This book examines the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to improve China’s image around the world, thereby increasing its "soft power." This soft, attractive form of power is crucial if China is to avoid provoking an international backlash against its growing military and economic might. The volume focuses on the period since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, and is global in scope, examining the impact of Chinese policies from Hong Kong and Taiwan to Africa and South America. The book explains debates over soft power within China and delves into case studies of important policy areas for China’s global image campaign, such as film, news media and the Confucius Institutes. The most comprehensive work of its kind, the volume presents a picture of a Chinese leadership that has access to vast material resources and growing global influence but often struggles to convert these resources into genuine international affection. With a foreword by Joseph Nye, Soft Power With Chinese Characteristics will be invaluable to students and scholars of Chinese politics and Chinese media, as well as international relations and world politics more generally.

This Element presents an overarching analysis of Chinese visions and practices of soft power. Maria Repnikova's analysis introduces the Chinese theorization of the idea of soft power, as well as its practical implementation across global contexts. The key channels or mechanisms of China's soft power examined include Confucius Institutes, international communication, education and training exchanges, and public diplomacy spectacles. The discussion concludes with suggestions for new directions for the field, drawing on the author's research on Chinese soft power in Africa.

This is the first theoretical book on Chinese Cultural Soft Power. It focuses on the inner logical relations between Chinese cultural soft power and the realization of the China Dream, while also offering detailed explanations of the scope of and essential questions concerning Chinese cultural soft power. The book is divided into six parts, which, taken together, concisely yet thoroughly examine the theoretical roots of soft power and the current status of China’s soft power as illustrated in concrete cases. On this basis, the author subsequently draws a cautious overall conclusion on the development of China’s soft power.

China's Soft Power Diplomacy: Myth or Reality? examines the Chinese version of soft power both in conceptual and operational terms, and explores its myriad implications for India, in particular, and South Asia in general. The book investigates how the institutionalization of cultural soft power would help China project its image as a benign and responsible stakeholder in order to reshape the current international system with its notion of “harmonious world order,” based on Chinese characteristics. This book traces the origin of China’s engagement with South Asian states from historical, political, economic, and security perspectives in order to better understand the dynamics of its South Asia policy. It illuminates the core reasons to explain why China’s soft power initiatives in South Asia are least appealing and convincing to India while they are welcomed by smaller nations of the region. More pertinently, the book addresses complexities and nuances of China’s soft power instruments given the psycho-cultural and geopsychological peculiarities of the South Asian region. For this, it focuses on how the Sino-Pakistan axis constitutes a potential challenge to India’s leadership role and influence in South Asia.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, China is poised to become a major global power. And though much has been written of China's rise, a crucial aspect of this transformation has gone largely unnoticed: the way that China is using soft power to appeal to its neighbours and to distant countries alike. This original book is the first to examine the significance of China's recent focus on soft power, that is, diplomacy, trade incentives, cultural and educational exchange opportunities, and other techniques, to project a benign national image, pose as a model of social and economic success, and develop stronger international alliances. Drawing on years of experience tracking China's policies in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Joshua Kurlantzick reveals how China has wooed the world with a charm offensive that has largely escaped the attention of American policymakers. Beijing's new diplomacy has altered the political landscape in Southeast Asia and far beyond, changing the dynamics of China's relationships with other countries. China also has worked to take advantage of American policy mistakes, the author contends. In a provocative conclusion, he considers a future in which China may be the first nation since the Soviet Union to rival the U.S. in international influence.

This book examines China’s contemporary global cultural footprints through its recent development of cultural diplomacy. The volume presents an alternative analytical framework to examine China’s cultural diplomacy, which goes beyond the Western-defined concept of ‘soft power’ that prevails in the current literature. This new approach constructs a three-dimensional framework on Orientalism, cultural hegemony and nationalism to decipher the multiple contexts, which China inhabits historically, internationally and domestically. The book presents multiple case studies of the Confucius Institute, and compares the global programme located around the world with its Western counterparts, and also with other Chinese government-sponsored endeavours and non-government-initiated programmes. The author aims to solve the puzzle of why China’s efforts in cultural diplomacy are perceived differently around the world and helps to outline the distinctive features of China’s cultural diplomacy. This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy, Chinese politics, foreign policy and International Relations in general.

