Revival of soft power

    In the world of diplomacy, soft power and hard power are two tools used to maintain relationship between two countries. Both of them are used together in a combined manner by each and every country. Only the ratio varies from one country to another.

    Hard power includes the use of force either military or economical while soft power refers to the use of a shared culture, diaspora and a common belief system. When there is much less in common between the nations, then hard power comes to play. China, over a period of time has systematically destroyed its ancient culture and mainly rely today on hard power. As we saw in the article "Chinas path of hegemony" https://sriroopbk.blogspot.com/2020/06/chinas-path-of-hegemony.html, China is using its hard power(economical) to control the South Asian nations using a debt trap in the name of development, trade and connectivity. It has been using hard power(military) to claim islands in South China Sea like Parcel islands, Spratley islands and Scarborough Shoal. Recently we have seen a trade war (hard power) between the US and China.

    In this background of increasing tensions due to hard power, India needs to fill in the space with its soft power. Its a fact that we cannot compete with Chinese economy and hence we have to build soft power with the neighbouring countries. The countries in South Asia which includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Srilanka are all part of a shared common culture. The Buddhism which originated in India has historical ties with Srilanka and cultural ties with not only Myanmar but also South East Asian countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. India and Nepal together constitute the biggest Hindu community. The diaspora present in other countries like USA, UK, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. act as a bridge of connection. Exploring our soft power gives us a huge advantage because of the diverse distribution of our population around the world.

    Using soft power to maintain cordial relations require a degree of maturity in thinking. Soft power is a way of pragmatism to avoid conflict in this nuclear world. It is only during the time of crisis that our true nature is revealed and this is the most crucial time when tensions are increasing world wide and we have to be patient, resilient and not become a slave of our emotions and act accordingly.