Setting soft power in motion: towards a dynamic conceptual framework

Abstract

The concept of soft power is widely regarded as unfit for academic service. But instead of dismissing it, this article grapples with its unresolved conceptual problems in an attempt to reveal the hidden value of soft power. Arguably, the proposed conceptual revision can prove its merit to International Relations scholars by structuring research around the study of mechanisms and reconciling rationalist and constructivist approaches for the analysis of power. While the revised conceptual framework builds on Nye’s original account and on the achievements of soft-power scholarship, it is the intellectual import from the contentious politics research programme that enables the crucial adjustments setting soft power in motion. The article proposes three conceptual interventions: the first draws a twofold difference-in-kind between soft and hard power, the second develops an understanding that is both relational and diachronic, while the third shifts the focus from an actor-centred to a process-centred analysis. The three interventions coalesce into a common approach to tackle the unresolved problems that takes an agnostic stance towards paradigmatic debates and prioritises inquiries into the mechanisms of interaction between the various forms of power.

A figurational approach to soft power and sport events. The case of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

“…Findings showed that the impact of a high culture rank was found to be greater than any of the factors in the models presented for UN voting—including the hard power of a state's economic strength as measured in GDP ( 30 ). On the other hand, the construct validity of “soft power” can be questioned because of its conceptual flexibility and operational vagueness, and, in addition, because it has evolved over time ( 31 , 12 ). While early conceptualizations focused on categorization of power types and instruments for utilizing them, the more recent approaches combine hard and soft power and emphasize the interaction of power types in foreign affairs ( 17 , 32 ).…”

“…While early conceptualizations focused on categorization of power types and instruments for utilizing them, the more recent approaches combine hard and soft power and emphasize the interaction of power types in foreign affairs ( 17 , 32 ). Apart from the debate on whether soft power relates to resources or behaviour ( 12 ), which is addressed for example in the context of the information age ( 33 ), some reviews also emphasize that the concept may be less relevant after the terror attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 ( 34 ) or because it does not comprehend contemporary geopolitics ( 35 ). From an anthropological view, the idea of “culture” is furthermore one of the weaker elements of soft power.…”

“…Yet, as I will return to below, there are circumstances unique to sport events which require a more context-sensitive approach. Similar to Bakalov's study (12), the aim is thus not to dismiss the idea of soft power altogether, or to reach a final conclusion of how power works. The purpose is to contribute to the term's operational usefulness for studies of sport events by marrying it with the figurational sociology of Norbert Elias, which to this author's knowledge, is unexplored terrain in social science.…”

“…For that same reason, others have made considerable progress in reconceptualizing soft power in general. In addition to Nye's own work on this ( 10 , 11 ), Bakalov ( 12 ), for example, also uses the history of European integration to address unresolved problems with the concept and to offer a comprehensive update located in the “contentious politics research programme”. Yet, as I will return to below, there are circumstances unique to sport events which require a more context-sensitive approach.…”

“…First, applications of soft power to contemporary sport events should re-estimate the weight of prior developments ( 13 ) because of the influence accumulated by “old” relations and political institutions ( 14 ) in geopolitics, that is, “relations between the conduct of a politics of power oriented toward the international level and the geographic frame in which it is carried out” ( 15 ; cited and translated by 16 ). Second, due to the need for “a more nuanced understanding of power relations in world politics” ( 12 ), we should explore how soft power depends on the actor's placement in geopolitical networks (such as G7 countries or the Gulf Cooperation Council). Third, we should account for how globalization processes, in a context of soft power and sport, affect the ways mega-events may differ in importance among different group, ie, how these events “are given scale —inscribed with size and importance—by the relations actors make in various practices and situations” ( 17 ).…”