What is ‘soft power’?

Whereas hard power refers to a country’s military capacity, and sharp power to distracting and manipulating others, soft power is based on attraction and allegiance created by a country’s values, policies, and performance. It is a given country’s ability to persuade others to do what it wants without relying on force or coercion in achieving its strategic policy goals. Soft power has risen significantly in importance in recent years, yet the topic remains understudied empirically and is rarely monitored systematically across countries. What is the role of soft power given changing geopolitics among major powers and the emergent global scenarios? What are its limitations and potentials, especially in combination with hard and sharp power options? The Centre for International Security monitors and analyses these soft power approaches in terms of narratives, strategies, goals, programs, and activities across a wide range of countries. It focuses on the main policy field of soft power diplomacy, including arts and culture, language, education, science and research, and media and communication.

Research Area I: ECP Monitor

The increasing number of countries with explicit soft power approaches, together with a more competitive geopolitical climate, introduces a greater need for comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date information on soft power. Unfortunately, current data systems have not kept up with these needs. The purpose of the ECP (External Cultural Policy) Monitor is to fill these glaring data gaps: once fully developed, the ECP Monitor will support policymakers in the conception, planning, implementation, and evaluation of soft power strategies, while all the while keeping comparative and long-term perspectives in mind. It will also serve the data needs of researchers interested in the comparative analysis of soft power, its relationship with other forms of power, and its role in international affairs more broadly.

Click on a country highlighted on the interactive map below to access its ECP report and accompanying documents.
 

 

Research Area II: Soft Power Scenarios for an Unsettled World

This foresight project focuses on a key question for future German foreign policy: given changing geopolitics among major powers and divergent global scenarios for foreign affairs, what are possible future soft power approaches in terms of narratives, strategies, goals, programs, and activities? To address this question, the project puts Germany in a comparative international relations framework that considers the geopolitics, soft power approaches, and external cultural policies of the European Union, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of India. The time frame for these future scenarios is the year 2030, covering actual and potential developments as well as events from 2022 onward.
 

Click here to access the full report or read its executive summary.

Launch event: Germany's soft power 2030: Scenarios for an unsettled world