Do we need soft power?

Part - II
Pakistan lies at the confluences of east, west and central Asia. Although it has good relations with the Arab world it is intrinsically a South Asian country. A culturally diverse and rich country, it has Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and British heritage.
As a fledgling democracy the test lies in delivering good governance through transparency, accountability and efficiency. Local government, transparency, corruption control and efficient governance might help alleviate the country’s negative image and improve governance.
The success of democracy will also depend on policies that open up regional economies, reduce bureaucratic controls, speed economic growth, improve educational systems, and encourage the type of gradual political changes currently taking place in countries such as Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Morocco. Japan and South Korea have demonstrated that democracy can coexist with indigenous Asian values.
Pakistan’s civil society – as a means to building soft power – is generally fragile, though in the lawyers’ movement in July 2008 and with the rise of social media it has proven to be quite vibrant. The parliamentary elections of April 2013 and opening up of social media have further energised civil society but the nucleus remains weak. Corporations, foundations, universities and other non-governmental organisations can help nurture open civil societies. Corporations can offer technology to modernise educational systems and universities can establish more exchange programmes for students and faculty. Moreover, foundations can support European and US studies and programmes to enhance professionalism of journalists.
There is no gainsaying that poverty and low levels of education are directly correlated and act as main drivers of militancy and violence. An illiterate population is a drag on the economy and spawns a host of social ills. Thus women’s education and involvement in economy are equally important. Also, it is important for trade, businesses and investments to flow unhindered. Where economic forces come into play they establish dynamics of a win-win situation and tend to avoid conflict and confrontation.
Pakistan can become a good land bridge between west and east Asia. The recent agreement to build a trade corridor between China and Pakistan is a welcome step, and if and when the pipelines of Tapi and IPI become operational, they would transform the economic landscape of the region.
Pakistan can be a tourist-friendly country as it has many picturesque places for outsiders. The historical and archaeological departments have to be redesigned to showcase historical and cultural sites. There is scope for religious tourism for Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus pilgrims together with Muslims for a number of Sufi shrines. For this, the prerequisite is sound law and order, good infrastructure and interfaith harmony.
The soft power of a country raises some questions – how many groupings and membership of world organisations and multinational bodies is the country part of ?What contribution has it made to different political, social or economic fora in international levels.? How integrated is it with the world community? How proactive and focused are its foreign missions and what contribution do they make in global conflict resolution, mediation, peacekeeping and peace-building? These are all indices of the soft power of a nation.
Admittedly, soft power faces some challenges. Realists criticise it – basing their argument that the world is semi-anarchic and the state is still a unitary actor; hence soft power is subservient to military power. Also, in their view, if hard power cannot succeed in attaining its objectives of peace how will soft power manage it alone.
For one, it is said that it is still an understudied field in international relations; secondly, it is more intuited than measured – for example, the COW Project in the 1960s studied indicators of hard power but found it difficult to quantify soft power. Third, in an environment of rapid political and technological change a new concept of spectral power has emerged.
While hard power needs to be upgraded, soft power has to be built up incrementally and takes time. Some realists say that soft power is no substitute for hard power since the latter has the ability to intimidate, punish or bribe. They think it has been practised often in history and still has appeal. But soft power theorists contend that the power of ideas, education and models are more appealing in changing mindsets. Even great empires after military conquests followed it up with soft power to win the hearts and minds of the conquered populace. Another criticism is that military power is essential to create soft power: the US, for instance, after World War II undertook reforms in Japan and South Korea.
In addition, in cases of national emergency or dire threat to national security hard power is essential. Again, the soft power of a country may not appeal to nations with strong, aggressive and militant ideologies. North Korea is a hard military power that lacks soft power appeal whereas small Nordic and Benelux countries have soft power but lack hard power; their appeal lies in human rights, good governance, technology, culture, aid policies and research.
In short, Pakistan’s quest for a soft image will entail improvement on multi-pronged fronts: political, economic and cultural. Power is most effective when all the tools along the power spectrum – ranging from hard to soft – are represented. Linear conceptualisation allows scholars and policymakers to view all aspects of power without exclusion. They need to complement each other rather than act as binaries.
Astute public diplomacy works but mere propaganda is insufficient; it should therefore be based on solid facts in order to be credible. These can be done through effective broadcasting, exchange programmes, development assistance, disaster relief, donor conferences, exhibitions, films, road shows and sports activities. As also international honours and awards, attracting foreign students, international conferences, new research and patents. Exhibitions, roadshows, student exchanges, art, sports and cultural visits of delegations also help,
Soft power employment is less competitive and involves fewer financial and material resources. It is the power of ideas, their attraction and persuasion that are important. But if soft power becomes too condescending the real message can be easily lost. Pakistan, in fact, possesses hard power with sizeable territory, large population and fields the sixth largest army and is the sixth nuclear power. It needs to set its own house in order first and foremost and deal effectively with militancy and terrorism.
Earlier, the republic of Vietnam and Sri Lanka were able to come out of the dark shadows of protracted civil wars. Brazil and South Africa are faring well – buttressed by soft power elements. China is another worthy example and is performing well by fusing hard and soft power. The recent CPEC Agreement (May 2015) is a demonstration of its soft power in Pakistan.
Concluded
The writer is advisor Center for Policy Studies, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad.