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Attila Bácsi - Zoltán Mihálovics
15/08/2024 06:00
In February this year, Brand Finance published for the fifth time its Global Soft Power Index, which shows how much soft power countries around the world have, i.e. how much they can influence others through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. The Japanese have anime, the Italians have cuisine, South Korea has K-pop. Global public opinion values good economic performance, which is in some ways a prerequisite for strong soft power. But the use of hard power has backfired on the soft: warring countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Israel have slipped down the rankings.
Unsurprisingly, the United States again topped the ranking, with the United Kingdom again in second place. But there was an important change at the third spot, with the highest-ranked Asian country, China, overtaking Germany, which dropped to fifth, and Japan, which was fourth. China's rise is due to strong improvements in business and trade, education and science. Meanwhile, India, now the world's most populous country, continues to fail to realise the potential of its size and diverse culture.
The Arab oil powers of the Persian Gulf (UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) and Turkey have made the biggest strides, with all four finishing in the top 25 this year. What they have in common is that they have all consciously built their country's image. They have hosted major global events, with Dubai hosting the COP28 climate conference and Expo 2020, which gave the country a major boost as a global trading hub, and Qatar putting itself on the map with the 2022 World Cup. The Emirates is also one of the largest aid donors in terms of GDP. Saudi Arabia is opening up to the world in a big way, breaking its previous isolationist stance to exhibit tourist visas and signing Cristiano Ronaldo for its emerging football championship. And Turkey is increasingly active in diplomatic mediation, most notably when part of the failed Russian-Ukrainian peace talks were held in Istanbul in March 2022.
This shows that the world is increasingly open to Asian countries. But it should be remembered that soft power alone does not mean foreign policy success. Modern diplomacy is moving towards smart power, i.e. a combination of hard and soft power, depending on which is most effective in a given situation.
The authors are analysts at the Macronome Institute
