Category: soft power

Commanding Ideas: How think tanks project authoritarian influence

     

Think tanks first emerged out of a democratic political system that favors freedom of conscience and thought, according to a new analysis. They were designed to generate new ideas, provide… Read more »

Time to confront China’s global influence: Post-COVID prospects for Beijing’s sharp power

     

The news on Friday morning that Australia is currently being hit by a major cyber attack targeting all levels of government, political parties and businesses has focussed attention on national… Read more »

Bending the knee to Beijing’s ‘proxy power’. Can democratic values survive in a Chinese world?

     

If you want to understand what’s happening in the National Basketball Association, turn off SportsCenter and pick up “The Art of War,” argues Ben Sasse, a Republican, who represents Nebraska… Read more »

‘Gems, Warlords and Mercenaries’: Russia’s sharp power playbook in Africa

     

Russia lacks China’s muscle when it comes to trade and infrastructure. But it has other assets. One is a shrewd appreciation of the political needs of African dictators, another is… Read more »

‘Soft Power Superpowers’: the powers of attraction

     

Real democracy perhaps requires no written constitution, argues Simon Critchley, a professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research and the author of “What We Think About When… Read more »

Advancing or retarding democracy? Soft power is out; sharp power is in

     

Authoritarian states are attempting to exert influence through sharp power, which typically stems from ideologies that privilege state power over individual liberty and are fundamentally hostile to open debate and independent… Read more »

China’s ‘zombified’ civil society features in new clash of ideologies

     

China’s ruling Communist Party is pursuing an aggressive, covert infiltration of US educational and social institutions to quell dissenting voices and strengthen its soft power overseas, according to a report… Read more »

Soviet collapse ‘echoes’ in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

     

China’s increasingly image-conscious government has appointed a trusted member of the ruling Communist Party to head up its international propaganda operation, AP reports: Former top internet regulator Xu Lin will… Read more »