Policymakers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of using soft power instead of hard power. Joseph Nye coined the term soft power and defines it as “encouraging others to channel or limit their activities in ways [the encourager] prefers[,]” noting that the ability to do so “tends to be associated with intangible power resources such as culture, ideology, and institutions." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates remarked on the need for soft power in a 2007 speech at Kansas State University:
“My message today is not about the defense budget or military power. My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges around the world in the coming decades, this country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power to problems and challenges abroad. In short, based on my experience serving seven presidents, as a former Director of CIA and now as Secretary of Defense, I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use “soft” power and for better integrating it with “hard” power.
One of the most important lessons of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that military success is not sufficient to win…So, we must urgently devote time, energy, and thought to how we better organize ourselves to meet the international challenges of the present and the future[.]”
Nation branding is a soft power tool that decision makers can use to successfully take on the challenges that Secretary Gates talked about; it helps a nation capture and apply Nye’s “intangible power resources.” By projecting a certain image and giving people around the world the tools to interpret its culture in the way that it wants, nation branding allows a country to persuade rather than use force to achieve its goals.
We’ll leave you with this video of President Obama’s speech at Cairo University in June of 2009, where he talks about the need to listen and engage with others and does a bit of nation branding as well, saying, “America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words -- within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum -- "Out of many, one."
What do you think of soft power? Is it a useful tool? How should it be used with or in place of hard power?
The approach by using a nation's brand name as a soft power is a great tool of improving brand names. Once a country has a solid political reputation, people from all over the world purchase or show interest to that countries' products. But on the other hand if the country has such as China, Cuba and North Korea bad influence or a bad name around the globe, individuals will show no interest to consume those nations' items. In order for Soft or hard power to be created certain political conditions either have to change or make compromises, otherwise their brand names might not be promoted. Hard power for North Korea for instance could be not to allow them to participate in the next World Cup soccer competition in Brazil, to teach them a lesson to comply with International Laws.
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