The Struggle for Soft Power in Asia: Public Diplomacy and Regional Competition

Asian Security

Volumn 9, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 1-18

  Hall, Ian ^a   Smith, Frank ^b  

^a AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84872133760     PISSN: 14799855     EISSN: 15552764     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/14799855.2013.760926     Document Type: Article

References (139)

1. Defense spending in Asia and Oceania increased by more than 60 percent between 2000 and 2009 (see Sam Perlo-Freeman, Olawale Ismail, and Carina Solmirano, "Military Expenditure, " in the SIPRI Yearbook 2010: Armament, Disarmament and International Security [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010], pp. 177, 189, 192, and 214).
2. Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: PublicAffairs, 2004).
3. Sook Jong Lee and Jan Melissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia (New York: Palgrave, 2011), pp. 1-5.
4. See, for example, Daryl Copeland, Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2009), pp. 161-186.
5. Mark Leonard and Vidhya Alakeson, Going Public: Diplomacy for the Information Society (London: Foreign Policy Centre, 2008).
6. Nye, Soft Power, p. 5.
7. Nye, Soft Power, p. 100.
8. See also Lee and Melissen, Public Diplomacy and Soft Power.
9. Other instruments that relate to soft power might include foreign aid and development assistance. Although Nye argues that soft power cannot be bought, some analysts see these economic inducements as part of China's broader soft-power strategy. See, for example, Xin Li and Verner Werm, "Building China's Soft Power for a Peaceful Rise, " Journal of Chinese Political Science Vol. 16, No. 1 (2011), pp. 69-89.
10. See Ian Hall, "Diplomacy, Antidiplomacy and International Society, " in Richard Little and John Williams, eds., The Anarchical Society in a Globalized World (Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 2006), pp. 141-161.
11. See, for example, Leonard and Alakeson, Going Public, or Philip Seib, ed., Toward a New Public Diplomacy: Redirecting U.S. Foreign Policy (New York: Palgrave, 2009). Nancy Snow distinguishes between the "tough" and "tender-minded" school of thought on public diplomacy. The first, into which the Leonard and Alakeson and Seib books fall, think public diplomacy is about improving international understanding and the democratization of foreign policy.
12. the second considers public diplomacy, as we do, simply as an instrument of strategic influence (Nancy Snow, "Rethinking Public Diplomacy, " in Nancy Snow and Philip M. Taylor, eds., Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy [London and New York: Routledge, 2009], p. 9).
13. Ian Hall, "The Transformation of Diplomacy:Mysteries, Insurgencies and Public Relations, " International Affairs Vol. 66, No. 1 (2010), pp. 247-256.
14. Jarol B. Manheim, Strategic Public Diplomacy and American Foreign Policy: The Evolution of Influence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 4.
15. See Gifford D. Malone, Political Advocacy and Cultural Communication: Organizing the Nation's Public Diplomacy (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988).
16. On American efforts, see Nicholas J. Cull, The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945-89 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
17. Wilson P. Dizard, Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of theUS Information Agency (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004)
18. Manheim, Strategic Public Diplomacy and American Foreign Policy.
19. Justin Williams, Sr., "American Democratization Policy for Occupied Japan: Correcting the Revisionist View, " Pacific Historical Review Vol. 57, No. 2 (1988), pp. 179-202.
20. Yale Richmond, Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey (New York: Berghahn, 2008).
21. Cull, The Cold War and the United States Information Agency, pp. 285-291.
22. Alvin Z. Rubenstein and Donald E. Smith, "Anti-Americanism in the ThirdWorld, " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 497 (1988), pp. 35-45.
23. Jinwung Kim, "Recent Anti-Americanism in Korea: The Causes, " Asian Survey Vol. 29, No. 8 (1989), pp. 749-763.
24. See especially Jurgen Haacke, ASEAN'sDiplomatic and Security Culture: Origins, Development and Prospects (London and New York: Routledge, 2003).
25. Simon Anholt, "'Nation-Branding' in Asia, " Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 4 (2008), pp. 265-269.
26. On the growth of Chinese public diplomacy, see Young Nam Cho and Jong Ho Jeong, "China's Soft Power: Discussions, Resources, and Prospects, " Asian Survey Vol. 48, No. 3 (2008), pp. 456-461.
