Pros And Cons Of Soft Power

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Globalization has allowed the integration of many different cultures, the transmission of different values and ideas to enhance social relations and connectivity, and establish interconnectedness. Like Manfred Steger mentioned in his book Globalization: a contested concept, globalization is not one process but rather a “set of processes”. The set of processes integrate the concepts of hard or soft power that work toward achieving the interconnectedness between different nations. Hard power can be defined as using economic or military means to influence, which is a coercive approach to obtaining power whereas soft power is the opposite, and to quote what Joseph Nye, renowned International Theorist said, is the “ability to get what you want through …show more content…

Over the years, India has enjoyed exercising and developing its soft power credentials by using the attractiveness of its culture. Indian politician and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor has also noted that the country is now becoming a “superpower” not solely because of politics and trade, but due its ability to share its culture with the rest of the world. Components of India’s soft power such as films, yoga, food, music, clothes or even Bollywood, the Indian film industry, has allowed it to become a global player through which integration of different societies has been possible. There is an increased awareness of Indian cultural diversity in societies abroad because of globalization and technology. The Indian culture has also provided cultural identity to different states, which benefits India’s economy because it promotes tourism. This integration is breaking barriers and borders between nation-states which is a positive thing, however, it also has adverse effects on the country itself. While embracing and accepting other cultures is positive and beneficial, because of rapid globalization taking place, India is starting to lose its own cultural identity and attachment. Soft power is an impalpable element of a state’s power, and it is thus hard to measure the impact it really has unlike hard power, which consists of military and economic power, whose effect can be measured and compared. It is simple to understand why people are drawn to other cultures, but confusing to see why they are slowly withdrawing from their own. It is difficult to quantify the appeal of a country’s values, culture or institutions because it is inherently subjective and therefore,

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