In 2008, the same year Barack Obama got elected president, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched with the release of Iron Man 1. The launch of the MCU introduced a new era with regard to...Show moreIn 2008, the same year Barack Obama got elected president, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched with the release of Iron Man 1. The launch of the MCU introduced a new era with regard to super hero movies. Likewise, the election of Barack Obama promised a different direction for the United States foreign policy. Obama advocated using soft power and diplomacy in order to solve the challenges he had inherited from the George W. Bush Administration. This paper looks at the extent to which Phase One of the MCU reflects, and as such aids, the approach of the Obama administration to foreign policy.Show less
This paper examines the differences between marketing strategies of Japanese and Western entertainment giants The Walt Disney Company and The Pokémon Company. Specifically glocalization strategies...Show moreThis paper examines the differences between marketing strategies of Japanese and Western entertainment giants The Walt Disney Company and The Pokémon Company. Specifically glocalization strategies and media mix strategies are compared to gain a more in-depth understanding of underlying structures of globalization and soft power in the West and Japan. The findings present the uniqueness of marketing strategies used by The Pokémon Company.Show less
By using theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis aims to determine how potential Iranian soft power in Iraq has become realized soft power. Two separate areas which can be considered causes of...Show moreBy using theory-testing process-tracing, this thesis aims to determine how potential Iranian soft power in Iraq has become realized soft power. Two separate areas which can be considered causes of Iranian soft power in Iraq have been analysed: Iraqi medical tourism in Iran and Iranian investments in Iraqi infrastructure.Show less
The increasing concerns about Confucius Institutes in Northwest-Europe continue to attract attention on a political level and in news media. This research hopes to provide a relevant contribution...Show moreThe increasing concerns about Confucius Institutes in Northwest-Europe continue to attract attention on a political level and in news media. This research hopes to provide a relevant contribution to the current understanding of the developments surrounding Confucius Institutes in Northwest-Europe. Moreover, it hopes to highlight the numerous disparities between different countries in terms of the development, functioning and recipience of Confucius Institutes. Additionally, this research aims to analyse the functioning of these institutes in China’s public diplomacy. It does so by using a case study analysis which researches the sending and the recipient side of public diplomacy activities of Confucius Institutes in Northwest-Europe.Show less
This thesis explores the ongoing international dispute between Japan and South Korea concerning the issue of WWII sex-slaves known as ‘comfort women’. The main focus lies on the question how...Show moreThis thesis explores the ongoing international dispute between Japan and South Korea concerning the issue of WWII sex-slaves known as ‘comfort women’. The main focus lies on the question how Japanese official apologies for this issue contribute to the successful reconciliation between South Korea and Japan. By using soft power theory to look at the transmission, context and reception of three major Japanese apologies from the 1990s until today, this thesis finds that, Japanese national apologies do not contribute to successful postwar reconciliation. Due to a mismatch between Japanese presentation, compensation and South Korean expectation, the apologies do not lead towards soft power. Domestic political context only further amplifies the gap between transmission and reception, while international pressure does not manage to bridge the gap either. Therefore, this thesis argues that current Japanese apologies for the issue known as the ‘comfort women issue’ do not positively contribute towards successful reconciliation. The potential that future apologies can contribute however, cannot be ruled out.Show less
Tourism is often claimed to be the world biggest industry, but there is no clear idea of what is included and what is excluded.Chinese outbound tourism has grown from 4.5 million departures in 1995...Show moreTourism is often claimed to be the world biggest industry, but there is no clear idea of what is included and what is excluded.Chinese outbound tourism has grown from 4.5 million departures in 1995 to 143 million in 2017 (World Bank, 2019a). Given the growing importance of tourism flows from China, it seems relevant to pay closer attention to the roles of the government, policy-making and the ambiguity laying in the outcomes in the context of outbound tourism. The Chinese government uses outbound tourism as a diplomatic mean to build soft power by deploying various strategies: from approved destination status, to culture activities, foreign aid and tourism cooperation mechanisms. The people-to-people interaction as a tool of soft power has still too many limits, though its potential has been interiorized by the Chinese government who is taking action in rolling out policies and regulations to optimize Chinese tourists ethical and business behaviours abroad.Show less
