with hard power, which has historically been the predominant realist measure of national power, through quantitative metrics such as population size, concrete military assets, or a nation's gross domestic product. But having such resources does not always produce the desired outcomes, as the United States discovered in the Vietnam War.

The success of soft power heavily depends on the actor's reputation within the international community, as well as the flow of information between actors. Thus, soft power is often associated with the rise of globalization and neoliberal international relations theory. Popular culture and mass media are regularly identified as a source of soft power,{{cite web |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20110625-economic-warfare-on-the-silver-screen-cinema-cannes-festival-2011-hollywood-france |title=Economic warfare on the silver screen |publisher=FRANCE 24 |date=28 June 2011 |access-date=2012-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119013813/http://www.france24.com/en/20110625-economic-warfare-on-the-silver-screen-cinema-cannes-festival-2011-hollywood-france |archive-date=19 January 2012}} as is the spread of a national language or a particular set of normative structures. More particularly, international news was found crucial in shaping the image and reputation of foreign countries. The high prominence of the US in international news, for example, has been linked to its soft power.{{cite journal |last1=Blondheim |first1=Menahem |last2=Segev |first2=Elad |s2cid=146592424 |title=Just Spell US Right: America's News Prominence and Soft Power |journal=Journalism Studies |volume=18 |issue=9 |pages=1128–1147 |date=2015 |doi=10.1080/1461670X.2015.1114899}} Positive news coverage was associated with positive international views, while negative news coverage with negative views.{{cite book |last=Segev |first=Elad |title=International News Online: Global Views with Local Perspectives |year=2016 |publisher=Peter Lang |location=New York |isbn=9781433129841 |pages=139–153 |url=http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=85473&concordeid=312985 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611205324/http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=85473&concordeid=312985 |archive-date=2016-06-11}}

|

|

|

|}

Academics have engaged in several debates around soft power. These have included:

• Its usefulness (Giulio Gallarotti, Niall Ferguson, Josef Joffe, Robert Kagan, Ken Waltz, Mearsheimer vs Nye, Katzenstein, Janice Bially Mattern, Jacques Hymans, Alexander Vuving, Jan Mellisen)
• How soft power and hard power interact (Giulio Gallarotti, Joseph Nye)
• Whether soft power can be coercive or manipulative, (Janice Bially Mattern, Katzenstein, Duvall & Barnet vs Nye, Vuving)
• How the relationship between structure and agency work (Hymans vs Nye)
• Whether soft balancing is occurring (Wohlforth & Brooks vs Walt et al..)
• Soft power and normative power in Europe (Ian Manners, A Ciambra, Thomas Diez, A Hyde Pryce, Richard Whitman)
• How civil resistance (i.e., non-violent forms of resistance) can often involve certain uses of soft power, but remains a distinct concept (Adam Roberts, Timothy Garton Ash)

The Soviet Union competed with the U.S. for influence throughout the Cold War. The Soviets were engaged in a broad campaign to convince the world of the attractiveness of its Communist system. In 1945, the Soviet Union was very effective in attracting many in Europe from its resistance to Hitler, and in colonized areas around the world because of its opposition to European imperialism.{{sfn|Nye|2004a|loc=Chapter 3}} The Soviets also employed a substantially large public diplomacy program that included: promoting their high culture, broadcasting, disseminating information about the West, and sponsoring nuclear protests, peace movements, and youth organizations. Despite all of this, the Soviets' closed system and lack of popular culture impeded the ability of the Soviet Union to compete with the U.S. in terms of soft power.{{Cite book |title=Soviet soft power in Poland: culture and the making of Stalin's new empire, 1943-1957 |last=Babiracki |first=Patryk |date=2015 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9781469623085 |location=Chapel Hill |oclc=911173017}}

File:Umm Kulthum 1969.jpg, example of Egypt's soft power in the 20th century Arab World]]

A number of non-democratic governments have attempted to use migration as an instrument of soft power: Egypt under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser trained and dispatched thousands of teachers across the Arab world in an effort to spread ideas of anti-colonialism and anti-Zionism.{{Cite journal |last=Tsourapas |first=Gerasimos |s2cid=158085638 |title=Authoritarian emigration states: Soft power and cross-border mobility in the Middle East |journal=International Political Science Review |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=400–416|doi=10.1177/0192512118759902 |year=2018 |url=http://pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/files/48708510/Tsourapas_Authoritarian_emigration_states_IPSR_2018.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222110637/http://pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/files/48708510/Tsourapas_Authoritarian_emigration_states_IPSR_2018.pdf |archive-date=2019-12-22 }} In Cuba, the Fidel Castro regime's medical internationalism programme has dispatched thousands of medical professionals abroad for cultural diplomacy purposes.{{Cite book |title=Cuban medical internationalism : origins, evolution, and goals |last1=Kirk |first1=John M. |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |last2=Erisman |first2=H. Michael |isbn=978-1403983725 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=248348330}} The Chinese-sponsored Confucius Institutes across the world rely on Chinese teachers in order to strengthen the country's soft power abroad.{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/china-soft-power-offensive-confucius-institute-education/|title=China's soft power offensive|date=2017-12-26|work=POLITICO|access-date=2018-06-16|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616153344/https://www.politico.eu/article/china-soft-power-offensive-confucius-institute-education/|url-status=live}}

The United States and Europe have consistently been sources of influence and soft power.{{cite web |first1=Joseph |last1=Nye |author1-link=Joseph S. Nye |title=Europe's Soft Power |url=http://www.theglobalist.com/europes-soft-power/ |publisher=The Globalist |access-date=30 July 2015 |date=3 May 2004 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208183728/http://www.theglobalist.com/europes-soft-power/ |url-status=live}} European culture's art, literature, music, design, fashion, and even food have been global magnets for some time.{{sfn|Nye|2004a|loc=Chapter 3}} Europe and the U.S. have often claimed to support human rights and international law throughout the world. In 2012, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for over six decades [it has] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe."{{cite web |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 - European Union (EU) |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2012/eu-facts.html |publisher=Nobel Prize |access-date=24 December 2013 |archive-date=14 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214011947/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2012/eu-facts.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=From war to peace: European Union accepts Nobel Prize |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/world/nobel-peace-prize/ |access-date=24 December 2013 |newspaper=CNN |date=10 December 2012 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120940/http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/world/nobel-peace-prize/ |url-status=live}} In 2019, the U.S. has the second largest diplomatic network in the world,{{Cite web |title=Global Diplomacy Index – Country Rank |url=https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html |access-date=2020-10-14 |website=Lowy Institute |ref=Lowy2019 |archive-date=2019-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201012801/http://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/country_rank.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=2019-11-27 |title=China now has the most diplomatic posts worldwide |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50569237 |access-date=2020-08-10 |archive-date=2020-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906012525/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50569237 |url-status=live}} the largest number of foreign journalists based in the country,{{cite web |title=Soft Power Survey 2012 |url=http://monocle.com/film/affairs/soft-power-survey-2012/ |publisher=Monocle |access-date=16 December 2013 |archive-date=27 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727144158/http://monocle.com/film/affairs/soft-power-survey-2012/ |url-status=live}} and is the most popular destination for international students.{{cite web |title=Study in the USA |url=http://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/ |publisher=International Student |access-date=5 December 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208143659/http://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/ |url-status=live}} American films, television, music, advertising, fashion, food, economic models, political culture, and literature have contributed to the Americanization of other cultures.{{cite web |last1=Fluck |first1=Winfried |title=The Americanization of Modern Culture: A Cultural History of the Popular Media* |url=http://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/en/v/publications_fluck/2000/Romance_with_America/Fluck__Winfried_-_The_Americanization_of_Modern_Culture.pdf |publisher=John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, Berlin |access-date=5 December 2015 |date=2009 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208165450/http://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/en/v/publications_fluck/2000/Romance_with_America/Fluck__Winfried_-_The_Americanization_of_Modern_Culture.pdf |url-status=live}}

