Kallie, Week 11: American Soft Power
If you travel outside the United States, chances are that you’ll still come across American products or companies. For example, one can easily find a McDonald’s or KFC nestled amongst porridge shops and teahouses in Beijing, looking just a little out of place. And of course, it’s not just Beijing. American franchises and culture are spread across the globe through the presence of Disney, Hollywood, American fast food, and so on and so forth.
Some experts believe these to be examples of facets of soft power, a country’s ability to influence others without resorting to coercive pressure — as defined by Joseph Nye Jr., the political scientist who coined the term in the 1980s (World101). But soft power isn’t always as seemingly innocuous as a burger shop.
Just look at the Cold War, a nonviolent conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union that was effectively a battle of soft power. Each of the two global superpowers tried to promote their cultural and political values at the expense of the other’s — most notably in terms of capitalism vs. communism.
Some of the many things that the U.S. government did to promote the U.S.’s cultural and political influence was create “a national space program that landed a man on the moon, [help] make Hollywood movies like Patton and Top Gun that portrayed the American military, and fund sports programs aimed at toppling Soviet champs.”
The goal was to make the people in other countries admire and respect the U.S., and therefore be more likely to work amiably with America, and less likely to turn towards an opposing ideology. Not to mention, utilizing soft power and working with “willing partners” can be much cheaper and even more effective than “pressuring others through more coercive means.”
Soft power is an important part of foreign policy, utilized by the U.S., its allies, and its enemies alike, most often in conjunction with other foreign policy tools to maximize their effect. It adds another layer to the age-old debate about whether a ruler is better off being feared or loved.
If you ask Nye: “In today’s world…it is best to be both.”
Hi Kallie,
ReplyDeleteI was extremely enveloped by your opinion and your definition of soft power and the important part it plays when it comes to foreign policy. I was able to comprehend what you meant when you said, "The goal was to make the people in other countries admire and respect the U.S., and therefore be more likely to work amiably with America, and less likely to turn towards an opposing ideology." Through the way you described the countless number of promotions put in place by through the U.S's cultural and political influence" I was bale to truly grasp how its purpose was to create “a national space program that landed a man on the moon, [help] make Hollywood movies like Patton and Top Gun that portrayed the American military, and fund sports programs aimed at toppling Soviet champs.” I agree when you say that "American franchises and culture are spread across the globe through the presence of Disney, Hollywood, American fast food, " proving that most franchises try to promote themselves at the cost of others especially, like you said, in terms of capitalism vs. communism. I especially admired your emphasis on how "soft power isn’t always as seemingly innocuous as a burger shop" and the way you elaborated on this by expanding your insight through various sources, like Joseph Nye, to evidently increase the quality of your writing. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Kallie! Reading your blog introduced me to the concept of soft power, which caught my interest. I like how you began with a simple occurrence of the use of soft power before explaining its official definition. That made it extremely easy to understand this idea and to follow the rest of your discussion. Being new to this topic, I appreciated that you were comprehensive in elucidating that soft power can be both beneficial and harmful. It helped me realize that soft power is a complex topic that cannot be grouped into only one category. The penultimate line of your blog, where you mentioned whether a ruler should be feared or loved, reminded me of Niccolo Machiavelli. I remembered learning about him in AP European History last year and how he argued that a ruler should be feared rather than loved. It was an interesting connection that you made between soft power and this debate. Like with many things in our world, we cannot reap the benefits of soft power without encountering its consequences. I think it is great that the United States and other countries can spread their culture to areas across the globe and expose people across the world to life in their nations. This contributes to globalization and greater connectivity, which I believe are important to our species. However, as you mentioned, soft power can have negative effects, as demonstrated during the Cold War. Unfortunately, these adverse possibilities are things that we will have to live with. As humanity strives to become more connected, we must acknowledge the dangers of our actions and do our best to avoid them.
ReplyDeleteHi Kallie, I really enjoyed reading your blog this morning! It was a refreshing start to my day—learning about “soft power” and really understanding how it plays a role in society today. To be honest, I thought your blog did a better job introducing the topic than most textbooks do, as it blends modern day ideas—those that I was largely abreast of—with historical events and perspectives. I appreciate how you pull the audience into the text right from the get-go, urging them to reflect upon their past experiences abroad. Actually, I noticed many of the same things in Chennai that you did in Beijing—the smallest, most unassuming roadside shops would be littered with posters branded Coca-Cola and Sprite. Although I doubt that these shops were officially sponsored, it goes to show the serious (and chilling) extent of American influence. Your well-though organization of the text played a strong part in facilitating my understanding. You make a neat transition into the definition of soft power and some of its more grave examples. I never thought of the moon landing as an avenue for promoting capitalistic views, so I found your perspective really interesting. I notice a similar trend with children. Kids who flaunt their new toy are more likely to have others interested in playing with and siding with those who don’t. I thought your blog was extremely precise and has a strong message—I can now understand how soft power can be a powerful tool in foreign relations.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I admit that I was a little puzzled on the idea of "American soft power." But, after reading this blog and getting more clarification on what those words meant, then I definitely think that American soft power is present in many places around the world. America really is influential, and I'd love to bring up a point about something that I think is quite interesting--Tokyo Disneyland. While you have mentioned Disneyland in your blog, the one thing that makes Tokyo Disneyland unique is the use of its strange mascots. Why are these unfamiliar furry friends the stars of the show, instead of the Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy that we all know and love? Because Tokyo Disneyland isn't even owned by the Walt Disney company, (an American company!) I think this is what helped me enlighten myself on the idea of American soft power--many countries feel incredibly influenced by them, even wanting to mimic some of its iconic creations.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you introduced the blog by first presenting the audience with a more casual instance of American soft power, then following it up with the transition sentence, "But soft power isn’t always as seemingly innocuous as a burger shop," and then bringing up the more iconic, yet subtle instances of American soft power, such as the moon landing in 1969. When reading that introduction, it became more clear to me as to what American soft power was, as I could easily imagine that scenario happening when I visited the Philippines over the summer. An industrial two-story McDonald's restaurant gazing down upon the many colorful, run-down shacks of many Filipino homes. But when I read about the other instances, I got to discover a new underlying motive for an event that I thought I already had a bunch of knowledge on. This will definitely be a concept that I will think more about when I travel to places outside of the country. I appreciate you for sharing this with me!
Hi Kallie, I enjoyed reading your blog about how the impact of subconscious influences have on society and culture world wide. Specifically, I found your connection on how American fast food restaurants are widely popular across the world, as I personally recall eating a vegetarian burger at a McDonald's in India last time I visited. I find the psychological concept you discuss, "coercive pressure," is very interesting and can be applied to a variety of examples seen throughout society. Also, as a side note, I find its sister term "soft power" an oxymoron as you discuss these large fast food cooperation wield large amounts of influence which they use to extend to other markets, which requires a large amount of power. Moving back to your blog, I made another connection to your reference to the McCarthy era and second Red Scare which swept through America as my POAS, J. Edgar Hoover, was one of the many masterminds behind the staunch persecution and surveillance which defined that era. Hoover worked directly with Holywood to launch media frowning upon communists and promoting his conservative views. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
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