SPEAKER_06 0:00

Global change is on the move and South is where it's all happening. This is Global Southing, a must-listen podcast putting the spotlight on powerful stories, bold innovations, and untold leadership from the global south, all reshaping our shared future.

SPEAKER_07 0:20

You are listening to Global Serving Podcast.

SPEAKER_06 0:28

Picture this. Bollywood movies are reviewed in the whole Arab world, not only in communities but also in villages. Turkish cuisine is tested in Latin America and in East Asia. Or maybe Mandarin language is taught in Confucius Institutes, not only in the global south, but in the rest of the world. So we have to ask a few questions here. How can we sustain the influence of soft power within the global south and maybe enhance the collaboration in this regard? To answer these questions, joining us today in this episode, Dr. Shao Jun Chai, coordinator at Educators Without Borders International. So we are very delighted to have him here. Dr. Chai, thank you so much for joining us in this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

My pleasure.

SPEAKER_06 1:20

So as we introduced in the beginning of the episode, today we will be discussing the soft power, but from the perspective of the global south to the rest of the world. Thinking of the very essential conceptualization of soft power. It started with Joseph Nye in the 90s, but now we find it also applicable for the 21st century. So how do you find it relevant to us today?

SPEAKER_03 1:44

It is very relevant because we are entering a new era of multipolarity where many powers, not only just great uh traditional great powers from global south, are uh determining or like uh dominating the discourse of uh globalization or global order, but also actors and players from global south. Uh these new rising powers uh like China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and others are also entering uh discourse and entering uh deciding and debating about global order and future. In particular, as you said, uh soft power is also um entering the RC from global source uh players. We it will be very interesting to see how global source players can um contribute to soft power uh in our era.

SPEAKER_06 2:46

But thinking of the population, the world population, 85% of the world population is located in the global south, according to you, in 2023. And so, I mean, this is a huge power that we have in the in the global south, especially, I mean, the the very basic aim of the soft power is to enhance our influence and attraction. So, can we redefine the soft power? I mean, from the global south, or we are still sticking to the very classic way of it.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Definitely, by bringing uh global south into uh soft power discussion, we can reconceptualize uh reconceptualize and redefine soft power. Soft power is attraction and not coercion. So it's depend not depending on uh the size or military might or economic uh strength of a certain countries, it's defined uh more by how a culture, how ideas, institutions, values are attractive to others uh without using coercion or without using uh economic payment. So this is the where global source fits very well because global source uh the if they enter the discourse of uh soft power, it would be evident and demonstrable that uh their values, their uh ideas, institutions, cultures will have attractive uh naturally, let's say, without like uh their uh the military or economic side, which always we see related with the global north countries. That's why people got confused. Is it global like a soft power really uh soft, or is it related to the you know the the strong or the strength might of those powers? So by bringing global south, we get a genuine soft power concept, more genuine understanding. That's I think uh it's really important to bring them in.

SPEAKER_06 4:40

Based on what you just said, that I mean there's sort of uniqueness in the values and the culture that we have from the global south to the rest of the world. And so this will definitely open a new chapter for soft power. But thinking of the strategies also of implementing the soft power, do you find it the same? What distinction we are bringing to the world?

SPEAKER_03 5:02

Uh yes, uh see. Uh in the past, uh we talked about more like a globalization or globalization of a soft power of certain countries, talking about uh like Americanization, westernization, etc. Uh this often brought the things like uh very flattening homogenization and everything looked the same, you know, all McDonald's, all you know, uh Hollywood. So it's kind of boring after a long time. But I think global source bring a new unique and a genuine authentic perspective from the local cultures, from the east, from the south. And uh uh the thanks, I think thanks to the internet technology, communication technology and globalization uh of transportation, all these things, global source countries now they can um uh leverage this technology and more other uh easy of uh transportation and communication to uh make their soft power uh known better, you know, and spread further. So this is like a new strategy I think they are doing. And not only they are differentiating them from the West, from the traditional soft power uh discourse or institutions, but uh they are using new strategies, new media, you know new technologies to leverage their soft power. This is uh uh a very good strategy for them.

SPEAKER_06 6:28

Interesting. Besides the um technology and uh, as you said, media, what about the cultural asset here? Is it um can we rely on the cultural asset in the global south to enhance our influence and attraction?

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Yeah, as I said, uh global south cultures can really enrich and uh authenticate, you know, make our global culture more authentic and more organic and more genuine and more connected to the local populations, which is uh uh, as you said, like a majority of the world. Uh their cultures, uh they can have all kinds of strategies or methods to uh spread them, like culture diplomacy, uh uh culture industry, creative economy, and uh in fact, you know, many we've seen many successful stories, you know, like China's Confucian Institute, uh Indians Bollywood, and uh Nollywood from Nigeria, and some other Arab uh like countries like Dubai being a culture hub, bring all the cultures together, uh north, uh, south, east, and west. So all this uh uh mix the new kind of uh like we call fusion, culture fusion or culture mixed, and create something new, which we don't do not see in the West or East, something new here, like in Dubai or in some like a mighty important places.