Asia and more recently China have been working to use the potential soft power assets that are present in the admiration of their ancient cultures, arts, fashion and cuisine.{{Cite book |title=Soft power with Chinese characteristics: China's campaign for hearts and minds |publisher=Routledge |others=Edney, Kingsley, Rosen, Stanley, Zhu, Ying, editors |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-351-80435-6 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=1130023014}} China is presenting itself as a defender of national sovereignty,Friedberg, Aaron L. A Contest for Supremacy: China, America and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia, New York: Norton Publishing, 2011. which became an issue after the NATO air campaign to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and NATO's support of the rebels in Libya.Felgenhauer, Pavel. "The Fall of Gaddafi Angers Many In Moscow". Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 164. September 8, 2011. http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38374 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530045039/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38374 |date=2013-05-30 }} The Chinese are also competing with the United States to gain influence throughout the South Pacific, however some commentators have said their recent assertiveness in this region has created an appeal for nations in this region to align with the United States thus increasing U.S. soft power in this area.Friedberg, Aaron L. A Contest for Supremacy: China, America and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia, New York: Norton Publishing, 2011. p. 200

Soft power extends beyond the operations of government, to the activities of the private sector and to society and culture at large.Lord, Carnes, "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power", in Waller, ed., Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare (IWP Press, 2008) p. 60. Soft power has gained more influence because it addresses the underlying dispositions of the people who have increasingly become more active in their governments. This is true even in authoritarian countries where people and institutions are increasingly able to shape the debate.{{Cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/agency/dod/dsb/commun.pdf |title=Defense Science Board, Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics |date=September 2004}}

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth Government, Australia maintains a good reputation thanks to “its democracy, rule of law, strong economy, quality education, cutting-edge science, multiculturalism and environmental protections”, enabling to its citizens and institutions to “speak with confidence and credibility in the world stage”.{{Cite web |title=Soft power |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/minisite/static/4ca0813c-585e-4fe1-86eb-de665e65001a/fpwhitepaper/foreign-policy-white-paper/chapter-eight-partnerships-and-soft-power/soft-power.html#:~:text=Having%20the%20ability%20to%20influence,underpinned%20by%20some%20enduring%20strengths. |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=dfat.gov.au}} Education has remained central to Australia's soft power,{{Cite web |last1=C. Tyler |first1=Melissa |last2=Van Leuven |first2=Bridgette |date=10 March 2020 |title=The soft power of education |url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-soft-power-of-education |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=The University of Melbourne}} being one of the most recognized education powerhouses in the world with more than 700,000 international students enrolled.{{Cite news |last=Karp |first=Paul |last2= |first2= |date=2 April 2024 |title=New record set for number of international students in Australia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/02/new-record-set-for-number-of-international-students-in-australia |access-date=14 August 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In 2023, Australia's nation branding was ranked as the world's ninth strongest according to the Nation Brand Index, which positions Australia as an attractive place for tourism and foreign investment:{{Cite web |date=10 November 2023 |title=Australia's nation brand gains rank to 9th in world |url=https://www.austrade.gov.au/en/news-and-analysis/media-centre/media-releases/australia-s-nation-brand-gains-rank-to-9th-in-world |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=www.austrade.gov.au}} it perceives the world's eighth largest tourism receipts{{Cite web |date=May 2024 |title=World Tourism Barometer |url=https://pre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-06/Barom_PPT_May_2024.pdf?VersionId=U7O62HatlG4eNAj.wcmuQG1PMCjK.Yss#page13 |access-date=14 August 2024 |page=19 |website=UN Tourism |format=PDF}} and it is the 16th largest FDI receptor.{{Cite web |title=Statistics on who invests in Australia |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/trade-and-investment-data-information-and-publications/foreign-investment-statistics/statistics-on-who-invests-in-australia |access-date=14 August 2024 |website=dfat.gov.au}}

The Middle East has been an area in which soft power has been employed by both regional and outside actors. Small states, such as Qatar, frequently employ soft-power strategies, including the use of al-Jazeera and the hosting of sports events, in their foreign policymaking.{{Cite journal |last1=Brannagan |first1=Paul Michael |last2=Giulianotti |first2=Richard |date=2018 |title=The soft power–soft disempowerment nexus: the case of Qatar |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy125 |journal=International Affairs |volume=94 |issue=5 |pages=1139–1157 |doi=10.1093/ia/iiy125 |issn=0020-5850}} Outside powers, such as the United States or China, also employ soft power in terms of expanding their influence across the Middle East.{{Cite book |last=Rugh |first=William A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iH3DEAAAQBAJ&dq=soft+power+middle+east&pg=PR7 |title=American Encounters with Arabs: The Soft Power of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East |date=2005-11-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-05524-9 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Tella |first=Oluwaseun |date=2016-11-05 |title=Wielding soft power in strategic regions: an analysis of China's power of attraction in Africa and the Middle East |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bafr/8/2/article-p133_5.xml |journal=Africa Review |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=133–144 |doi=10.1080/09744053.2016.1186868 |issn=0974-4061}} Competition amongst states of the Middle East often involves the use of soft power, as in the case of Egyptian-Israeli rivalry over Africa,{{Cite journal |last1=Siniver |first1=Asaf |last2=Tsourapas |first2=Gerasimos |date=2023-01-20 |title=Middle Powers and Soft-Power Rivalry: Egyptian–Israeli Competition in Africa |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |volume=19 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/fpa/orac041 |issn=1743-8586|doi-access=free }} or Saudi-Iranian relations.{{Cite book |last=Mabon |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9aLDwAAQBAJ&q=Saudi+Arabia+and+Iran+The+struggle+to+shape+the+Middle+East |title=Saudi Arabia and Iran: Power and Rivalry in the Middle East |date=2015-10-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-907-1 |language=en}}

Iran’s soft power, driven by its Shia Islamic ideology, Iranian-Persian background, civilization and history, the legacy of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and Anti-Zionist stance exerts significant influence in the Middle East, the broader Islamic world, Central Asia, Africa and even the West.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-13 |title=The Iranian Revolutionary Apparatus and Hezbollah in West Africa {{!}} Hudson Institute |url=https://www.hudson.org/node/44280 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=www.hudson.org |language=en}} Central to this influence is the promotion of anti-imperialist, Islamic, and Shia ideologies like Khomeinism and political interpretation of Shia Islam, which have fostered strong ties with the Muslim world, especially countries in the "Axis of Resistance" such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen that have led to the foundation of many Islamic and Shia groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Resistance groups in Iraq, Islamic Jihad in Palestine and many others across the region. Iran also promotes the idea of a "Greater Iran," connecting culturally and ideologically with Persian-speaking nations like Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, where the Persian language plays a unifying role.{{Cite journal |last=Akbar |first=Ali |date=2023-08-08 |title=Iran's soft power in the Middle East via the promotion of the Persian language |journal=Contemporary Politics |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=424–445 |doi=10.1080/13569775.2023.2169305 |issn=1356-9775|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |last=Lester |first=Stephanie |date=2024-02-09 |title=Return of the Cypress: Iran's Foreign Policy Ambitions in Central Asia |url=https://www.us-iran.org/news/centralasia |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=American Iranian Council |language=en-US}}

In the Islamic world, Iran’s influence extends beyond its borders, particularly in countries of the Axis of Resistance and other countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Muslim world, where Shia communities often look to Iran for religious guidance and political inspiration, and some Sunnis support the Axis of Resistance and are attracted by Iran's anti-Israeli policies in countries like Palestine, Qatar and Syria. Iran's cultural and religious outreach, including media, educational exchanges, and religious diplomacy, strengthens its ties with Shia and Islamic populations worldwide. Iran's anti-imperialist and anti-colonial stance, rooted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is attractive to many. By positioning itself as a defender of sovereignty against U.S. influence, Iran resonates with anti-globalization movements and intellectuals critical of Western interventionism.

