31. Explain Joseph s Nye's “soft power” thesis. 3

Joseph S Nye originated the “soft power” thesis. Jozef Batora, using Nye’s approach, calls PD “the development and maintenance of a country’s soft power of persuasion and attraction, but there is more to PD than soft power.

For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want. There are several ways one can achieve this: you can coerce them with threats; you can induce them with payments; or you can attract and co-opt them to want what you want. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them.

It can be contrasted with 'hard power', which is the use of coercion and payment. Soft power can be wielded not just by states but also by all actors in international politics, such as NGOs or international institutions. It is also considered the "second face of power" that indirectly allow you to obtain the outcomes you want. A country's soft power, according to Nye, rests on three resources: "its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when others see them as legitimate and having moral authority)."

"A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries – admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness – want to follow it. In this sense, it is also important to set the agenda and attract others in world politics, and not only to force them to change by threatening military force or economic sanctions. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them."

Soft power has also been defined as the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion. The term is now widely invoked in foreign policy debates.

32. Give examples of alternative approaches to image activities. 3

An alternative approach to image activities could include:

1. Building clear, logical performance targets, be it for tourism promotion, investment mobilization, or for pushing exports.

2. Allocating funds for the pre- and post-campaign survey, handled by an outside agency, to gauge impact.

3. From conception to final assessment, the entire exercise should have participation plus financial contribution from different stakeholders. External image is not the monopoly of the state, much less of the foreign ministry.

4. Political leaders will almost always approach branding in a different way, looking to gain in domestic politics. It is possible to build convergence between such domestic and external goals, but as the “Shining India” campaign showed blending in domestic politics can easily backfire and may make the effort a political football.

5. The final outcome will depend on many variables, some outside the control of the brand builders. But a judgment is always possible on the impact of that effort, even if scientific measurement is impossible.

Product and company brands

Global product brands, and the reputation of the companies that make them, contribute much to the country’s image. France is known by its famous fashion brands, in the same way as its quality products define Japan.

A Newsweek article (July 22, 2009) lamented that while 36 Chinese companies featured in a list of “global challengers that had produced technologies that had disrupted their industries” prepared by a major consulting firm, even the biggest among them, such as Huawei, were unknown to most consumers; Chinese companies had not approached

33. Explain the meaning of 'state protocol'.

Covers mainly the way heads of state and heads of government are treated, the manner in which their visits are organized, and their communication with one another, formal ceremony for an envoy to present credentials. Intercultural communication is implicit in diplomacy. Standardized protocol helps to smooth these encounters between the varying customs and practices, but despite the existence of agreed norms, some differences remain in the ceremonials and the conventions of countries

Flexibility is one new element in the way protocol is applied in our times. It is possible to be creative and innovative, and at the same time ensure fair treatment in dealings with foreign states. Example: at the funeral of Emperor Hirohito in 1989, Japan wanted to give high precedence to US President Ronald Reagan who came to Tokyo for the funeral; going by the standard formula of date of assumption of office, he would have ranked below at least a dozen other presidents. Someone then hit upon the ingenious idea of ranking the dignitaries on the basis of the countries that the late Emperor had visited—that instantly placed the United States at the top of the list.