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The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, works with issues related to migration and transnational crime via various practical approaches such as: Multilateral cooperation, border surveillance, and information sharing. By viewing these practical approaches as means of power resources, Frontex's ways in dealing with migration and crime becomes interesting to study. Based on Joseph Nye’s theory on Soft Power, this essay focuses on discovering whether Frontex's approach to migration and transnational crime can be compared to soft or hard means of power - which of these theoretical schools is more prominent, or, are there equal aspects from both schools? Using a discourse analysis, I create themes in order to sort signs of soft power versus signs of hard power more easily in the present text material. Thus, the method regards the interpretation of the EU regulation that forms the textual basis for this study, in order to produce useful concepts that constitutes signs of means of power. The results of this study provides a variety of power resources that are similar to either soft power or hard power, that altogether allows for a nuanced view of Frontex’s activity.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of sportswashing, an attempt to improve its reputation through buying the English football club Newcastle United. The purpose of this paper is to explore through a discourse analysis how Saudi Arabia's action to acquire Newcastle United can be seen as an exercise of power, and whether and how the images presented construct and reinforce orientalist discourses about the Saudi state and the region. The discourse analysis is conducted using Laclau and Mouffe's methodology and the theoretical framework applied is Joseph Nye's soft power, Edward Said's Orientalism and hegemony. Based on the international newspaper The Guardian and the human rights organization Amnesty International, orientalist discourses have been identified and the purchase of Newcastle United has resulted in soft disempowerment effects for Saudi Arabia. Local newspaper The Chronicle also constructed orientalist discourses about the state of Saudi Arabia but legitimizes the purchase of Newcastle United making the soft power exercise successful.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of sportswashing, which involves attempting to enhance its reputation by acquiring the English football club, Newcastle United. This study aims to conduct a framing analysis to explore how Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of Newcastle United can be perceived as an exercise of soft power and how the portrayed images in media construct and reinforce orientalist and eurocentric perspectives about Saudi Arabia and the region. This study analyzes the coverage from the media outlets The Guardian, Dagens Nyheter and the Saudi-based Al Arabiya. It focuses on how the media shapes and presents the image of Saudi Arabia in connection with the acquisition of Newcastle United and to what extent orientalist representations are reflected. Furthermore, the study’s findings indicate that orientalist depictions are identified to a certain extent, particularly in the coverage from The Guardian and Dagens Nyheter. The acquisition of Newcastle United has also resulted in increased soft power effects for Saudi Arabia, where the Saudi-newspaper Al Arabiya constructs a more positive narrative around acquisition of the football club, which can impact both local and global perceptions of the event.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka begreppet ‘mjuk makt’. Mjuk makt är en relativt ny term som myntades av statsvetaren Joseph Nye år 1990. Sedan dess har detta nya begrepp förändrat hur vi ser på internationell makt. Genom användandet av attraktion och lockelse använder sig stater av mjuk makt för att få inflytande. Motsatsen till mjuk makt, hård makt, är ett annat verktyg som stater använder för att genom att hota eller framkalla resultat få inflytande. Dessa två verktyg och deras användbarhet har blivit ett ämne för debatt i den nuvarande diskursen inom internationell politik. Begreppet mjuk makt utvecklas konstant och formas av experter och politiker världen runt som har omfamnat termen. Mjuk makt har sina svagheter; den är svår att mäta och analysera, det är även svårt för en stat att använda mjuk makt aktivt. Men det har blivit ett livsnödvändigt verktyg under detta århundrade för att maximera effektiviteten för en stats utrikespolitik.   Det empiriska materialet i denna uppsats grundas mest på svensk mjuk makt, men det inkluderar även diverse stormakter och deras mjuka makt. Genom att använda kvalitativ textanalys har jag försökt urskilja vad som är relativt för min uppsats och vad som är de viktigaste sakerna att inkludera. / The purpose of this essay is to examine the concept of ‘soft power’. Soft power is a relatively new term that was coined by the political scientist Joseph Nye in the year 1990. Since then this new term has changed how we today perceive international power. Using attraction and appeal actors use soft power to try to gain influence. The opposite of soft power, hard power, is another tool that states use to gain influence by trying to induce or threaten. These two tools and their usefulness for a state have become a topic of debate in the current international politics discourse. The concept of soft power is constantly evolving and it is being shaped by experts and politicians around the world who embrace the term. Soft power does have its weaknesses; it is hard to measure and analyze, and it is also hard for a state to use soft power actively. But it has become a tool that is vital for states in the 21st century to maximize the effectiveness of one’s foreign policy. The empirical material in this essay is partially based on Swedish soft power, but also includes various greater powers and their soft power. Using qualitative content analysis I have tried to discern what is relative to the essay and what are the most vital things to include.