In Latin America, Iran’s solidarity with anti-imperialist governments, like Venezuela, strengthens ties based on mutual resistance to U.S. domination, promoting a shared vision of self-determination. Iran’s ideological message, combining anti-imperialism, Islamic and Shia values, Iranian cultural and historical roots, and cultural diplomacy, has made it a significant actor on the regional and world stage, inspiring and fostering relations with a diverse range of countries committed to challenging Western domination and promoting an alternative vision of global order.{{Cite web |title=Religion as a Soft Power Tool: Iran's Export of Twelver Shia Islam to Syria |url=https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/religion-soft-power-tool-irans-export-twelver-shia-islam-syria |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=rusi.orghttps |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Tracking Iranian Soft Power Influence in the KRI {{!}} The Washington Institute |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/tracking-iranian-soft-power-influence-kri |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=www.washingtoninstitute.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Iran and Iraq: The Shia Connection, Soft Power, and the Nuclear Factor |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2005/11/iran-and-iraq-shia-connection-soft-power-and-nuclear-factor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310194948/https://www.usip.org/publications/2005/11/iran-and-iraq-shia-connection-soft-power-and-nuclear-factor |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2017 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Beyond guns and oil: The emerging soft power rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/beyond-guns-and-oil-emerging-soft-power-rivalry-between-iran-and-saudi-arabia |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}}

{{Main|Soft power of China}}

China's traditional culture has been a source of attraction, building on which it has created several hundred Confucius Institutes around the world to teach its language and culture. The enrollment of foreign students in China has increased from 36,000 a decade before to at least 240,000 in 2010.{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=Joseph S. Nye |date=2012-01-17 |title=Opinion {{!}} Why China Is Weak on Soft Power |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/opinion/why-china-is-weak-on-soft-power.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} China is the most popular country in Asia for international students,{{Cite web |date=2007-10-01 |title=International Student Mobility: Patterns and Trends |url=https://wenr.wes.org/2007/10/wenr-october-2007-feature |access-date=2020-09-11 |website=WENR |language=en-US |archive-date=2020-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813050208/https://wenr.wes.org/2007/10/wenr-october-2007-feature |url-status=live}} the leading destination globally for Anglophone African students,{{cite web |title=China tops US and UK as destination for anglophone African students |url=https://theconversation.com/china-tops-us-and-uk-as-destination-for-anglophone-african-students-78967 |access-date=18 February 2018 |first1=Victoria |last1=Breeze |first2=Nathan |last2=Moore |work=The Conversation |date=27 June 2017 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109004110/https://theconversation.com/china-tops-us-and-uk-as-destination-for-anglophone-african-students-78967 |url-status=live}} and the second most popular education powerhouse in the world.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-27 |title=China's 2020 target: reshaping global mobility flows |url=https://www.eaie.org/blog/china-2020-target-reshaping-global-mobility-flows.html |access-date=2020-05-05 |website=EAIE |language=en |archive-date=2021-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010111212/https://www.eaie.org/blog/china-2020-target-reshaping-global-mobility-flows.html |url-status=live}} China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has attracted many Western countries to join.{{cite magazine |title=With New Bank, China Shows U.S. It's Got Soft Power |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/03/23/with-new-bank-china-shows-u-s-its-got-soft-power/print/ |magazine=Forbes |access-date=31 July 2015 |date=23 March 2015}} China has the largest diplomatic network in the world, overtaking the US in 2019. The provision of Chinese medical aid during the COVID-19 pandemic has been dubbed "facemask diplomacy".{{Cite news |last1=Waterson |first1=Jim |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/china-steps-up-western-media-campaign-over-coronavirus-crisis |title=China steps up western media campaign over coronavirus crisis |date=2020-04-03 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2020-04-06 |last2=Kuo |first2=Lily |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=2020-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405142432/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/china-steps-up-western-media-campaign-over-coronavirus-crisis |url-status=live}}{{Cite journal |last=Yuan |first=Shaoyu |date=2023-12-31 |title=Government Legitimacy and International Image: Why Variations Occurred in China's Responses to COVID-19 |url=https://doi.org/10.17477/JCEA.2023.22.2.018 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=18–38 |doi=10.17477/JCEA.2023.22.2.018}}File:Arrive du CONCORDE à Abidjan en 1978.jpg arrives in Ivory Coast, a former French colony, in 1978. Concorde was often used as a symbol of French prestige and a vessel of soft power.{{Cite journal |url= |title=Aviation diplomacy: a conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between aviation and international relations |first=Michał Marcin |last=Kobierecki |date=June 24, 2020 |journal=Place Branding and Public Diplomacy |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=293–303 |via=Springer Link |doi=10.1057/s41254-020-00172-5 |pmc=7313438}}]]

According to a 2018 study in the American Sociological Review, France had greater influence on European geopolitics than Britain in the 18th century because of its cultural and symbolic power.{{Cite journal |last=Brundage |first=Jonah Stuart |date=2018 |title=The Social Sources of Geopolitical Power: French and British Diplomacy and the Politics of Interstate Recognition, 1689 to 1789 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48588591 |journal=American Sociological Review |volume=83 |issue=6 |pages=1254–1280 |doi=10.1177/0003122418811264 |jstor=48588591 |s2cid=219951985 |issn=0003-1224}}

The annual soft power rankings by Monocle magazine and the Institute for Government ranks 30 countries which "best attract favor from other nations through culture, sport, cuisine, design, diplomacy and beyond." Monocle magazine said: "Merkel may be painted as a stern taskmaster but it seems she has a softer side, or the country she leads does." It said Germany's rise as a soft power should not come as a surprise. "The country is traditionally excellent at pursuing its ideas, values and aims using diplomatic, cultural and economic tools," it said. "By quietly doing the simple things well it is a country that has become a global power and the rest of us can feel comfortable with that." Germans had been understandably wary about depicting a dominant image abroad, the magazine added, but it said that the country's rise should not make everyone else feel uncomfortable.{{Cite web |date=2013-11-21 |title=Germany tops world 'soft power' rankings |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20131121/germany-number-one-for-soft-power |access-date=2024-07-10}}{{cite news|title=Gerhard Schröder: 'Germany Can Only Lead Europe the Way Porcupines Mate'|newspaper=Der Spiegel|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-former-german-chancellor-gerhard-schroeder-on-foreign-policy-a-891839.html|publisher=Spiegel Online International|access-date=30 July 2015|date=1 April 2013|archive-date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928201741/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-former-german-chancellor-gerhard-schroeder-on-foreign-policy-a-891839.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Obama sets off on farewell trip to Europe in shadow of president-elect|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/14/barack-obama-faces-awkward-task-on-sad-farewell-visit-to-europe|access-date=14 November 2016|agency=Reuters|date=14 November 2016|quote=As the Americans see it, Merkel – and certainly not the vainglorious European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker – runs the EU. It is Merkel who negotiated the Minsk deal with Russia that defused the Ukraine crisis. She knows Vladimir Putin better than any other western leader does. It is Merkel who took the lead on Syrian refugees and the eurozone crisis.|archive-date=14 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114155053/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/14/barack-obama-faces-awkward-task-on-sad-farewell-visit-to-europe|url-status=live}} In 2017, Germany had the eighth largest diplomatic network in the world.

