The constitution and mobilization of soft power in the people's republic of China

Abstract

This thesis asks the central question of how soft power has been constituted and mobilized by the People's Republic of China (PRC). It also investigates what factors have shaped the constitution and mobilisation of China's soft power in PRC's international engagement. This study argues that soft power derives from the mobilization and promotion of non-material power sources. It treats soft power not as a static quality but as multifaceted and dynamic. In PRC's case, there is both change and continuity of state government's efforts to attract targeted audiences through the mobilization and promotion of non-material dimensions of power at different historical moments. Change and continuity of China's soft power is rooted in this country's evolving perceptions of its national identity and role in the international system. In supporting this argument, the thesis examines the promotion of non-material sources of power in PRC's international engagement at two key historical moments: Maoist China in the first half of the 1960s; and China during the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games. In both cases, this thesis demonstrates that sources of China's soft power has been purposefully chosen and promoted by the PRC in its interaction with foreign countries. The thesis thereafter compares and contrasts the two case studies with respect to international context, purposes, components, tools, and targeted audience of China's soft power. It concludes by reflecting on change and continuity of China's soft power and provides an explanation of such change and continuity. This study of China's soft power aims to make two main contributions. In terms of its theoretical contribution, this thesis suggests that soft power is not a static attribute of a state. A state's sense of identity may shape how it seeks to cultivate, interpret and mobilize the non-material sources of power. How an actor seeks to represent itself on the world stage can shape the way it chooses to interpret, cultivate, mobilize and project its non-material sources of power. The articulation and promotion of its "chosen" sources of soft power are both derivative of and reproductive of that representation. In terms of the study of China's soft power, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of China's soft power. It demonstrates that soft power is not something "new" to China. It has, however, been understood and used differently over time according to China's sense of its own identity and its role in the global community. This is closely related to its perceptions of its role in relation to others in the international system and the way in which it seeks to project this role. Show more