27. Y.-H. Heng, "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Is the Softest of Them All? Evaluating Japanese and Chinese Strategies in the 'Soft' Power Competition Era, " International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Vol. 10 (2010), pp. 275-304.
28. Ingrid d'Hooghe, "Into High Gear: China's Public Diplomacy, " The Hague Journal of Diplomacy Vol. 3, No. 1 (2008), pp. 37-61.
29. Ingrid d'Hooghe, "The Limits of China's Soft Power in Europe: Beijing's Public Diplomacy Puzzle, " in Lee and Melissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia, pp. 163-190.
30. A. Hunter, "Soft Power: China on the Global Stage, " Chinese Journal of International Relations Vol. 2, No. 3 (2009), pp. 373-398.
31. Joshua Kurlantzick, Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World (New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2007).
32. Li Mingjiang, "China Debates Soft Power, " Chinese Journal of International Politics Vol. 2, No. 2 (2008), pp. 287-302.
33. LiMingjiang, Soft Power: China's Emerging Strategy in International Politics (Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2009).
34. Gary D. Rawnsley, "China Talks Back: Public Diplomacy and Soft Power for the Chinese Century, " in Snow and Taylor, eds., Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy, pp. 282-291.
35. Shogo Suzuki, "Chinese Soft Power, Insecurity Studies, Myopia and Fantasy, " Third World Quarterly Vol. 30, No. 4 (2009), pp. 779-793.
36. Shogo Suzuki, "The Myth and Reality of Chinese 'Soft Power,'" in Inderjeet Parmar and Michael Cox, eds., Soft Power and US Foreign Policy: Theoretical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (London and New York: Routledge, 2010), pp. 199-214.
37. Yiwei Wang, "Public Diplomacy and the Rise of Chinese Soft Power, " Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 616 (2008), pp. 257-273.
38. Wang Jian, ed., Soft Power in China: Public Diplomacy through Communication (New York: Palgrave, 2011).
39. and Zhiqun Zhu, China's New Diplomacy: Rationale, Strategies and Significance (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2010).
40. Shafi Rahman, "Slouching Tiger, Racing Dragon, " India Today, July 3, 2010. Available at http://indiatoday. intoday.in/site/story/slouching-tiger,-racing-dragon/1/103941.html
41. d'Hooghe, "The Limits of China's Soft Power in Europe, " p. 184.
42. See especially Li, "China Debates Soft Power. "
43. See Kurlantzick, Charm Offensive, pp. 76-78 and p. 125.
44. China's English-language channel, CCTV-9, was launched in 2000, and the Spanish and French versions (CCTV E and F) were launched in 2004. CCTV America launched in 2012.
45. Joel Wuthnow, "The Concept of Soft Power in China's Strategic Discourse, " Issues and Studies Vol. 44, No. 2 (2008), p. 5.
46. See "Public Diplomacy: New Luminance Color of Chinese Diplomacy, " People's Daily Online, September 1, 2010. Available at http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/7125349.html
47. Confucius Institute Online, Introduction to the Confucius Institutes (August 2009). Available at http://www. college.chinese.cn/en/article/2009-08/29/content_22308.htm
48. Nicholas Kralev, "China 60, US 0: Cultural Centers in Other's Country, " The Washington Times, April 8, 2010. Available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/08/china-60-us-0-culture-centers-inothers-country
49. Hongying Wang and Yeh-Chung Lu, "The Conception of Soft Power and Its Policy Implications: A Comparative Study of China and Taiwan, " Journal of Contemporary China Vol. 15, No. 56 (2008), p. 438.
50. Wang and Lu, "The Conception of Soft Power, " pp. 442-443, 432.
51. Kishan S. Rana, Asian Diplomacy: The Foreign Ministries of China, India, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand (Washington, DC, and Baltimore:WoodrowWilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009).
52. See Arirang World, Korea's Global TV Arirang Web site, http://www.arirang.co.kr/prroom/ About_ArirangN1.asp?sys_lang=Eng
53. See NHK International's NHK World English Web site: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html
54. MRTV-3, Myanmar International TV: http://www.mrtv3.net.mm
55. "Information Center for the Celebrations of the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary, 5th December 2011. " King 84. Available at http://www.king84.th/en/index.php
56. On India, see Ian Hall, "India's New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power and the Limits of Government Action, " Asian Survey Vol. 42, No. 6 (2012), pp. 1189-1110.
