EPOL529

POL 372
DIPLOMACY IN
The Global Diplomacy
MODERN WORLD

Dr. Birendri
Dr. Shiv Kumar
Assistant Professor
Learning
Outcomes
After this lecture, you will be able to

• acquire knowledge of Soft Power diplomacy

• understand the role of Soft Power diplomacy to

secure national interest
• In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft
power is the ability to co-opt rather
than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words,
soft power involves shaping the preferences of others
through appeal and attraction.
• A defining feature of soft power is that it is non-coercive; the
currency of soft power includes culture, political values,
and foreign policies.

• In 2012, Joseph Nye of Harvard University explained that

with soft power, "the best propaganda is not propaganda",
further explaining that during the Information Age,
"credibility is the scarcest resource".
• Nye popularised the term in his 1990 book, Bound to
Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.

• In this book he wrote: "when one country gets other

countries to want what it wants might be called co-optive
or soft power in contrast with the hard or command
power of ordering others to do what it wants".
Introduction

• Joseph Nye introduced the concept of "soft power" in the

late 1980s. For Nye, power is the ability to influence the
behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.

• There are several ways one can achieve this: you can
coerce them with threats; you can induce them with
payments; or you can attract and co-opt them to want
what you want.
• This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes
you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them.

• According to Nye, persuasive power is based on

attraction and emulation and “associated with intangible
power resources such as culture, ideology, and
institutions”
• State activities need to be perceived as legitimate in order to
enhance soft power. The dispersion of American culture
within the Eastern bloc during the Cold War indicate the
existence of American soft power and more recent processes
of EU enlargement are indices for soft power possessed by
the EU.
Soft Power: India’s Policy Shaping?

• In addition to economic and military power, the idea of Soft

Power has gained traction during the past few
decades. Indian arts, culture, yoga and spiritualism, culinary
varieties, festivals, music and dance forms etc,
have attracted people from all around the world for
centuries.
India’s Soft Power

• India's spiritualism, yoga, movies and television, classical

and popular dance and music, its principles of non-violence,
democratic institutions, plural society, and cuisine have all
attracted people across the world.

• India is a civilisation which has offered refuge to cultural and

religious freedoms to Jews, Parses, Christens and Muslims.

• The imprint of Indian civilization is the strongest throughout

the world.
• India is a country in which all major religions like Hinduism,
Islam, Christianity and Sikhism - coexists which has been the
strength of India's soft power.

• India is dipping into its soft power resources in its diplomatic

engagements abroad.

• International Day of Yoga reflects yoga’s immense popularity

worldwide, underscoring its richness as a soft power resource
• Indian Diaspora is seen as ambassadors of carriers of our soft
power.

• To project New Delhi’s soft power across world capitals, the

MEA has embarked on a program to build diplomatic
missions and cultural centres using the country’s diverse
styles of architecture.

• Buddhism is an important bridge between not just India and

South East Asia and East Asia, but also with South Asia.
• India's successful Aadhaar programme which can help
countries do similar things and India's IT capability are huge
source of soft power.
• For creating Goodwill: Indian ethos and practices has helped
it build a benevolent image and tremendous goodwill
globally, but it has to be backed with quality project delivery.

• As a Strategic Investment: To become a leading strategic

investor in commercially viable and financially
attractive public-private partnership infrastructure projects,
India needs to deliver on its promises.
• Post-Pandemic Changes: With increased scope of
cooperation and the realization that global problems require
global efforts, India’s role has gained prominence as
the pharmacy of the World.

• Trade and Investment Flow: To build an image of a trusted

and reliable partner, India needs to make other countries
believe in its commitment to deliver. This will lead to
rising trade and investment flows to growing Indian markets.
Agreements and Communication:

• The projection of Soft power can help India establish

agreement and communication between states through
peaceful methods. It also helps build a brand for itself by
promoting its Non-aligned commitments, Democratic
values, morals, ethos, etc.

• In order to Reach Globally: There is no denying the

fact that India can use these instruments of soft power to reach
out to the global audience—in turn, making an all-embracing
impact on the worldwide market.
Hard Power

• Hard power is based on military intervention, coercive

diplomacy and economic sanctions (Wilson, 2008, p. 114)
and relies on tangible power resources such as armed forces
or economic means (Gallarotti, 2011, p. 29). Thus, the
German invasion into Poland in 1939 and the UN economic
sanctions against Iraq in 1991 following the first Gulf War
are examples for the use of hard power.
That’s all for now…