無 / The concept of “soft power” was popularized by Joseph Nye’s works in the 1990s. It is then often referred to the ability of a political body, such as a state, to indirectly influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies through cultural or ideological means. This paper seeks to apply this idea to the study of cross-Strait relations to see whether Taiwan might exert soft power against China. As we know, it is not just Taiwanese that are highly concerned with the 2008 election of Taiwan. We take this election and especially President Ma as an example to see whether Ma can help facilitate the image of Taiwan and democracy among Chinese. After interviews on several dozen Chinese college students, we found that Ma’s image, as the soft power, does make the difference. And if Taiwan can make best use of its soft power, we may not need so much military buildup to defend Taiwan.

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. / The role of Latin America in U.S. foreign policy has ebbed and flowed for over 100 years. Over the last 15 years, the relationship between the United States and Latin America has seen a precipitous drop in both cooperation and cordiality. The amicable relationships that the United States once enjoyed with Brazil and Venezuela specifically have become acrimonious. With the United States' increased interest in completing a Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement by January, relations with Brazil are vital. The United States' continued dependence on imported petroleum from Venezuela and America's concern over Venezuela's growing relationship with Cuba make this country also important to U.S. foreign policy. The thesis focuses on the United States' ability to use its cultural influence (soft power) to positively effect U.S. relations with Brazil and Venezuela. By analyzing past and present effects of U.S. cultural influence in these two countries, the U.S. can better understand and appreciate the influence it wields as the world's only remaining super power. This thesis finds that despite historic evidence, the U.S. has had and continues to have a propensity to use soft power influence tactically, diminishing the effectiveness of its innate power and influence as being the global leader in military, economic, cultural, and technological matters. Conversely, the U.S. attempts to use its hard power (military and economic) strategically, thereby only breeding anti-Americanism globally. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

This thesis demonstrates the importance of basketball as a form of soft power and a diplomatic asset to better achieve American foreign policy, which is defined and referred to as basketball diplomacy. Basketball diplomacy is also a lens to observe the evolution of American power from 1893 through present day. Basketball connects and permeates foreign cultures and effectively disseminates American influence unlike any other form of soft power, which is most powerfully illustrated by the United States’ basketball relationship with China. American basketball diplomacy will become stronger and connect with more countries with greater influence, and exist without relevant competition, until the likely rise of China in the indefinite future. As a result of basketball diplomacy, Chinese culture has internalized American influence, likewise for many other countries, which will positively benefit the United States as China possibly challenges American hegemony.

近年來，全球化的高度發展促使國際格局逐漸產生改變，中國作為一新興國家，已相當明白當前國際間的競合關係應以良性發展為導向，致力於改變過去給予國際社會過度擴張剛性權力的既定印象，方能提供其綜合國力穩定發展的平台。透過觀察中國一連串有計畫的國家文化行銷活動，可見中國過去數千年的溫和、中庸的文化印象遺產成了柔性權力發展的最佳載具，其中又以中國官辦官營的孔子學院在全球長期性、有組織且有計畫的設點最受到關注。 　　國家如同商品，需要量身打造最適的計畫及管道來定位及行銷，本文透過結合學者Kotler及Olins的行銷理論，使用文獻分析法、歷史比較研究法以及內容分析法，配合國內外主要報業對於孔子學院之報導及評論作次級資料分析，（資料蒐集區段自2004年孔子學院成立以至2010年7月）探討國家形象建構之重要性及中國選擇孔子學院為扭轉其國家形象之途徑因素及成效。 / In recent year, blooming of globalization catalyzed the change of international situation. As an up-and-coming country, China realized the competition and cooperation among the globe should have the common goal of working toward a healthier development. China also recognized that the need of transform its stereotype image of being the over expanded hard power would be the solution to create platform for steady growth of national power. As soft power becoming the trend of today, how to create a positive national image is one of top priority policies for China. By studying China’s stream of well-planned marketing events for its national culture, we could see how the mild and mean culture of China in the past thousand years materialized. Out of all the events, the government managed Confucius Institutes organized expansion globally is the most followed event. A nation is very similar to a product, which need customized plan and channel for marketing. By combining Kotler and Olins’s marketing theory, this research paper discuss about the importance of constructing a national image. This research also discusses in detail about the process and the result of China using Confucius Institutes to modify its national image.