File:Mazoezi ya yoga.jpg Practice in Tanzania]]

The five pillars of India's soft power—dignity, dialogue, shared prosperity, regional and global security, and cultural and civilizational links—are strategically employed to enhance its global influence.Amb (Retd) Bhaswati Mukherjee, "India's Culture Diplomacy and Soft Power," Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, October 18, 2019, [https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?855#:~=The%20five%20pillars%20of%20this,(Cultural%20and%20civilizational%20links). Published online] On May 21, 2021, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) announced plans to use Indian cuisine as a form of soft power, emphasizing its role in showcasing India's cultural heritage. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, [https://www.iccr.gov.in/flashnews/iccr-plans-use-indian-cuisine-soft-power-and-take-its-food-diversity-world].

Additionally, the soft power of India in Africa has been reflected in cultural exchanges, including the influence of Bollywood movies, the spread of yoga practices, and the involvement of the Indian diaspora. H.H.S. Viswanathan, "India's Soft Power Diplomacy," Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, September 04, 2019, [https://www.mea.gov.in/distinguished-lectures-detail.htm?850 Published online]

The elements of Italian soft culture are its art, music, fashion, design, and food. Italy was the birthplace of opera,Kimbell, David R. B. [https://books.google.com/books?id=C37Gq2GagZIC&pg=PA1 Italian Opera.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011234953/https://books.google.com/books?id=C37Gq2GagZIC&pg=PA1&dq= |date=2022-10-11 }} Cambridge University Press, 1994. p. 1. Web. 22 Jul. 2012. and for generations the language of opera was Italian. Popular tastes in drama in Italy have long favored comedy; the improvisational style known as the Commedia dell'arte began in Italy in the mid-16th century{{cite web |language=it |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/commedia-dell-arte/ |title=Commedia dell'arte |work=Treccani, il portale del sapere |access-date=24 Jul 2012 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104120129/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/commedia-dell-arte/ |url-status=live }} and is still performed today. Before being exported to France and Russia, Ballet also originated in Italy.

The country boasts several world-famous cities: Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire and seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church. Rome is generally considered one of the "cradles of Western civilization and Christian culture".{{cite book |title=Understanding China Today: An Exploration of Politics, Economics, Society, and International Relations |first=Silvio |last=Beretta |year=2017 |isbn=9783319296258 |page=320 |publisher=Springer |quote=}}{{cite book |title=Christianity: Religions of the World |first=Ann Marie B. |last=Bahr |year=2009 |isbn=9781438106397 |page=139 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |quote=}}{{cite book |title=Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism |first=Peter R. |last=D'Agostino |year=2005 |isbn=9780807863411 |page= |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}} Florence was the heart of the Renaissance, a period of great achievements in the artsZirpolo, Lilian H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QPqWxHwdMNAC&pg=PA154 The A to Z of Renaissance Art.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011235002/https://books.google.com/books?id=QPqWxHwdMNAC&pg=PA154&dq= |date=2022-10-11 }} Scarecrow Press, 2009. pp. 154-156. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. which marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Other important cities include Turin, one of the world's great centers of automobile engineering. Milan is one of the "Big Four" fashion capitals. Venice, with its intricate canal system and history of seafaring, attracts tourists from all over the world especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Venice Biennale.

Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (59) to date.{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Italy - UNESCO World Heritage Convention |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}} In 2019, Italy had the ninth largest diplomatic network in the world. Italy is the fifth most visited country in the World.

{{Main|Cool Japan|Japanese pop culture}}

"Cool Japan" is a concept coined in 2002 as an expression of Japan's popular culture. The concept has been adopted by the Japanese government as well as trade bodies seeking to exploit the commercial capital of the country's culture industry.{{Cite news |title=Squaring the cool |url=https://www.economist.com/banyan/2014/06/17/squaring-the-cool |access-date=2024-07-10 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}Cool Japan Illustrated, http://www.cool-jp.com/index.php It has been described as a form of soft power, "the ability to indirectly influence behavior or interests through cultural or ideological means."{{cite journal |first=Christine R. |last=Yano |title=Wink on Pink: Interpreting Japanese Cute as It Grabs the Global Headlines |year=2009 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=681–688 |doi=10.1017/S0021911809990015 |doi-access=free}} In a 2002 article in the journal Foreign Policy titled "Japan's Gross National Cool", Douglas McGray wrote of Japan "reinventing superpower" as its cultural influence expanded internationally despite the economic and political problems of the "lost decade." Surveying youth culture and the role of J-pop, manga, anime, video game, fashion, film, automobiles, consumer electronics, architecture, and cuisine, McGray highlighted Japan's considerable soft power, posing the question of what message the country might project. He also argued that Japan's recession may even have boosted its national cool, due to the partial discrediting of erstwhile rigid social hierarchies and big-business career paths.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.douglasmcgray.com/cool-japan.html |title=Japan's Gross National Cool |last=McGray |first=Douglas |magazine=Foreign Policy |date=1 May 2002 |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-date=16 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216061649/http://www.douglasmcgray.com/cool-japan.html |url-status=dead}}
{{cite magazine |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2002/05/01/japans_gross_national_cool |title=Japan's Gross National Cool |url-access=subscription |last=McGray |first=Douglas |magazine=Foreign Policy |date=1 May 2002 |access-date=18 March 2011 |archive-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906153012/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2002/05/01/japans_gross_national_cool |url-status=live}} In 2015, during remarks welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House, President Barack Obama thanked Japan for its cultural contributions to the United States by saying:

{{blockquote|This visit is a celebration of the ties of friendship and family that bind our peoples. I first felt it when I was 6 years old when my mother took me to Japan. I felt it growing up in Hawaii, like communities across our country, home to so many proud Japanese Americans... Today is also a chance for Americans, especially our young people, to say thank you for all the things we love from Japan. Like karate and karaoke. Manga and anime. And, of course, emojis.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/04/28/president-obama-thanks-japanese-leader-for-karaoke-emojis/?outputType=amp|title=President Obama thanks Japanese leader for karaoke, emoji|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=28 April 2015}}}}