57. Kishan S. Rana, "Re-Setting India's Public Diplomacy, " Business Standard, January 16, 2011.
58. Chachavalpongpun, "Digital Diplomacy in Southeast Asia, " p. 123.
59. "Confucius Institute: Promoting Language, Culture and Friendliness, " Xinhua, October 2, 2006. Available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/02/content_5521722.htm
60. Paul S. Rockower, "Projecting Taiwan: Taiwan's Public Diplomacy Outreach, " Issues and Studies Vol. 47, No. 1 (2011), pp. 123-124.
61. Shih Hsiu-Chan, "'Taiwan Academies' toOpen First in US, " Taipei Times, August 4, 2010. Available at http:// www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/08/05/2003509975
62. On Japanese public diplomacy, see Peng Er Lam, "Japan's Quest for 'Soft Power': Attraction and Limitation, " East Asia Vol. 24 (2007), pp. 349-363.
63. Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin, "Contesting Soft Power: Japanese Popular Culture in East and Southeast Asia, " International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Vol. 8 (2008), pp. 73-101.
64. Nakano Yoshiko, "Shared Memories: Japanese Pop Culture in China, " in Watanabe Yasushi and David L. McConnell, eds., Soft Power Superpowers: Cultural and National Assets of Japan and the United States (Armonk, NY, and London: M. E. Sharpe, 2008, pp. 111-127).
65. and Yonezawa Akiyoshi, "Facing Crisis: Soft Power and Japanese Education in a Global Context, " in Yasushi and McConnell, eds., Soft Power Superpowers, pp. 54-74.
66. ICCR, ICCR's Global Presence: Foreign Cultural Centres. Available at http://www.iccrindia.net/ foreigncentres.html.
67. Kishan S. Rana, "India's Diaspora Diplomacy, " The Hague Journal of Diplomacy Vol. 4, No. 3 (2009), pp. 361-372.
68. Hiro Katsumata, "Japanese Popular Culture in East Asia: A New Insight into Regional Community Building, " International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Vol. 12, No. 1 (2012), 133-160.
69. Rockower, "Projecting Taiwan, " pp. 125-126.
70. "At the Embassy of Indonesia, a New Tool: Gastro-Diplomacy-Indonesian Officials Turn to Food as aWay to Inspire Interest, " Embassy of Indonesia, October 10, 2011. Available at http://www.embassyofindonesia. org/press/gastrodiplomacy.htm
71. Mara Hvistendahl, "China Moves up to Fifth as Importer of Students, " Chronicle of Higher Education, September 19, 2008.
72. China's University and College Admission System, 20,000 Quotas for International Students Studying in China with Chinese Government Scholarship in 2010. Available at http://www.cucas.edu.cn/HomePage/ 2010-02-24/page_400.shtml
73. Study Japan, The '300000 Foreign Students' Plan (2008). Available at http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/ toj09e.html.
74. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Student Exchange Programs (2011). Available at http://www.mofa.go. jp/policy/culture/people/student/index.html
75. ICCR, The Many Scholarship Schemes of the ICCR (2011). Available at http://www.iccrindia.net/ scholarshipschemes.html.
76. Pan-Africa e-Network Project, Project Launched (2011). Available at http://www. panafricanenetwork.com
77. Rockower, "Projecting Taiwan, " p. 128.
78. VietnamMinistry of External Affairs, "Deputy PMHails People's DiplomacyWork, " Look at Vietnam, May 3, 2009. Available at http://www.lookatvietnam.com/2009/03/deputy-pm-hails-peoples-diplomacy-work. html
79. For different attempts to measure Chinese soft power, see Yuangzong Huang and Sheng Ding, "Dragon's Underbelly: An Analysis of China's Soft Power, " East Asia Vol. 23, No. 4 (2006), pp. 22-44.
80. and Gregory G. Holyk, "Paper Tiger: Chinese Soft Power in Asia, " Political Science Quarterly Vol. 126, No. 2 (2011), pp. 223-254.
81. For a discussion of this problem, see Shin-Wha Lee, "The Theory and Reality of Soft Power: Practical Approaches in East Asia, " in Lee andMelissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia, pp. 11-32.