Il ressort largement des réflexions inspirées des théories traditionnelles, comme le réalisme et le libéralisme, qu'aucun Etat ou groupe d'Etats n'est disposé à intervenir - civilement et plus encore militairement - pour mettre fin à une urgence humanitaire, si aucun intérêt matériel ou stratégique ne l'y contraint. Toutefois, en s'accordant sur le refus de donner une existence propre aux normes, aucun de ces paradigmes n'est en mesure d'expliquer de façon apodictique l'action humanitaire d'urgence mise en œuvre par les institutions européennes, ni même d'en traduire le caractère original et novateur. En effet, l'intérêt porté par les décideurs européens aux normes humanitaires est tel que ces derniers prennent, depuis la fin de la Guerre froide, des décisions pouvant jouer contre les intérêts matériels et stratégiques de l'Union européenne. Pour nous, c'est bien la marque que ces normes sont devenues un symbole constitutif, c'est-à-dire pour résumer Martha Finnemore « des attentes partagées par les décideurs européens à propos de comportements acceptables » et qu'elles façonnent le comportement européen en intervenant dans la constitution de l'identité et des intérêts de l'Union européenne. Dans notre optique constructiviste, les identités dont sont issus les intérêts ne sont pas comprises comme étant données mais comme résultant du processus d'interaction sociale par lequel se disséminent les compréhensions partagées et structurées autour des normes humanitaires. Cet intérêt pour l'humanitaire est, donc, défini dans un contexte d'appropriation de ces normes qui explique que leur défense prime sur la satisfaction d'intérêts purement stratégiques.

This dissertation analyzes the appropriation of the political theory "soft power" within Japanese national bureaucracies as a discursive mechanism through which anxious concerns for Japan's present are manufactured into hopeful sentiments for its future. In doing so, it examines how certain nonconscious capacities to feel, affects , are made knowable in more formally narrated and perceived sentiments, emotions . These terms constitute the two sides of what I call the affect-emotion gap , whereby the slippages between what one feels and what one knows about what one feels are made into sites of political and economic investment. Based on two years of fieldwork conducted at the major national bureaucracies engaged with cultural diplomacy and policy in Japan--the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan Foundation--I observe how soft power ideologies are translated into administrative policies that seek to turn aesthetic production, specifically within the field of Japanese popular culture, into political resource. Ultimately, I argue that the uneasy accommodation of soft power ideology to everyday bureaucratic practice reveals a contradictory movement in which soft power is at once delegitimized as practical policy and activated as discursive ideology which, in suturing economic anxiety in the present to hope for Japan's culture industries in the future, nonetheless sustains soft power's circulation.

European security and defence policy has developed at a significant rate since the late 1990s. As a growing field of analysis, there have been few studies to date that have explored the foreign and domestic implications of the European Union's emerging security and defence policies. This thesis seeks to assess the quality and effectiveness of the present day defence policies of the European Union through an examination of its commitment to civilian and military missions abroad. In so doing, this thesis suggests that these missions stem from a misguided belief that the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law beyond its border is the most effective means by which to achieve security within Europe. This thesis concludes that the economic and political tools available to the European Union provide a better means by which to ensure security in Europe and around the world.

European security and defence policy has developed at a significant rate since the late 1990s. As a growing field of analysis, there have been few studies to date that have explored the foreign and domestic implications of the European Union's emerging security and defence policies. This thesis seeks to assess the quality and effectiveness of the present day defence policies of the European Union through an examination of its commitment to civilian and military missions abroad. In so doing, this thesis suggests that these missions stem from a misguided belief that the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law beyond its border is the most effective means by which to achieve security within Europe. This thesis concludes that the economic and political tools available to the European Union provide a better means by which to ensure security in Europe and around the world.

The Swedish Institute is a public agency promoting Swedish interest, national image and confidence around the world. This work attempts to investigate how communication and a process over time influences and effects public diplomacy. The analytic discussion is based on a single case study research of this Institute representing ideas in the international science field of public diplomacy. The theoretical ideas of public diplomacy are placed in a theoretical perspective of social constructivism. The method is qualitative, with excerpts taken from interviews, literature, newspapers, articles, state public reports and social media. The work adopts a discourse analytic approach, aiming to uncover the structure of public diplomacy by using three analytic tools: soft power, nation branding and cultural diplomacy. The presented analysis and examples suggest a close collaboration between researchers and practitioners can lead to a coherent theory of public diplomacy. The result identifies promising directions as well as weakness and gaps in existing knowledge. The work promotes an analytic tool “korstryck” for theorize and conceptualize the discussion of public diplomacy. A strategy of today requires three fundamental components: power, diplomacy and communication. The challenge in public diplomacy is the balance between public opinion, public foreign policy and global networks of communication. The paper aims to open doors for further scientific works are needed in the searching for a theory of public diplomacy.

<p>The polar ice in the Arctic is melting resulting in new opportunities for the Arctic states to extracting vital resources and to find new shorter transport routes. Two of the largest actors who both presently have published polices towards the Arctic region is the EU and the US. This work firstly aims to offer a descriptive view of the EU and the US’ polices towards the Arctic region. Secondly, investigate the documents quantitatively and qualitatively to show weather the EU and US policies are featured by ‘hard power’ or ‘soft power’ by the research of Joseph S. Nye Jr. to find out if Robert Kagan’s hypotheses that the EU mainly use ‘soft power’ and that the US mainly use ‘hard power’. The findings showed that Kagan in this case was right about the EU and the use of ‘soft power’ but that the US mainly uses ‘soft power’ politics in their Arctic policy.</p>