President George W. Bush is in Asia to attend the APEC summit in South Korea, but he should pay attention to another Asian summit to which he was not invited. Next month Malaysia will host an East Asian meeting that deliberately excludes the US. According to many close observers, the US' attractiveness is declining in the region where the allure, or "soft power," of others has increased.
Asian countries have impressive potential resources for soft power. The arts, fashion, and cuisine of Asia's ancient cultures have had a strong impact on other parts of the world for centuries, but Asia went through a period of relative decline as it lagged behind the industrial revolution in the West, and this undermined its influence.
In the 1950s, Asia conjured up images of poverty and starvation. There was a brief political infatuation among some Westerners in the 1960s with Nehru jackets and Maoist revolution, but it was brief. As John Lennon sang in 1968, "if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow."
Asia's resurgence began with Japan's economic success. By the end of the century, Japan's remarkable performance not only made the Japanese wealthy, but also enhanced the country's soft power.
As the first non-Western country that drew even with the West in modernity while showing that it is possible to maintain a unique culture, Japan has more potential soft-power resources than any other Asian country. Today Japan ranks first in the world in the number of patents, third in expenditure on research and development as a share of GDP, second in book sales and music sales, and highest for life expectancy. It is home to three of the top 25 multinational brand names (Toyota, Honda and Sony).
Cultural influences
The decade-long economic slowdown of the 1990s tarnished Japan's reputation, but it did not erase Japan's soft-power resources. Japan's global cultural influence grew in areas ranging from fashion, food and pop music to consumer electronics, architecture, and art. Japanese manufacturers rule the roost in home video games. Pokemon cartoons are broadcast in 65 countries, and Japanese animation is a huge hit with filmmakers and teenagers everywhere.
In short, Japan's popular culture was still producing potential soft-power resources even after its economy slowed down. Now, with signs of a reviving economy, Japan's soft power may increase even more.
But there are limits. Unlike Germany, which repudiated its past aggression and reconciled with its neighbors in the framework of the EU, Japan has never come to terms with its record in the 1930s and 1940s. The residual suspicion that lingers in countries like China and South Korea sets limits on Japan's appeal that are reinforced every time the Japanese prime minister visits the Yasukuni shrine.
Japan also faces serious demographic challenges. By mid-century, Japan's population could shrink by 30 percent unless it attracts 17 million immigrants -- a hard task in a country historically resistant to immigration. Moreover, the Japanese language is not widely spoken, and Japan's meager English-language skills make it difficult to attract international talent to its universities. Japan's culture remains inward-looking.
Looking ahead, China and India are the looming giants of Asia, with their huge populations and rapid economic growth rates. Not only are their military, or "hard power," resources growing; there are signs that their soft-power resources are increasing, too.
In 2000, Chinese novelist Gao Xingjian (
Expatriates
The list goes on. Yao Ming (
But the real promise for China and India lies in the future. A country's soft power rests upon the attractiveness of its culture, the appeal of its domestic political and social values, and the style and substance of its foreign policies.
In recent years, both China and India have adopted foreign policies that have increased their attractiveness to others. But neither country yet ranks high on the various indices of potential soft-power resources that are possessed by the US, Europe and Japan. While culture provides some soft power, domestic policies and values set limits, particularly in China, where the Chinese Communist Party fears allowing too much intellectual freedom and resists outside influences. Both countries have a reputation for corruption in government.
India benefits from democratic politics, but suffers from overly bureaucratized government. In foreign policy as well, both countries' reputations are burdened with the problems of longstanding disputes over Taiwan and Kashmir. Moreover, in the US, the attraction of an authoritarian China is limited by the concern that it could become a future threat.
The soft power of Asian countries, then, lags behind that of the US, Europe and Japan, but it is likely to increase. Indeed, if the US continues to pursue unattractive policies, it may find that its absence from the summit in Malaysia next month is a harbinger of things to come.
Joseph Nye, a former US assistant secretary of defense, is a professor at Harvard University.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS