Soft Power in China: An Historical Analysis Of the Notion and Role of Soft Power

Munk-Petersen, Mattias

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2013

2013-05-31

This thesis examines both the notion of soft power and its role in China’s foreign policy in the twenty-first century through a comparative historical and critical analytical approach. Starting from Confucian ideas of attraction, virtue, and leaders’ self-cultivation—traceable to the Zhou dynasty—it highlights how historical practices of “rule by virtue” prioritized soft over hard power. The analysis then turns to the contemporary era, tracing how the collapse of the Soviet Union, China’s economic rise, and the “China threat” discourse contributed to the (re)popularization of Joseph Nye’s concept of soft power in China in the 1990s, and how Chinese policymakers and scholars have reinterpreted and applied it in diplomatic narratives such as “Peaceful Rise” and “Harmonious World.” Theoretically, the study combines neo-Gramscian and constructivist perspectives to illuminate who (re)introduced soft power in China, for what purposes, and how China’s status, means, and objectives differ from the U.S. context in which Nye’s concept originated. The study draws on a qualitative review of academic and policy discourse and notes limitations, including reliance on English-language sources and an evolving domestic debate without full consensus. Overall, it clarifies how soft power is understood in China and the role assigned to it in China’s international strategy in the twenty-first century.

Dette speciale undersøger både begrebet soft power og dets rolle i Kinas udenrigspolitik i det 21. århundrede gennem en sammenlignende historisk og kritisk analytisk tilgang. Med udgangspunkt i konfucianske idéer om tiltrækning, dyd og lederskabets selvkultivering—sporbar tilbage til Zhou-dynastiet—fremhæver studiet, hvordan historiske praksisser med “styre ved dyd” prioriterede blød frem for hård magt. Analysen bevæger sig dernæst til nutiden og sporer, hvordan Sovjetunionens kollaps, Kinas økonomiske opstigning og “China threat”-diskursen bidrog til (gen)populariseringen af Joseph Nyes soft power i Kina i 1990’erne, og hvordan kinesiske beslutningstagere og akademikere har omfortolket og anvendt begrebet i diplomatiske narrativer som “Fredelig opstigning” og “Harmonisk verden”. Teoretisk kombineres neo-gramscianisme og konstruktivisme til at belyse, hvem der (gen)introducerede soft power i Kina, med hvilke formål, og hvordan Kinas status, midler og mål adskiller sig fra den amerikanske kontekst, som Nyes oprindelige koncept udsprang af. Studiet bygger på en kvalitativ gennemgang af akademiske og politiske diskurser og noterer begrænsninger som afhængighed af engelsksprogede kilder og en stadig umoden hjemlig debat. Samlet bidrager specialet til at klarlægge, hvordan soft power forstås i Kina, og hvilken rolle den tildeles i landets internationale strategi i det 21. århundrede.

[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

“China,” “International Relations,” “Realism,” “Neo-Gramscianism,” “Confucianism,” “Chinese history,” “China’s Rise,” “China’s foreign policy,” “Soft Power,”

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