In 2017, Japan had the fifth largest diplomatic network in the world. Anime, manga and Japanese films are considered to be soft power. In April 2023, the Japan Business Federation laid out a proposal aiming to spur the economic growth of Japan by further promoting the contents industry abroad, primarily anime, manga and video games, for measures to invite industry experts from abroad to come to Japan to work, and to link with the tourism sector to help foreign fans of manga and anime visit sites across the country associated with particular manga stories. The federation seeks on quadrupling the sales of Japanese content in overseas markets within the upcoming 10 years.{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Joana |date=2023-04-10 |title=Japan's leading business lobby group says anime, manga key to economic growth|url=https://www.scmp.com/video/asia/3216598/japans-leading-business-lobby-group-says-anime-manga-key-economic-growth|website=South China Morning Post}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/japan-manga-to-spearhead-nations-economic-growth/a-65393781|title=Japan: Manga to spearhead nation's economic growth|website=DW|date= 23 April 2023}} In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan's cultural influence as the highest in Asia and 5th worldwide.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/influence-rankings|title=Influence Rankings|publisher=USnews |date=2021 |access-date=2021-05-24}} Today, the culture of Japan stands as one of the most popular cultures around the world, mainly because of the global reach of its popular culture.{{Cite web |last=Nagata |first=Kazuaki |date=7 September 2010 |title=Anime makes Japan a cultural superpower |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/09/07/reference/anime-makes-japan-superpower/ |via=Japan Times Online}}{{cite journal|date=31 January 2015|title=How Japan became a pop culture superpower {{!}} The Spectator|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-japan-became-a-pop-culture-superpower/|journal=The Spectator|access-date=12 December 2021|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717054956/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/01/how-japan-became-a-pop-culture-superpower/|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |last=Iwabuchi |first=Koichi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFHTDV6Mq10C&q=american+influence+japanese+media&pg=PA95 |title=Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism |date=2002-10-18 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0822384083|language=en |access-date=2021-12-12 |archive-date=2022-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011235032/https://books.google.com/books?id=dFHTDV6Mq10C&q=american+influence+japanese+media&pg=PA95 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}{{cite web |last1=Tamaki |first1=Taku |title=Japan has turned its culture into a powerful political tool |url=http://theconversation.com/japan-has-turned-its-culture-into-a-powerful-political-tool-72821 |website=The Conversation |date=26 April 2017 |language=en |access-date=2021-12-12 |archive-date=2021-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118214114/https://theconversation.com/japan-has-turned-its-culture-into-a-powerful-political-tool-72821 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |title='Pure Invention': How Japan's pop culture became the 'lingua franca' of the internet |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/07/18/books/pure-invention-jpop-culture/ |work=The Japan Times |date=2020-07-18 |access-date=2021-12-12 |archive-date=2021-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214054619/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/07/18/books/pure-invention-jpop-culture/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |title=How Japan's global image morphed from military empire to eccentric pop-culture superpower|url=https://qz.com/1806376/japans-image-has-changed-from-fierce-to-lovable-over-the-decades/ |publisher=Quartz |date=2020-05-27 |access-date=2021-12-12 |archive-date=2021-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021121139/https://qz.com/1806376/japans-image-has-changed-from-fierce-to-lovable-over-the-decades/amp/ |url-status=live}} Currently, the worldwide spread of Japanese popular culture can most often be seen in the Western world,{{cite web|url=https://beebom.com/the-rise-of-anime-manga-japanese-pop-culture-in-west/|title=The Rise of Anime, Manga, and Japanese Pop Culture in the West|website=Beebom|author=Ajith Kumar|date=28 October 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-behind-the-growing-popularity-of-japanese-comics-and-animations-in-u-s|title=What's behind the growing popularity of Japanese comics and animations in U.S.|website=PBS News|date= 14 May 2024}} Latin America,[https://arkonestudios.com/the-latin-american-appetite-for-asian-content/ The Latin American Appetite for Asian Content]. Ark One Studios.[https://luzmedia.co/asian-heritage-in-latin-america Exploring Asian Heritage in Latin America]. Luz Media. Arab World,{{cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/life-style/2024/03/19/How-Saudi-Arabia-has-become-a-global-hub-for-manga-and-anime|title=How Saudi Arabia has become a global hub for manga and anime|website=Al Arabiya|date=24 March 2024}} East, South and Southeast Asia.{{Cite journal |last=Wu |first=Yuqing |date=2021-08-05 |title=Can Pop Culture Allay Resentment? Japan's Influence in China Today |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/4117 |journal=Media and Communication |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=112–122 |doi=10.17645/mac.v9i3.4117 |issn=2183-2439 |doi-access=free |access-date=February 21, 2024 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226201450/https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/4117 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-12/japanese-anime-soft-power-pokemon-astro-boy-military-manga/104042324|title=From military empire to pop culture phenomenon: Inside Japan's animation revolution|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=11 July 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/08/japanese-cultural-influence-grows-in-india/|title=Japanese Cultural Influence Grows in India|website=The Diplomat|date=29 August 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://fulcrum.sg/aseanfocus/the-courteous-charmer-a-hard-look-at-japans-soft-power-in-southeast-asia/|title=The Courteous Charmer: A Hard Look at Japan's Soft Power in Southeast Asia|date=18 October 2023|website=fulcrum.sg}}

{{update section|date=November 2023|reason=this section may have to be updated due to the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

Russia has been developing its soft power by investing in various public diplomacy instruments throughout the 2000s{{Cite web |url=http://russiadirect.foreignpolicy.com/content/how-moscow-understands-soft-power |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130827052859/http://russiadirect.foreignpolicy.com/content/how-moscow-understands-soft-power |archive-date=27 August 2013 |url-status=dead |title=How Moscow understands soft power | Russia Direct}} but the term was first used in an official document in 2010 as President Medvedev approved an Addendum to the national Foreign Policy Concept. The term was not defined but it was described as related to cultural diplomacy.[http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/ns-osndoc.nsf/e2f289bea62097f9c325787a0034c255/de43a8a4bcd17daac325784500296ef8/$FILE/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%E2%84%96%201.doc Addendum #1 to the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010144614/http://mid.ru/bdomp/ns-osndoc.nsf/e2f289bea62097f9c325787a0034c255/de43a8a4bcd17daac325784500296ef8/$FILE/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%E2%84%96%201.doc |date=2013-10-10 }} (in Russian) In 2013, the term appeared in a new version of the Foreign Policy Concept where the soft power was defined as "a comprehensive toolkit for achieving foreign policy objectives building on civil society potential, information, cultural and other methods and technologies alternative to traditional diplomacy."Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation Approved by President of the Russian Federation V. Putin on 12 February 2013. In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time Person of the Year. In 2013, he was named most powerful person by Forbes magazine.{{cite web|title=How Russian President Vladimir Putin Became The Most Powerful Individual On Earth|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-great-year-2013-12|access-date=1 July 2014|website=Business Insider|date=17 December 2013|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182527/http://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-great-year-2013-12|url-status=live}} In 2015, Russia led the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union.{{Cite journal|date=2018-01-01|title=Putin's and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union: A hybrid half-economics and half-political "Janus Bifrons"|journal=Journal of Eurasian Studies|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=52–60|doi=10.1016/j.euras.2017.12.005|issn=1879-3665|last1=Sergi|first1=Bruno S.|doi-access=free}} In 2017, Russia had the fourth largest diplomatic network in the world. In the wake of the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018, the BBC reported that "Its extensive diplomatic network reflects both its imperial history as a great power in the 19th Century, as well as its Cold War posture. It has a multitude of posts in Eastern Europe and former communist allies including China, Vietnam, Cuba and Angola, as well as legacies of the former USSR in Africa and Asia. The size of its network reflects the extent of its undiminished global ambition."{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43577958|title=How big is the Kremlin's diplomatic network?|last=Oliver|first=Alex|date=2018-03-30|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-04-01|language=en-GB|archive-date=2018-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401002334/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43577958|url-status=live}}

