The hard truths about soft power

Abstract

While the concept of soft power has rapidly moved from the academic theory to ubiquitous political buzzword, it has, to this point, not received adequate critical assessment. Because of this, the soft power has been misused and misunderstood despite the cautions of its proponents. This article attempts to provide a critical analysis of soft power, developing a rigorous epiction of its conceptual core, delineating its scope and limitations, and uncovering implicit assumptions and implications that have thus far served to confuse, rather than clarify the soft power’s theoretical and practical contributions.

Keywords:

• soft power
• hard power
• norms
• hegemony
• interdependence
• influence

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Evan Montgomery, Stacie Pettyjohn, Mark Haugaard, and the journal’s anonymous reviewers for their comments on various drafts of this article.