82. See especially Matthew Kroenig, Melissa McAdam, and Steven Weber, "Taking Soft Power Seriously, " Comparative Strategy Vol. 29, No. 5 (2010), pp. 412-431.
83. BBC World Service, BBC World Service Program on International Policy Attitudes-GlobeScan Poll (March 2005). Available at http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/China/China_Mar05/China_Mar05_rpt.pdf
84. BBC World Service, BBC World Service Program on International Policy Attitudes-GlobeScan Poll (March 2011). Available at http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/mar11/BBCEvalsUS_Mar11_rpt. pdf
85. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/ 02_04_08_globalview.pdf.
86. http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/feb09/BBCEvals_Feb09_rpt.pdf.
87. http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pipa/pdf/apr10/BBCViews_Apr10_rpt.pdf
88. BBC World Service, BBC World Service Program on International Policy Attitudes-GlobeScan Poll (March 2005).
89. BBC World Service, BBC World Service Program on International Policy Attitudes-GlobeScan Poll (March 2011).
90. Ian T. Brown and Tao Wu, "China and the U.S.: Competing for Political Influence, " Gallup, May 22, 2009. Available at http://www.gallup.com/poll/118591/chinacompeting-political-influence.aspx.
91. Cynthia English, "Global Wellbeing Surveys Find Nations Worlds Apart, " Gallup, March 25, 2010. Available at http://www.gallup.com/poll/126977/global-wellbeing-surveysfind-nations-worlds-apart.aspx).
92. versus Fergus Hanson, The Lowy Institute Poll 2010, p. 5. Available at http://www.lowyinstitute.cachefly.net/files/ pubfiles/LowyPoll_2010_LR_Final.pdf.
93. C. B. Whitney and David Shambaugh, Soft Power in Asia: Results of a 2008 Multinational Survey of Public Opinion, new ed. (Chicago: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 2009), p. 2.
94. Whitney and Shambaugh, Soft Power in Asia, p. 15.
95. Whitney and Shambaugh, Soft Power in Asia, p. 10 and pp. 35-36.
96. Whitney and Shambaugh, Soft Power in Asia, pp. 18-20 and pp. 35-36.
97. Whitney and Shambaugh, Soft Power in Asia, p. 22.
98. See, for example, Steven E. Deutsch, International Education and Exchange: A Sociological Analysis (Cleveland, OH: Case Western University Press, 1970).
99. Jerry S. Carlson and Keith F. Widaman, "The Effects of Study Abroad during College on Attitudes toward Other Cultures, " International Journal of Intercultural Relations Vol. 12 (1988), pp. 1-17.
100. Nye, Soft Power, p. 96.
101. Carol Atkinson, "Constructivist Implications of Material Power: Military Engagement and the Socialization of States, 1972-2000, " International Studies Quarterly Vol. 50 (2006), p. 509.
102. and "Does Soft Power Matter? A Comparative Analysis of Student Exchange Programs 1980-2006, " Foreign Policy Analysis Vol. 6 (2010), pp. 1-22.
103. For evidence of the effect of public opinion on policy decisions, see Benjamin E. Goldsmith and Yusaku Horiuchi, "In Search of Soft Power: Does Foreign Public Opinion Matter for US Foreign Policy?" World Politics Vol. 64, No. 3 (2012), pp. 555-585.
104. d'Hooghe argues that, in Europe at least, the main obstacle to "successful Chinese public diplomacy" is its "lack of credibility. " The "nondemocratic nature of China's government and its opaque political decisionmaking, " she suggests, "raises questions about the legitimacy of the Chinese government to speak for its people. " In essence, the message is mistrusted because the messenger is mistrusted ("The Limits of China's Soft Power in Europe, " p. 183).
105. Nye, Soft Power, pp. 15, 123.
106. Lee and Melissen, Public Diplomacy and Soft Power, p. 1.
107. James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, "The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders, " International Organization Vol. 52, No. 4 (1998), pp. 943-969.
108. Jan Melissen, "Concluding Reflections on Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in East Asia, " in Lee and Melissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia, p. 250.
109. David Shambaugh, China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation (Washington, DC, and Berkeley, CA: Woodrow Wilson Center Press and University of California Press, 2008), pp. 74-75.
110. Shambaugh, China's Communist Party, pp. 88-92.
111. Yan Xuetong, "The Rise of China and Its Power Status, " Chinese Journal of International Politics Vol. 1, No. 1 (2006), pp. 16-18.