{{main|Korean Wave}}

File:Obama mentions Korean Wave and Gangnam Style.ogv Barack Obama: "...And of course, around the world, people are being swept up by Korean culture -- the Korean Wave"{{cite web |title=Remarks by President Obama and President Park of South Korea in a Joint Press Conference |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/07/remarks-president-obama-and-president-park-south-korea-joint-press-confe |access-date=May 7, 2013 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |date=7 May 2013 |quote=And of course, around the world, people are being swept up by Korean culture – the Korean Wave. And as I mentioned to President Park, my daughters have taught me a pretty good Gangnam Style. |archive-date=23 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123103019/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/07/remarks-president-obama-and-president-park-south-korea-joint-press-confe |url-status=live}}]]

{{quote box |align=right|qalign=right |quote=

"Hallyu", also known as the "Korean Wave", is a neologism referring to the spread of South Korean culture since the late 1990s. According to a Washington Post reporter, the spread of South Korean entertainment has led to higher sales of other goods and services such as food, clothing, and Korean language classes.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002985.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Japanese Women Catch the 'Korean Wave' |first=Anthony |last=Faiola |date=August 31, 2006 |access-date=May 7, 2010 |archive-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121123312/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002985.html |url-status=live}} Besides increasing the amount of exports, the Korean Wave is used by the government as a soft power tool to engage with the masses of young people all over the world.{{cite news |title=K-pop: Soft Power for the Global Cool |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-constant/kpop-soft-power-for-the-g_b_1088238.html |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=17 February 2013 |first=Linda |last=Constant |date=14 November 2011 |archive-date=2 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302030945/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-constant/kpop-soft-power-for-the-g_b_1088238.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Korea to turn hallyu into industry |url=http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120417001073|work=The Korea Herald |access-date=17 February 2013 |quote=To prevent anti-Korean sentiment, the government will offer incentives for production companies or broadcasters planning to jointly produce movies or dramas with Chinese companies. |archive-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703132054/http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120417001073 |url-status=live}}

{{Blockquote|text=In the 21st century, culture is power.|sign=Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye.{{cite web |title=Full text of Park's inauguration speech |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/02/25/95/0301000000AEN20130225001500315F.HTML |publisher=Yonhap |access-date=24 March 2013 |archive-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331083109/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/02/25/95/0301000000AEN20130225001500315F.HTML |url-status=live}}}}

In 2012, the BBC's country rating poll revealed that public opinion of South Korea has been improving every year since the first rating poll for the country was conducted in 2009. In several countries such as Taiwan, India, France and Japan, public opinion about South Korea is generally positive. The report cited culture and tradition as among the most important factors contributing to positive perceptions of South Korea.{{cite web |title=2012 BBC Country Ratings |url=http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012_country_ratings/2012_bbc_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf |publisher=Globescan/BBC World Service |access-date=29 December 2012 |archive-date=13 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513141936/https://globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012_country_ratings/2012_bbc_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf |url-status=live}} This comes alongside a rapid growth in the total value of cultural exports which rose to US$4.2 billion in 2011.{{cite news |last=Oliver |first=Christian |title=South Korea's K-pop takes off in the west |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ddf11662-53c7-11e1-9eac-00144feabdc0.html |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=30 July 2013 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112141820/https://www.ft.com/content/ddf11662-53c7-11e1-9eac-00144feabdc0 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=2011-04-27 |title=Korean wave spreads overseas |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13204533 |access-date=2021-10-05 |archive-date=2021-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005201602/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13204533 |url-status=live}} And as of 2021, South Korea's cultural content industry has exports of $12.45 billion.{{Cite web |title=Cultural Content |url=https://www.investkorea.org/ik-en/cntnts/i-326/web.do |website=Invest Korea}}

First driven by the spread of Korean dramas televised across East, South and Southeast Asia during its initial stages, the Korean Wave evolved from a regional development into a global phenomenon due to the proliferation of Korean pop (K-pop) music videos on YouTube.{{cite magazine |last=Yoon |first=Lina |date=26 August 2010 |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2013227,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829073951/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2013227,00.html |archive-date=29 August 2010 |title=K-Pop Online: Korean Stars Go Global with Social Media |magazine=TIME |access-date=20 February 2011}}{{Cite news |date=2021-06-19 |title=K-wave: How fans are supporting their favorite idols |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-57489720 |first1=Sophie |last1=Williams |access-date=2021-10-05 |archive-date=2021-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005201729/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-57489720 |url-status=live}} Developed far beyond YouTube, the most successful K-pop band, BTS, is valued to be worth US$5 billion, generating impressive revenue for South Korea.{{cite journal |last1=Doobo |first1=Shim |date=2018 |title=2) Efficacy of Korean Wave: beyond industry, beyond superpower |journal=Hallyu White Paper, 2018 |publisher=KOFICE |via=TradeNAVI |url=http://tradenavi.or.kr/CmsWeb/resource/attach/report/[520][KOFICE]%20Hallyu%20White%20Paper%202018(1).pdf#page=58 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625090714/http://tradenavi.or.kr/CmsWeb/resource/attach/report/[520][KOFICE]%20Hallyu%20White%20Paper%202018(1).pdf#page=58 |archive-date= Jun 25, 2023 }} Currently, the spread of the Korean Wave to other regions of the world is most visibly seen among teenagers and young adults in East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and immigrant enclaves of the Western world.{{cite news |last=James Russell |first=Mark |title=The Gangnam Phenom |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/27/the_gangnam_phenom |date=September 27, 2012 |work=Foreign Policy |quote=First taking off in China and Southeast Asia in the late 1990s, but really spiking after 2002, Korean TV dramas and pop music have since moved to the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and now even parts of South America. |access-date=11 October 2012 |postscript=none |archive-date=1 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001015846/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/27/the_gangnam_phenom |url-status=dead }}; {{cite web |title=Korean pop culture spreads in Cairo |date=19 July 2011 |url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/korean-pop-culture-spreads-cairo |first1=Steven |last1=Viney |publisher=Egypt Independent |access-date=14 April 2013 |postscript=none |archive-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214335/http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/korean-pop-culture-spreads-cairo |url-status=live}}; {{cite news |last=Kember |first=Findlay |title=Remote Indian state hooked on Korean pop culture |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWpuw95RkyRy8xw4qHfkhko9GcIA?docId=CNG.18f3ac3daa0d8f95aa693b397f54d476.c1 |via=Google News|date= 2011 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=24 February 2013 |postscript=none |archive-date=15 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515000422/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWpuw95RkyRy8xw4qHfkhko9GcIA?docId=CNG.18f3ac3daa0d8f95aa693b397f54d476.c1 |url-status=dead }}; {{cite news |title=South Korea's K-pop spreads to Latin America |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxOWILlKeDQpqipMWx9fIFnKMVEA?docId=CNG.2675b7fded96e2e3c9f9668042c6fbc4.551 |via=Google News |author1=Jung Ha-Won |date=Jun 19, 2012 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=28 March 2013 |postscript=none |archive-date=2 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302233351/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxOWILlKeDQpqipMWx9fIFnKMVEA?docId=CNG.2675b7fded96e2e3c9f9668042c6fbc4.551 |url-status=dead }}; {{cite news |title=K-pop enters American pop consciousness |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/29/entertainment/la-ca-kpop-20120429/2 |work=The Los Angeles Times |access-date=24 March 2013 |quote=The fan scene in America has been largely centered on major immigrant hubs like Los Angeles and New York, where Girls' Generation sold out Madison Square Garden with a crop of rising K-pop acts including BoA and Super Junior |first=August |last=Brown |date=29 April 2012 |postscript=none |archive-date=5 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105164619/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/29/entertainment/la-ca-kpop-20120429/2 |url-status=dead}}; {{cite magazine |last=Seabrook |first=John |title=Cultural technology and the making of K-pop: Factory Girls |url-access=limited |date= October 8, 2012 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/08/121008fa_fact_seabrook?currentPage=all |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=4 March 2013 |quote=The crowd was older than I'd expected, and the ambience felt more like a video-game convention than like a pop concert. About three out of four people were Asian-American, but there were also Caucasians of all ages, and a number of black women |postscript=none |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025125809/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/08/121008fa_fact_seabrook?currentPage=all |url-status=live}}; {{cite news |last=Chen |first=Peter |title='Gangnam Style': How One Teen Immigrant Fell For K-Pop Music |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/09/going-gangnam-how-one-tee_n_2529142.html |work=The Huffington Post |access-date=4 March 2013 |quote=It is common for Chinese teens in the U.S. to be fans of K-pop, too |date=9 February 2013 |postscript=none |archive-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218052550/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/09/going-gangnam-how-one-tee_n_2529142.html |url-status=live}}; {{cite web |title=Black is the New K-Pop: Interview With 'Black K-Pop Fans' |url=http://www.theoneshots.com/2013/02/black-is-the-new-k-pop-interview-with-black-k-pop-fans/ |publisher=The One Shots |last1=Salima |date=February 27, 2013 |access-date=4 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303024949/http://www.theoneshots.com/2013/02/black-is-the-new-k-pop-interview-with-black-k-pop-fans/ |archive-date=3 March 2013}}{{Cite web |last=Ro |first=Christine |title=BTS and EXO: The soft power roots of K-pop |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200309-the-soft-power-roots-of-k-pop |date=9 March 2020 |access-date=2021-10-05 |website=BBC |language=en |archive-date=2021-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005203233/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200309-the-soft-power-roots-of-k-pop|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=2021-10-05 |title=Why 26 Korean words have been added to Oxford English Dictionary |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58749976|access-date=2021-10-05 |archive-date=2021-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005114628/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58749976 |url-status=live}}