SPEAKER_06 7:51

Taking the example uh of Confucius Institute, actually I studied in the Confucius Institute, um so woman Shua Khayo. Yeah, um I mean in this conversation and this podcast, you are Chinese, um coming from the Arab world as a Marathi, but we can speak Chinese, so we can speak Mandarin. So can we um reinterpret the model of the Confucius Institute maybe with other institutes of other languages, maybe Sawahili, uh the Arabic language, um, or let's say um another, let's say the Russian language as well. So can we reapply the same model in other parts of the global south?

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Uh we can reapply, but we need to like uh reconfigure, you know, uh maybe do some uh reorganizing of the how this kind of language centers language book went wrong in global source or from global source. For China, uh the Computer Institute Musle is uh like uh uh funded by the state and joined by private universities and uh foreign partners. So this kind of a public-private foreign triparty uh model worked very well, uh at least uh in some part of the country, especially in global source countries uh where they don't have much of uh like a controversy about ideology or like human rights, but more focus on cultural understanding, more focus on the teaching language for uh for career opportunities, for uh you know practical business usage. I think this model is uh very successful uh in global south. I think uh the the aspiration you mentioned, like some other global south uh cultures or countries, they want to promote their soft power by doing a language program like Swahili instwahili thing. I know Swahili is already widespread, uh widespoken language across many countries. They have rich uh cultures and they have rich um you know uh uh uh rich um applications or usage you know in many business or uh social environment. I think if uh these countries can bring like uh uh highlight their both their uh aesthetic, you know, the culture and uh beauty of those languages, but also a practical element of their language, it will become very ethical for countries to want to learn or know their uh their languages. For example, if they want to go do business in those countries, in Swahili-speaking countries, and uh in fact I know many Chinese uh uh companies and uh personnel, when they're based in those countries, they learn Sahili, they attend classes. So because they have to deal with them culturally and socially and have uh better understanding. Actually, this uh culture aspect, language aspect save them more money than the they invest in other aspects. So it's it has a practical use, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 10:54

Thinking of um the film industry here, I mean Nollywood, uh Bollywood, uh for example, Nollywood is the second largest film industry, uh, I mean, by output in the world. Um maybe the like my generation learned Turkish from the Turkish movies and uh series. Uh the uh the I mean the upcoming generation already, my nieces are learning Korean from the Korean also movies and Korean songs. So, to what extent you will find there might be some impact when it comes to affecting also the the regional identity? Because we might be also affected by other values from other parts of the global south.

SPEAKER_03 11:34

So, regional identity, you mean this region, Middle East, or the like different regions that are watching? Different regions. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:40

So I mean people in the Middle East are watching um Bollywood, or let's say people in the in Latin America uh are watching Nollywood. To what extent that you think that this will affect their identity as well?

SPEAKER_03 11:51

Yeah, first of all, I mean this film industry uh coming from global south uh countries that basically enrich, diversify our understanding. Like even purely as a like uh entertainment or cultural consumption, you get like uh more choices, you know? Like you are not always eating McDonald's or you are not always uh watching uh Hollywood, but you got now got new options. So this is uh something make us in the uh people in different regions, including here, appreciate diversity and um uh pluralism of the world. So secondly, yes, it's all not really affect, you know, uh define who we are. I'm uh Chinese, I will remain Chinese. But I'm a Chinese, I appreciate African cultures. You know, I like uh have a better understanding of uh um African people and society through Nollywood movies. So that's this would define our culture taste, our culture understanding of the world. So make us a better person, more like uh you know, tolerant person, which uh not just like living in your own small cells, your own culture shell. You know, so in that sense, yes, uh it defines our culture, make us uh uh define our identity, make us more like a global citizen, a cosmopolitan personality. Uh we get uh not just uh besides our ethnic national identity, being a Chinese, being a Muslim, being Arab, but we add additional layer, which is a global side. You know, that's the beauty of this uh soft power from global south.

SPEAKER_06 13:28

But thinking of the barriers here, uh governments, for example, uh notice the importance of the soft power, and that's why we find more and more of national budgets. I mean, some countries are investing in billions as well in soft power, enhancing their soft power to the rest of the world. But definitely there are barriers because thinking of the structure of the global south itself, we are very diverse. I mean, people in China or in East Asia, they are different from people in the Arab world, and people in the Arab world uh are different from um people in Latin America. So definitely there are barriers of accepting the others' um culture, education, language. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 14:09

Yeah, yeah, there is. There is. I mean, first of all, if you want your make, like, you know, now it's we are living a uh you know globalization culture era. So you always the the the either consumers or the buyers or the you know industry, they have to come out creative, new, innovative uh ideas, entertainment programs. Now, the I think Global South's uh the resources and the uh uh reporte of the global south cultures, you know, uh the software haven't been really tapped. So we need to like just purely from like a you know more like an entertainment culture industry perspective. This global south is so uh so much rich. They need to be tapped and bring into the global attention to to China, to Indian, to the West, for them to, I mean, let's see, first them first to consume, right? Consume this culture, but also through this consumption, they slowly get understanding and appreciation of those global south countries. Definitely it is happening, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 15:13

Interesting. Thinking of the language here and the language diplomacy, given the diversity and the weakness of the different languages from the global south that are somehow going global, such as I mean, Mandarin. Um, but still we are speaking English and English at the end of the day in our daily conversation, even within the global south. So, like, how do you view uh the strength of the different languages emerging from the global south to the rest of the world to be when they in the future the global language replacing English?