In China's Public Diplomacy, author Ingrid d'Hooghe contributes to our understanding of what constitutes and shapes a country's public diplomacy, and what factors undermine or contribute to its success. China invests heavily in policies aimed at improving its image, guarding itself against international criticism and advancing its domestic and international agenda. This volume explores how the Chinese government seeks to develop a distinct Chinese approach to public diplomacy, one that suits the country's culture and authoritarian system. Based on in-depth case studies, it provides a thorough analysis of this approach, which is characterized by a long-term vision, a dominant role for the government, an inseparable and complementary domestic dimension, and a high level of interconnectedness with China's overall foreign policy and diplomacy.

Joseph Nye coined the term "soft power" in the late 1980s. It is now used frequently—and often incorrectly—by political leaders, editorial writers, and academics around the world. So what is soft power? Soft power lies in the ability to attract and persuade. Whereas hard power—the ability to coerce—grows out of a country's military or economic might, soft power arises from the attractiveness of a country's culture, political ideals, and policies. Hard power remains crucial in a world of states trying to guard their independence and of non-state groups willing to turn to violence. It forms the core of the Bush administration's new national security strategy. But according to Nye, the neo-conservatives who advise the president are making a major miscalculation: They focus too heavily on using America's military power to force other nations to do our will, and they pay too little heed to our soft power. It is soft power that will help prevent terrorists from recruiting supporters from among the moderate majority. And it is soft power that will help us deal with critical global issues that require multilateral cooperation among states. That is why it is so essential that America better understands and applies our soft power. This book is our guide.

This book explores the phenomenon of soft power in international relations. In the context of current discourses on power and global power shift s, it puts forward a comprehensive taxonomy of soft power and outlines a methodological roadmap for its empirical study. To that end, the book classifies soft power into distinct components - resources, instruments, reception, and outcomes - and identifies relevant indicators for each of these categories. Moreover, the book integrates previously neglected aspects into the concept of soft power, including the significance of (political) personalities. A broad range of historical examples is drawn upon to illustrate the effects of soft power in international relations in an innovative and analytically differentiated way. A central methodological contribution of this book consists in highlighting the value of comparative-historical analysis (CHA) as a promising approach for empirical analyses of the soft power of different actors on the international stage. By introducing a comprehensive taxonomy of soft power, the book offers an innovative and substantiated perspective on a pivotal phenomenon in today’s international relations. As the forces of attraction in world politics continue to gain in importance, it provides a valuable asset for a broad readership. This book was the winner of the 2021 ifa (German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) Research Award on Foreign Cultural Policy. “In this important and thoughtful book, Hendrik Ohnesorge explains and advances our knowledge of the ways that soft power, public diplomacy, and charismatic personal diplomacy are shaping the international relations of our global information age.” Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University and author of The Future of Power

The Dragon's Hidden Wings is the first comprehensive study on China's use of soft power. Sheng Ding provides the reader with an insightful empirical study that details China's economic and political rise on the global scene over the course of the last three decades. This book not only endeavors to examine the connections between the ongoing rise of China and what Joseph Nye defines as soft power, but also attempts to give readers a more complete understanding of China's national power and modernization process. The main questions addressed are: What are the theoretical and empirical connections between the soft power concept and the rise of China? What are China's own soft power resources? How has Beijing used soft power to become a major player in the world? What opportunities and challenges does the use of soft power present to China? This study is essential reading for scholars of Chinese politics and foreign policy, and for scholars of international relation interested in the concept and application of soft power.