The BBC documentary, China – soft power, talks about how soft power is transitioning from the west to the east. This episode is narrated by Philip Dodd who lived in Asia for almost a decade collaborating on projects for better cooperation between the East and the West. Soft power was coined by Josef Nye in 1989 to explain the missing link between economic and military power: soft power is the power to be loved, for example, the Beatles, the premier league and the parliamentary democracy system.
The documentary illustrates that China is becoming a strong soft power contender compared to the U.S. because of the financial crisis, American interference in other countries and negative perception of American jails and rule of law. However, many experts say that China must first love its own culture first before it can have any real soft power: China has a long history of green and sustainable living. In 2007, Hu Jin Tao, then the chairman of the Chinese Communist party, wanted China to have soft power to promote the economy and education system and the Confucius institutes with the goals of promoting positive impression of China has been instrumental.
Chin’s rise in soft power is attractive to many countries because it shows that countries do not have to westernize to modernize. However, this could pose the danger that democracy will decline because China is not democratic and now, Muslim countries have a role model. In addition, other nations near and surrounding China feels threatened because Chinese soft power is always backed by hard power, which is the power to be feared due to military.
Although China is gaining soft power it has not translated to political power. In addition, it does not mean that U.S is losing its soft power because many countries which are threatened are turning back to American influence due to its decentralized soft power. If China wants to be a stronger soft power country, it needs to give its people more freedom to express their ideas and not push their culture through only centralized political means.
November 2nd
Sample Summary
The BBC documentary, China – soft power, talks about how soft power is transitioning from the west to the east. This episode is narrated by Philip Dodd who lived in Asia for almost a decade collaborating on projects for better cooperation between the East and the West. Soft power was coined by Josef Nye in 1989 to explain the missing link between economic and military power: soft power is the power to be loved, for example, the Beatles, the premier league and the parliamentary democracy system.
The documentary illustrates that China is becoming a strong soft power contender compared to the U.S. because of the financial crisis, American interference in other countries and negative perception of American jails and rule of law. However, many experts say that China must first love its own culture first before it can have any real soft power: China has a long history of green and sustainable living. In 2007, Hu Jin Tao, then the chairman of the Chinese Communist party, wanted China to have soft power to promote the economy and education system and the Confucius institutes with the goals of promoting positive impression of China has been instrumental.
Chin’s rise in soft power is attractive to many countries because it shows that countries do not have to westernize to modernize. However, this could pose the danger that democracy will decline because China is not democratic and now, Muslim countries have a role model. In addition, other nations near and surrounding China feels threatened because Chinese soft power is always backed by hard power, which is the power to be feared due to military.
Although China is gaining soft power it has not translated to political power. In addition, it does not mean that U.S is losing its soft power because many countries which are threatened are turning back to American influence due to its decentralized soft power. If China wants to be a stronger soft power country, it needs to give its people more freedom to express their ideas and not push their culture through only centralized political means.