Soft Power in the 21stCentury: Sources and Resources

This talk will first introduce the concept of soft power, how it has been embraced by politicians and academics around the world, and the debates around it. It then goes on to examine China’s (cultural) soft power, its practice, its reception,opportunities and challenges. By introducing the various debates around the concept and by giving examples for illustrating the speakers’ argument, the talk aims to advance listeners’ knowledge of the concept at both the theoretical and empirical levels.