Concept Of Soft Power

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The global power has shifted tremendously over the years. A shift has occurred from the West to the East and solely from the government to other non-state actors. This change in power distribution has generated far-reaching economic and political changes in countries of all kinds. The traditional notion of power has been connected to the general form of exercised control. In the literature of International Relations, it is viewed as ‘Hard Power’. In fact, use of tactics, tough diplomacy and even economic sanctions are forms through which hard power is exercised. While traditional societies used hard power largely for acquisition of territories and wealth, the industrial revolution slowly brought changes by shifting focus towards economic…show more content…
According to Nye, soft power refers to “the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion” or simply, its ability to use attraction and persuasion in the pursuit of foreign policy objectives. Though the concept of soft power dates back centuries and spans across cultures, the ability of a country to engage in such manner to attract global audiences has been a harbinger of economic prosperity, security and international influence. In fact, soft power works by using networks, developing captivating narratives, building alliances and focusing on resources that gravel one country to the other. While hard power is a push phenomenon, soft power is a pull phenomenon. There has been a sharp increase in importance of soft power realized in the recent past, as many countries has introduced the incorporation of soft power in their foreign diplomacy procedures. This is primarily because the appeal of soft power is connected to its ability to channel and succeed in key international objectives in a low cost manner unlike that of the hard power. In this light, India is no exception to the general trend observed as it has surpassed stereotypes attached in the bye-gone era and has emerged as a nation to become a…show more content…
Can the hard power and soft power be substituted or requires to be complemented becomes a major topic to ponder upon too. An instance can be the economic liberalisation of the early 1990s that brought India’s attractiveness to the forefront. It raises the question if economic power feeds India’s soft power. While various mainstream channels have used soft power terms extensively and usually to hint at India’s cultural attractiveness, the economic soft power has rarely been focused on, mainly because most still pertain it to be a hard power resource. However, there exist factors apart from hard economic sanctions that people generally perceive to be attractive. The most credible reference to this claim happens to be numerous migration models that claim economic factors to act as a push and pull factors. People migrate to places that have more economic opportunities that help sustain life in an easier

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