Worldwide 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. 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. , 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. In
Cuba, the
Fidel Castro regime's
medical internationalism programme has dispatched thousands of medical professionals abroad for
cultural diplomacy purposes. The Chinese-sponsored
Confucius Institutes across the world rely on Chinese teachers in order to strengthen the country's soft power abroad. The United States and Europe have consistently been sources of influence and soft power.
European culture's art, literature, music, design, fashion, and even food have been global magnets for some time. 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." In 2019, the U.S. has the second largest diplomatic network in the world, the largest number of foreign journalists based in the country, and is the most popular destination for international students.
American films, television, music, advertising, fashion, food, economic models, political culture, and literature have contributed to the
Americanization of other cultures. 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. China is presenting itself as a defender of national sovereignty, which became an issue after the
NATO air campaign to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and NATO's support of the rebels in Libya. 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. Soft power extends beyond the operations of government, to the activities of the private sector and to society and culture at large. Soft power has gained more influence because it addresses the underlying dispositions of the people who have increasingly become more active in their governments.
Australia 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". Education has remained central to Australia's soft power, being one of the most recognized education powerhouses in the world with more than 700,000 international students enrolled. 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: it perceives the world's eighth largest tourism receipts and it is the 16th largest
FDI receptor.
Middle East 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. Outside powers, such as the United States or China, also employ soft power in terms of expanding their influence across the Middle East. Competition amongst states of the Middle East often involves the use of soft power, as in the case of
Egyptian-
Israeli rivalry over Africa, or
Saudi-
Iranian relations.
Iran 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. 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.
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. China is the most popular country in Asia for international students, the leading destination globally for Anglophone African students, and the second most popular
education powerhouse in the world. China's
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has attracted many Western countries to join. China has the
largest diplomatic network in the world, overtaking the US in 2019. 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.
France 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.
Germany 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. In 2017, Germany had the eighth largest diplomatic network in the world. 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. 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.
Italy The elements of Italian soft culture are its
art,
music,
fashion,
design, and
food. Italy was the birthplace of
opera, 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 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 the seat of the
Pope of the
Catholic Church. Rome is generally considered one of the "cradles of
Western civilization and
Christian culture".
Florence was the heart of the
Renaissance, a period of great achievements in
the arts 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 around 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. In 2019, Italy had the ninth largest diplomatic network in the world. It has been described as a form of soft power, "the ability to indirectly influence behavior or interests through cultural or ideological means." 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 games,
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. 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: In 2017, Japan had the fifth largest diplomatic network in the world. In 2023,
U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan's cultural influence as the highest in Asia and 5th worldwide. 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. Currently, the worldwide spread of Japanese popular culture can most often be seen in the
Western world,
Latin America,
Arab World,
East,
South and
Southeast Asia.
Russia Russia has been developing its soft power by investing in various public diplomacy instruments throughout the 2000s 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. 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." In 2007, Russian president
Vladimir Putin was named
Time Person of the Year. In 2013, he was named most powerful person by Forbes magazine. In 2015, Russia led the creation of the
Eurasian Economic Union. In 2017, Russia had the fourth largest diplomatic network in the world.
South Korea Barack Obama: "...And of course, around the world, people are being swept up by Korean culture -- the
Korean Wave" "
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. 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. 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. This comes alongside a rapid growth in the total value of cultural exports which rose to US$4.2 billion in 2011. And as of 2021, South Korea's cultural content industry has exports of $12.45 billion. 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. 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. 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.
United Kingdom Since the 1814–1914 century of
Pax Britannica the
foreign relations of the United Kingdom has held a significant soft power component. 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. 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.
United States The
foreign relations of the United States has long had a great deal of soft power. Examples of the impact include
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
Four Freedoms in Europe to motivate the Allies in
World War II;
Nelson Rockefeller's use of
cultural diplomacy on
CBS's
La Cadena de las Americas network while supervising the
Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in support of Roosevelt's
Pan-Americanism during 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. 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. == See also ==