""Soft Power" in Chinese Foreign Policy; Analysis Beyond Nye’s Conceptualization

Document Type : مقالات

Authors

• marziehalsadat alvand ¹
• aboumohammad asgarkhani ²

¹ tehran

² tehran university

https://doi.org/10.22067/jipr.v3i15.43622

Abstract

Soft Power is one of the most important aspects of China’s foreign strategy that has emerged in the new century. The Chinese Soft Power is seen mainly as tools for defensive and not offensive goals such as emphasis of Beijing on stability and peace with all countries; cultivating a better image from China; correcting the foreign misperceptions and refuting the “China threat” thesis; securing energy security for economical development continuation targeting more cooperation with developing countries; building a network of allies and making attempts for competition based on soft power against great powers in long time. In the present investigation, assessing the china`s soft power sources and tools, it is concluded that sources of China`s soft power are based on three elements of soft power including culture, political values and nature and style of foreign policy that defined by Joseph Nye. But the china`s soft power approach is considerably different from these elements. The debate of China`s soft power has underlined on Chinese traditional culture while Nye`s debate from America’s soft power has expressed the American contemporary culture. Nye puts emphasis on attraction of American political values and institutions such as democracy and human right. But Chinese political values are found in all of three categories of Chinese soft power sources including culture, economy and politic. It’s worth mentioning that it is not a significant separated source from other ones. Finally, some values such as: the “Harmony World” regarding to expansion “Min Doctrine” and “Confucianism Values”; the attraction of Chinese economic development model (Beijing Consensus) and Good-neighbor Policy are underlined in the realms of culture; economy and politics respectively.

Keywords

• Soft Power
• Chinese Foreign Policy
• Harmony World
• Min Doctrine
• Confucianism Values
• Beijing Consensus
• Good-neighbor Policy

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