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This bachelor thesis explores how Dubai, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are portrayed on Instagram through posts by celebrities, aiming to understand the messages they convey and their impact on soft power. By using a multimodal method and semiotic analysis, the study reveals that through celebrity marketing, each country presents distinct messages and images to a broader audience. The study finds that each country uses celebrities in unique ways to promote themselves. Dubai, through the swedish influencer Kenza, showcases luxury and modernity, while Saudi Arabia, with Ronaldo's help, highlights its culture and history. Qatar, partnering with Beckham, emphasizes its role in sports and community. These efforts are seen as strategies to enhance their global image and influence. The study also discusses the concept of “sportswashing”, where countries use sports events to improve their reputation. Overall, celebrity endorsements play a significant role in shaping how these countries can be perceived internationally, ultimately contributing to their soft power.

Internationally, China’s promotion of its cultural heritage has gained much attention as a means to gain soft power and exert influence. In 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), released the 14th Five-Year Plan stating the country’s overarching ambitions in the coming years. In contrast to previous plans, this year’s policy document contains strong wordings concerning enhancing soft power, socialist culture and for the Chinese people to ‘inherit and carry forward’ Excellent Traditional Culture, signifying that China’s approach to soft power and cultural promotion may be of increased importance also in the domestic context. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to explore the discourse used to promote ‘Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture’ within China.   By applying thematic analysis to articles from The People’s Daily seven dominant themes emerged regarding promotional efforts. Between the time interval of 2021-2022, the promotion of ‘Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture’ emphasized the following themes: Leadership of Xi Jinping, Integration of Marxism and Chinese Characteristics, Combining Tradition and Modernity, Cultural Self-Confidence and Nationalism, Creativity and Innovative Transformation, National Rejuvenation and Inheritance, and China’s International Cultural Soft Power. As previous research on soft power in the Chinese context suggests, discourse and narratives seem to build on the notion of building a united and cohesive nation. Instilling a cultural and ideological basis that should permeate all of Chinese society.

The aim of this essay was to examine what problems, causes and solutions three Swedish governments identified concerning three decisions of cooperation with NATO, and to understand these decisions with constructivism and hard and soft power as theoretical perspectives. The first was the decision to join Partnership for Peace in 1994. The second decision was to join the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997. The third decision was to join a host nation support with NATO in 2016. The analysis showed that problems regarding PfP was an unpredictable security situation, caused by the fall of the Soviet Union. This gave rise to new conflicts, e.g. the conflict in Yugoslavia. Russia was identified as a problem also regarding the EAPC, caused by a Russian superpower identity. Problems identified before joining the HNS was that Russia was aggressive and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea in 2014. This was caused by the Russian leadership prioritizing the defence sector. The identified problems and causes can be understood with the theory of hard power, since the Russian hard power resources are wielded both within and outside of Russia. Constructivism is useful to understand what solutions the governments proposed, since they often express an ambition to build a common identity, while keeping the Swedish identity as non-aligned. Also, soft power resources made the alliance more attractive for the Swedish governments.

This thesis examines India’s exercise of its powers that it utilizes in its foreign policy on the international arena. The aim of the study is to determine what international power India can be classified as, and whether it achieves the goals of either being a great- or superpower. This is done by analysing not only the conventional concept of power, that being the hard power concept, but also the relatively newly conceived concept of soft power, originally conceived by the American political scientist Joseph Nye in the 1990s. Therefore, the research methodology is comprised of a theory consuming case study. The following question is being asked: What kind of international power is India? The conclusions being presented illustrate a foreign policy limited in its scope of influence, plagued mostly by institutional impediments due to limited budgets and thus limited resources in both concepts of power. Consequently, India cannot be classified either as a superpower nor a greatpower, but more as a regional one.