When looking at the African continent, Africa is now a socially and economically vibrant destination for foreign powers to invest in and has generated interest of traditional Western powers and of...Show moreWhen looking at the African continent, Africa is now a socially and economically vibrant destination for foreign powers to invest in and has generated interest of traditional Western powers and of the newly emerged ‘Southern powers’ such as China. China puts great effort in differentiating themselves from other partners of African nations. China portrays itself as an ‘all-weather friend’ of Africa that strives for changing the economic world order justly in which all (developing) countries have a say. This research looks at how the Chinese government constructs its engagement in Africa as different compared to Western involvement on the African continent, and how this difference is constituted through different strategies of differentiation: historical ties, South-South mutual understanding, Soft Power and Non-conditional development cooperation.Show less
In 2022, Qatar will become the first Middle-Eastern country to ever host the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. Yet, this event is politically and historically...Show moreIn 2022, Qatar will become the first Middle-Eastern country to ever host the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. Yet, this event is politically and historically charged and gave rise to abounding international contestations. Previous research finds Qatar being accused of bribery to FIFA officials, mistreatment of migrant workers and the consequent lack of conformity to international labor rights. Thus, this thesis focuses on how Qatar’s soft power strategies can be beneficial in reforming the country’s legislation on the migrant labor system. This is done through the analysis of the soft empowerment-soft disempowerment nexus following Qatar obtaining the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010. This study concludes that there is a positive correlation between Qatar’s disempowerment and the adoption of domestic reforms on the country’s laws detrimental to the migrant labor.Show less
Turkey is located in a very peculiar geographic location, which has reflected itself on the country’s foreign affairs. While its foreign policy was dominated by a Western-oriented outlook since the...Show moreTurkey is located in a very peculiar geographic location, which has reflected itself on the country’s foreign affairs. While its foreign policy was dominated by a Western-oriented outlook since the country’s foundation, this had changed following the election of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) into power in 2002. Since then, Turkey had undertaken a specific foreign policy approach under its new leadership, which was based on the book ‘Strategic Depth’ written by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, who has since been considered the mastermind of the AK Party’s foreign policy vision. However, in light of recent developments seen in the country’s foreign affairs, it is possible to detect some stark differences from the soft power vision then and the one seen in a contemporary context. Considering the lack of up-to-date analyses on these divergences, this thesis attempts to uncover how Turkey’s foreign policy vision today can be differentiated from the one referenced in Ahmet Davutoğlu’s book ‘Strategic Depth’, based on the development of the country’s foreign policy under the AK Party and following the outbreak of the Arab Spring.Show less
In recent years China’s influence in the global order has increased remarkably, thereby stirring up opinions whether China will once again become the world’s leading power by taking over the US’s...Show moreIn recent years China’s influence in the global order has increased remarkably, thereby stirring up opinions whether China will once again become the world’s leading power by taking over the US’s position. Accompanied with their rapid economic growth, Chinese outbound tourism increased substantially. Due to this growing middle class, accompanied with higher disposable income, China has become the largest tourism marked in the world in terms of travels. Due to growing international tourism of Chinese citizens to overseas holiday destinations the phenomenon of cultural interaction between China and other countries is reinforced. As tourism via the Taiwan Strait is said to be dependent on the changing political relations of the two governments, this thesis will conduct research on the influence of tourism in relation to political affairs between China and Taiwan. Consequently, this research will look into the utilization of tourism as a political tool as part of public diplomacy, specifically analyzing the way in which China uses tourism as a public diplomacy tool and how they apply this as a political tool on Taiwan, demonstrating the framework of tourism to wield both soft and hard power. This research will focus the Approved Destination Status policy by the Chinese regarding the regulation of group tours visits to other entities, which has been operating between China and Taiwan since 2008.Show less
The Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during...Show moreThe Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during the end of the last decade and the start of the current decade, Japanese video games experienced a huge dip in their sales. Japan has been attempting to use the ‘Soft Power’, the concept of influence generated by its popular culture overseas, to its advantage. The link between the Japanese video game industry and the concept of Soft Power have not been sufficiently examined as of now, hence why it was the focus of this study. The aim of this study was to come to an understanding of why these fluctuations in the market occurred, as well as look for the potential influence of Japanese video games and their popularity overseas on Japan’s Soft Power. By asking questions, in the form of a survey, to experts from the Dutch video game industry, the objective was to come to new insights on the matter and open up possibilities for further research. Results from the survey showed that previously underrepresented factors contributed to the fall in popularity of Japanese video games in the West. Elements like ease of use, lingual nuances, as well as intrinsic differences in preferences of the Japanese domestic audience and the Western audience, were identified. The link between the performance of Japanese video games overseas and Japan’s Soft Power was also confirmed. Respondents acknowledge the capability of Japanese video games to influence the consumer’s image of Japan, albeit not always in a purely positive way. Arguments were also raised that the Japan portrayed in video games is often not the real Japan. This holds true, but in order to make a target audience think more positively about Japan, the ‘real’ Japan does not need to be represented accurately. Thus, it can be argued that popularity of Japanese video games overseas does indeed correlate to an increase in Japan’s Soft Power.Show less
This thesis looks at the relationship between the Cool Japan products and how the export of these products reflects upon the public opinion of the Chinese and South Korean public. It addresses the...Show moreThis thesis looks at the relationship between the Cool Japan products and how the export of these products reflects upon the public opinion of the Chinese and South Korean public. It addresses the limitation of cultural diplomacy as a source of soft power in the context of Sino-Japanese and South Korean-Japanese relations.Show less
This thesis aims to research how the Korean Wave has been a factor in increasing the government's soft power. It sets out the role the government has played in creating this source of soft power...Show moreThis thesis aims to research how the Korean Wave has been a factor in increasing the government's soft power. It sets out the role the government has played in creating this source of soft power and how it has affected South Korea's position in the world scene. This is done by researching the effects of K-dramas in the East Asian region and K-pop in the global context.Show less
This thesis explores Saudi Arabia’s power behavior towards Lebanon in order to explore the pattern of Saudi Arabia’s waning influence. After all, it is among the most powerful regional actors and...Show moreThis thesis explores Saudi Arabia’s power behavior towards Lebanon in order to explore the pattern of Saudi Arabia’s waning influence. After all, it is among the most powerful regional actors and wields immense financial as well as religious resources compared to lightweight Lebanon. Nevertheless, Saudi action in Lebanon backfires seemingly frequently, either strengthening its opponents or weakening its allies. It is argued that Saudi Arabia is very capable of using their economic might in Lebanon; however, the more they strangle Lebanon the more likely Lebanon is to fall into Iran’s open arms. This, in turn, hurts Saudi Arabia’s overarching goal of regional influence and limiting Iran’s expansionism. On top of that, Saudi’s credibility, trust and legitimacy were thwarted after the 2009 elections and especially after the 2017 Hariri debacle in Lebanon. While prioritizing immediate national interest is natural for any country, Saudi Arabia’s policies disregarded the Lebanese target population’s perception and failed to achieve its regional interest with regards to pushing back Iranian influence. Hence, its prematurely hard power-driven policy pushed its allies away into the open arms of Iran. Saudi Arabia indeed has immense soft power resources, which, however, it has been largely ineffective in utilizing thus far. After all, it has become evident that despite its small size, Lebanon is the stage for regional power play. If Saudi Arabia continues to employ such a miscalculated policy, it will threaten its regional standing despite its immense, yet waning, economic might. Consequently, an unbalanced use of soft and hard power behavior of Saudi Arabia results in a cost inefficient foreign policy. Instead of self-defeating its efforts, it should be in Saudi’s self-serving interest to winning the hearts and minds of the people for effective power conversion and a strong standing to challenge Iran.Show less
Present Bachelor of Arts thesis paper presents an empirically oriented news framing analysis that is carried out on a number of RIA Novosti and Sputnik News publications, in order to determine the...Show morePresent Bachelor of Arts thesis paper presents an empirically oriented news framing analysis that is carried out on a number of RIA Novosti and Sputnik News publications, in order to determine the change of intensity of Russian Public Diplomacy efforts in the news media dimension since 2014. The analysis is based on Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, and News Framing theory, and conducted on articles falling under an overarching theme of Russian perception of the historical West. The analysed frames are synthesised in their purest form on the basis of Russian official ideology, paying special attention to the universality of the resonating capacity of the frames, and traced back to publications and appearances of Vladimir Putin, to demonstrate the continuity of a frame, from sponsor to reader. Conclusions are made based on the results of the analysis, and findings on Russian development of Public Diplomacy infrastructure since 1929.Show less
