CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Chaw, Mi Hla |
|---|---|
| Title | Ambiguity of hard power and soft power: China???s soft power in Myanmar as a case study |
| Summary | The concept of soft power was developed by Joseph Nye in response to the decline of U.S power in the international governance system of the 20th century. The sources and criteria of Nye’s soft power, however, have been widely argued and debated among scholars. The purpose of this paper is to further critique the sources of Nye’s soft power using existing literature. Some scholars have already demonstrated that it is hard to distinguish between the sources of hard and soft power. Zheng and Zhang, who are unsatisfied with Nye’s division of the sources of soft and hard power, alternatively they propose concern as soft power and force as hard power. According to them, a line between hard power and soft power cannot be easily drawn because single sources of power are interpreted differently by different actors in the changing circumstances of time in a recipient nation. They try to distinguish between hard and soft power in term of “force and consent”. However, Zheng and Zhang’s proposal still has weakness as both consent and force cannot be distinguished the two powers; in fact the lines between soft power and hard power assets are blurred as the spread of language and culture may well be achieved through partial coercion and acquired soft power assets serve as effective tools for the further expansion of influence without a necessity for consent. This paper further argues that on whatever sources of power can be either soft or hard depending on the context and situation which is being used. This scenario is relevant to this study on China-Myanmar relations, China’s role in peace process in Myanmar, multiple ethnic armed groups that challenge the Myanmar’s central authority. |
| Supervisor | Roe, Paul |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/chaw_mi.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University