{{main|Spanish Empire|Hispanophone}}

The main power of the Age of Discovery, Spain began the conquest of the New World in 1492, giving rise to the Spanish Empire. Controlling vast portions of the Americas, parts of Africa, various territories in Asia, Oceania, as well as territory in other parts of Europe, the Spanish Empire became, in conjunction with the Portuguese, the first empire to achieve a global scale and one of the largest empires in history. The Hispanic culture is the legacy of the vast and prolonged Spanish Empire, whose cultural background is primarily associated with Spain, regardless of racial or geographical differences. The whole sense of identity of the Hispanic population and the Hispanophones is sometimes referred by the term Hispanidad (Hispanicity).

Since the so-called Siglo de Oro, a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain coinciding with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic Monarchs and the Spanish Habsburgs, the Spanish art, architecture, music, literature, poetry, painting, and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in Western Europe and the Americas. As a reflection of its large cultural wealth, Spain has one of the world's largest numbers of World Heritage Sites and is the world's second-most visited country. Its cultural influence extends over 600 million Hispanophones, making Spanish language the world's second-most spoken native language and the world's most widely spoken Romance language.{{cite web|url=https://www.cervantes.es/sobre_instituto_cervantes/prensa/2017/noticias/Presentaci%C3%B3n-Anuario-2017.htm|title=572 millones de personas hablan español, cinco millones más que hace un año, y aumentarán a 754 millones a mediados de siglo|website=www.cervantes.es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513000611/https://www.cervantes.es/sobre_instituto_cervantes/prensa/2017/noticias/Presentaci%C3%B3n-Anuario-2017.htm|archive-date=13 May 2021}}

{{main|Anglosphere|Anglophones|Pax Britannica}}

Since the 1814–1914 century of Pax Britannica the foreign relations of the United Kingdom has held a significant soft power component.{{cite book |last1=Sondhaus |first1=Lawrence |title=Soft power, hard power, and the Pax Americana|date=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0415545334 |pages=204–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujlMly6WVxIC&pg=PA208 |via=Google Books}}{{cite book |last1=Winks |first1=Robin W. |title=World civilization : a brief history |date=1993 |publisher=Collegiate Press |location=San Diego, CA |isbn=9780939693283 |page=406 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mY7McxJl7jYC&pg=PA406 |quote=By 1914 common law, trail by jury, the King James Authorized Version of the Bible, the English language, and the British navy had been spread around the globe. |via=Google Books}}{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1914 |chapter=Pax Britannica |volume=2 |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |first=Carl P. |last=Watts |editor-first=Carl C. |editor-last=Hodge |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/2013776 |page=3 |quote=it left many legacies, including widespread use of the English language, belief in Protestant religion, economic globalization, modern precepts of law and order, and representative democracy. |access-date=2018-04-05 |archive-date=2022-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215224750/https://www.academia.edu/2013776 |url-status=live}}

British influence can be observed in the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies, and the UK's culture remains globally influential, particularly in language, literature, music and sport.{{cite journal|title=The cultural superpower: British cultural projection abroad|journal=Journal of the British Politics Society, Norway|date=Winter 2011|volume=6|issue=1|url=http://www.britishpoliticssociety.no/British%20Politics%20Review%2001_2011.pdf|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=16 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916155419/http://www.britishpoliticssociety.no/British%20Politics%20Review%2001_2011.pdf|url-status=dead}} English is the most widely spoken Germanic language as well as the world's most widely spoken language and the third-most spoken native language. It is a co-official language of the United Nations, the European Union, and many other international and regional organisations. It has also become the de facto language of diplomacy, science, international trade, tourism, aviation, entertainment and the internet.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|title=How the English Language Conquered the World|last=Chua|first=Amy|website=The New York Times|date=18 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301222132/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|archive-date=1 March 2022|url-status=live}}

{{main|American imperialism|Culture of the United States}}

The foreign relations of the United States has long had a great deal of soft power.{{cite book |first=Joseph S. |last=Nye |author-link=Joseph S. Nye |chapter=The future of soft power in US foreign policy |title=Soft Power and US Foreign Policy |publisher=Routledge |date=2010 |pages=16–23}} Examples of the impact include Franklin D. Roosevelt's four freedoms in Europe to motivate the Allies in World War II; people behind the Iron Curtain listening to the government's foreign propaganda arm Radio Free Europe; newly liberated Afghans in 2001 asking for a copy of the Bill of Rights and young Afghans today surreptitiously watching banned American videos and satellite television broadcasts in the privacy of their homes.{{sfn|Nye|2004a|p=x}} America's early commitment to religious toleration, for example, was a powerful element of its overall appeal to potential immigrants; and American aid in the reconstruction of Europe after World War II was a propaganda victory to show off the prosperity and the generosity of the people of the United States.