112. Akiko Fukushima, "Modern Japan and the Quest for Attractive Power, " in Lee and Melissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia, pp. 65-90.
113. On Korea, see G. Lee, "A Theory of Soft Power and Korea's Soft Power Strategy, " Korean Journal of Defense Analysis Vol. 21, No. 2 (2009), pp. 205-218.
114. and Sook Jong Lee, "South Korea's Soft Power Diplomacy, " East Asia Institute Issue Briefing No. MASI 2009-01 (2009).
115. Chidanand Rajghatta, "Sweet Are the Ways of Mango Diplomacy, " The Times of India, November 22, 2009.
116. and Navdeep Suri, "Public Diplomacy in India's Foreign Policy, " Strategic Analysis Vol. 35, No. 2 (2011), pp. 300-301.
117. Rizal Sukma, "Soft Power and Public Diplomacy: The Case of Indonesia, " in Lee and Melissen, eds., Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia, pp. 91-116.
118. Hedging is particularly understandable if public diplomacy is relatively cheap. India's Ministry of External Affairs, for example, planned to spend less than US$6 million on publications, outreach, and media relations in 2011, out of a total budget of about US$1.4 billion (Ministry of External Affairs [India], Outcome Budget, 2010-11. Available at http://202.131.117.199/MEAFinal/Uploads/PublicationDocs/160_Outcome-Budget-2010-11.pdf).
119. Li, "China Debates Soft Power, " p. 299.
120. See Madhavi Bhasin, "Public Diplomacy: Lessons for the Conduct of Indian Foreign Policy, " Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, March 26, 2008. Available at http://www.ipcs.org/article_details. php?articleNo=2522&cID=
121. Among others, see Hall, "India's New Public Diplomacy".
122. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, Speech for the Honourable Senator A. Kohilan Pillay, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011). Available at http://www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/speeches-delivered-in-malaysia-2011/-/journal_content/56/ 10136/1452331.
123. Wang and Lu, "The Conception of Soft Power, " p. 444.
124. See Suri, "Public Diplomacy in India's Foreign Policy. "
125. Sukma, "Soft Power and Public Diplomacy. "
126. See, for example, the Public Diplomacy in the Information Age conference held in New Delhi in December 2010, which included keynotes from Nicholas Cull and Philips Seib from University of Southern California.
127. Early arguments about the logic of appropriateness did not conflate "appropriate" with "good, " in part because this logic was coupled with the notion of inefficient history, whereby poor feedback and local equilibrium can create fads or other suboptimal and undesirable outcomes (March and Olsen, "The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders"). Unfortunately, subsequent scholarship neglects historical inefficiency and thus confuses appropriateness with desirability and even morality.
128. For one discussion, see John Mearsheimer, Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 9, 87.
129. Adam McDowell, "Are Chinese Language Centres in Canada Culture Clubs or Spy Posts?" National Post (Canada), July 9, 2010.
130. James F. Paradise, "China and International Harmony: The Role of Confucius Institutes in Bolstering Beijing's Soft Power, " Asian Survey Vol. 49, No. 4 (2009), pp. 647-669.
131. Agreements were signed to open Confucius Institutes at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi (2005) and at Vellore Institute of Technology (2007), but neither has yet opened.
132. Shin-Wha Lee, "The Theory and Reality of Soft Power, " p. 23.
133. See, for example, these editorials from a prominent nationalist newspaper: "Beware of US 'Smart Power' in Asia, " Global Times, November 10, 2010. Available at http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91343/ 7194895.html
134. Melissen, "Concluding Reflections on Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in East Asia, " p. 260.
135. Nye, Soft Power, p. 110.
136. Benjamin E. Goldsmith and Y. Horiuchi, "Spinning the Globe? US Public Diplomacy and Foreign Public Opinion, " Journal of Politics Vol. 71, No. 3 (2009), p. 864.
137. See, for example, Shaun Riordan, The New Diplomacy (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2003).
138. Data for both Figures 1 and 2 from BBCWorld Service Polls (2005, 2006-11).
139. Data averaged from BBC World Service Polls (2007-11). Japan is a rare exception, where the percentage of Japanese reporting positive views of Japanese influence was smaller than the percentage of others in the region (40% versus 55%).