We all know that hard power often refers to the military power of a nation, and it is usually obtained with more ease by a developed wealthy country. Soft power, on the other hand, is defined as “the capacity to persuade others to do what one wants” (Wagner, 2014) by sharing “the same worldview, outlook, and culture” (Matteucci, 2005). It is indeed a very effective tool in persuading other nations to support any specific cause and is considerably important to reach success in the world of politics.
The aspect that makes soft power convincing for countries is that it is such a successful way of a country not needing to make concessions as it can reach its goal “softly”. On the other hand, the accumulation of soft power is much of a tough job as it is costly, difficult, and that creating solid reputations requires a large amount of years. Some examples of soft power in the United States are the worldwide consumption of American media products, its number of foreign students enrolled in the country, and the spread of its values across the globe, such as openness and freedom.
Soft power is the complete opposite of hard power, though it can be as effective as the one mentioned. It is all about aiming to accomplish its objective by changing “one’s attitude to the end that one acts voluntarily in a way different to one’s usual behaviour[, instead of forcing] one to act in a way different to one’s usual behaviour [involuntarily]” (Wagner, 2014). For example, while World War II was provoked after the repressive measures that were implemented in Germany, the European peace that has been lasting for 70 years used to be constructed by soft power.
Image Source: China Daily
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