American culture has been embraced around the world for many decades. Due to America's superpower status, American culture is often seen as "hegemonic". American dominance and the popularization of American media largely contributed to the English language (particularly American English) becoming the global lingua franca. American music has had a wide influence over the development of music around the globe. American architecture and urban planning, American political and economic philosophy, and American film and television have played strong roles in shaping both western and non-western culture. American cuisine, fashion trends, literature, theatre, and dance have also widely influenced global culture of the modern era, and various subcultures that were born in the United States, such as the hippie, hip-hop, punk rock, rock and roll, greaser, grunge, and Beatnik movements (among others), have influenced mainstream culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. American technology and social media companies hold a monopoly over the world's digital space.

Studies of American broadcasting into the Soviet bloc, and testimonials from Czech president Václav Havel, Polish president Lech Wałęsa, and Russian president Boris Yeltsin, support that soft power efforts of the United States and its allies during the Cold War were ultimately successful in creating the favorable conditions that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.Carnes Lord, "Public Diplomacy and Soft Power", in Waller, ed., Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda and Political Warfare (IWP Press, 2008){{blockquote|Satellite TV is actively promoting American soft power in the Arab world in ways that the United States has been incapable of doing. The launch of the Arabic-language Alhurra satellite channel in early 2004 to provide news and entertainment in ways more beneficial to the U.S., marked an important turning point in U.S. public diplomacy development. Though it calls itself the largest Arabic-language news organization in the world, the Virginia-based Alhurra lacks the cachet and brand recognition of Al Jazeera, but its balanced presentation of news has earned it a small but significant viewership. Controversial innovations in radio broadcasting that target young mass audiences through a mix of light news and mild American popular music – Radio Sawa in Arabic and Radio Farda in Persian – have captured a substantial market share in their target regions.

}}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=18em|

• Cultural hegemony
• Democratic peace theory
• Hasbara
• Intangible asset
• Middle power
• Power (international relations)
• Power (social and political)
• Power projection
• Science diplomacy
• Sharp power
• Smart power
• Social influence
• Soft power of India in Africa

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |last1=Nye |first1=Joseph S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nye |title=Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power |year=1990 |url=https://archive.org/details/boundtolead00jose |url-access=registration |series=Art of Mentoring Series |edition=reprint |publisher=Basic Books |publication-date=1990 |isbn=9780465001774 |access-date=1 March 2020}}
• {{cite book |last1=Nye |first1=Joseph S. |author-link1=Joseph S. Nye |year=2004a |title=Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5Q5DgAAQBAJ |publisher=Hachette UK |publication-date=2009 |isbn=9780786738960 |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-date=11 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011234952/https://books.google.com/books?id=x5Q5DgAAQBAJ |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}
• {{cite book |last=Nye |first=Joseph S. |author-link=Joseph S. Nye |title=The Future of Power |year=2011 |publisher=PublicAffairs |location=New York |isbn=9781586488925 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jThyCT8d3mYC |via=Google Books}}

• Chitty, Naren, Lilian Ji, and Gary Rawnsley, eds. (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Soft Power 2nd Edition, NY: Routledge.
• Fraser, Matthew (2005). Weapons of Mass Distraction: Soft Power and American Empire, St. Martin's Press. Analysis is focused on the pop culture aspect of soft power, such as movies, television, pop music, Disneyland, and American fast-food brands including Coca-Cola and McDonald's.
• Gallarotti, Giulio (2010). Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations: A Synthesis of Realism, Neoliberalism, and Constructivism, NY: Cambridge University Press. How hard and soft power can be combined to optimize national power.
• Kurlantzick, Joshua (2007). Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World, Yale University Press. Analysis of China's use of soft power to gain influence in the world's political arena.
• Lukes, Steven (2007). "Power and the Battle For Hearts and Minds: On the Bluntness of Soft Power", in Berenskoetter, Felix and M.J. Williams, eds. (2007), Power in World Politics, Routledge.
• {{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/1468-5965.00353 |title=Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms? |year=2002 |last1=Manners |first1=Ian |journal=JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=235–258 |s2cid=145569196 |url=https://www.princeton.edu/~amoravcs/library/mannersnormativepower.pdf}}
• Mattern, Janice Bially (2006). "Why Soft Power Isn't So Soft", in Berenskoetter & Williams (see under "Lukes")
• McCormick, John (2007). The European Superpower, Palgrave Macmillan. Argues that the European Union has used soft power effectively to emerge as an alternative and as a competitor to the heavy reliance of the US on hard power.
• Nye, Joseph (2007). "Notes For a Soft Power Research Agenda", in Berenskoetter & Williams (see under "Lukes")
• Nye, Joseph (2008). The Powers to Lead, NY Oxford University Press.
• {{cite journal |last1=Nye |first1=Joseph S. |title=Soft power: the evolution of a concept |journal=Journal of Political Power |date=2 January 2021 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=196–208 |doi=10.1080/2158379X.2021.1879572 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Onuf |first1=Nicholas |title=The power of metaphor/the metaphor of power |journal=The Journal of International Communication |date=2 January 2017 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/13216597.2016.1231699 }}
• {{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-29922-4 |title=Soft Power |series=Global Power Shift |date=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-29921-7 }}
• Parmar, Inderjeet and Michael Cox, eds. (2010). Soft Power and US Foreign Policy: Theoretical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Routledge.
• {{cite journal |last1=Rothman |first1=Steven B. |title=Revising the soft power concept: what are the means and mechanisms of soft power? |journal=Journal of Political Power |date=2011 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=49–64 |doi=10.1080/2158379X.2011.556346}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Surowiec |first1=Paweł |last2=Long |first2=Philip |title=Hybridity and Soft Power Statecraft: The 'GREAT' Campaign |journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft |date=2 January 2020 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=168–195 |doi=10.1080/09592296.2020.1721092 |url=https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/157884/4/I%20Surowiec%20%26%20Long%284%2917112019.pdf }}
• {{Cite web |last=O'Loughlin |first=Ben |date=22 October 2020 |title=H-Diplo Article Review 989 |url=https://hdiplo.org/to/AR989 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422020640/https://issforum.org/reviews/PDF/AR989.pdf |archive-date=Apr 22, 2023}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Cho |first1=Young Nam |last2=Jeong |first2=Jong Ho |title=China's Soft Power: Discussions, Resources, and Prospects |journal=Asian Survey |date=June 2008 |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=453–472 |doi=10.1525/as.2008.48.3.453 |jstor=10.1525/as.2008.48.3.453 }}

{{wiktionary}}

• [http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/soft-power-and-the-uks-influence/news/soft-power-report-24mar14/ Soft Power Committee 'Persuasion and Power' report] UK Parliament
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp&oref=slogin Barack Obama & the use of soft power]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070705193957/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/drg/ Global Power Barometer]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101228044200/http://cmp.hku.hk/2009/11/12/2926/comment-page-1/ Is China's new communications worldview coming of age?] David Bandurski
• [http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4290&t=globalization The Benefits of Soft Power] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320150448/http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4290&t=globalization |date=2006-03-20 }}
• [http://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/IR03.pdf Simulation and Soft Power]
• [http://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/IR04.pdf Soft Power, Smart Power and Intelligent Power] A lecture in honor of Joseph Nye
• [http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/scandal-erodes-chinas-soft-power Scandal Erodes China's Soft Power], Frank Ching

{{International power}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Diplomacy

Category:Power (international relations)

Category:International relations terminology

Category:Power (social and political) concepts

Category:Globalization

Category:Articles containing video clips