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Yeah, that's what would be uh because see, uh yeah, we know global south has a rich uh in language, in culture, many things, and their language is as beautiful as English and as any other languages. Uh but globalization and in this 21st century, people also pursue this kind of uh how can I see um efficiency, you know, uh easiness. I mean, so if people are already like uh uh uh adopt the English being a customer, it being easy to communicate. So it's uh uh to bring a new language, uh either like uh Mandarin or other language, uh by the way, Mandarin is a very difficult language, you know. It's uh it is it is a hard one. So uh it's not because uh this they are not good languages, just because of uh people already used to uh one type of a simple communication language like English. So that's I think it will take a longer time. It's not we we wouldn't uh romanticize, oh, one day some of global uh South language will become a dominant or replace English. That won't happen that fast. Uh uh my personal, I think. Yeah, it's just because of you know the people are used to like you know using the simple and existing custom language to communicate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 17:03

Do you think the language diplomacy might push governments in the in the global south and countries for more of a political alignment here? I mean, walking in Dubai, Bolivar, for example, or Dubai, um Dubai Mall, you will notice all signs having like English, Arabic, and Mandarin. So would this uh lead to more of like synergies and melt between countries and governments as well?

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Yes, it is. Uh it first of shows uh country's a strategic choice by bringing another country's language uh for its own like commercial or like mean uh part of the national curriculum as UE Saudi and they did. So it's it is a strategic, uh at least culture strategic uh or culture um partnership. We don't see it's really uh alliances, but at least cultural partnership or language partnerships. It's very deep and very solid. Secondly, it's kind of uh also help uh business, you know, it's help business to uh attract more tourists, attract more buyers. So it's win-win. And also it's uh kind of uh facilitate the tourists, Chinese tourists who when they come to Dubai, they they feel at home, okay. They know the language, they don't have to get they're gonna get lost. So I think it's it's uh this kind of language diplomacy is uh it's really a smart move, you know, to not only just show in the country's partner cultural partnership, but also uh how business to integrate and to grow together.

SPEAKER_06 18:30

Another aspect of soft power here is the religion diplomacy. So having more and more aspirations, I mean, based on the uh faith of other countries, of other religions as well, and the global south would increase the tolerance here. But I mean, what strategies are needed as well to to have this new thinking of accepting everyone's religion, but in your area at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

See, uh, we are now in the UE provide a very good example of uh you know uh promoting tolerance and coexistence coexistence and promote faith-based diplomacy, trying to be uh reconciliate and mediating different religious sections, sects. And so UE did a lot, and of course, other countries also did the similar things. So you see how religion plays a positive role uh in diplomacy, in bringing people together, even as long as they have uh you know this uh uh idea of tolerance each other, idea tolerant to each other, and idea of accepting, respecting others' religion. Unfortunately, still there are some regions or some sections in this this world, uh this idea are not that uh uh appreciated, yeah, uh actualized. Still there's people uh had conflict uh because of the religious differences, you know, sectarian differences. So I think uh what UE is doing is need to be more country to follow, and need to promote more and uh to teach uh or to uh allow others to see the uh positive example UE has set in their own country, like we live here harmoniously here. Here, like we have 200 nationalities, and um all the major religions and minor religions too, all presented in the UAE. But we never seldom we hear that you know there's a conflict or you know the uh big fight because of religious differences. So uh I think this many times in the world, it's including unfortunately in global source countries, religious differences, sectarian differences were exploited by politicians, by military, by you know uh people of uh EO minded the use utilize this. So this needs to be uh uh worked out to make religions more like a rest soft power, uh like a positive driving force, instead of uh you know becoming uh like a scapegoat of some of conflict or uh wars.

SPEAKER_06 21:00

True, or creating maybe some cleavages here, yes, in fact, yeah. Another aspect also of uh of soft power is tourism. Um, as you know, many countries right now, such as Indonesia, uh Morocco, for example, they are spending a lot to enhance their international uh image through tourism, so tourism diplomacy. Um do you think that tourism will have like a great impact uh in terms of enhancing our image to the rest of the world?

SPEAKER_03 21:28

Yeah, definitely. See, people come to see, you know, to feel, to experience uh a country, a place. That's why they grew uh good perception, good good impression of that uh that country or place. By attracting tourists to a country definitely will promote uh the image and uh uh bring uh you know the better understanding of country for others. Now, unfortunately, these days like some media are a bit uh biased or like uh Uh not current. So the the old whenever they for example the uh especially when they are reporting global source countries, they only couple war, conflict, poverty. Yes. And right? So we need to uh open the tourism for uh for them to come to see. This is not what uh in the media portrayed. You know, it it's beautiful, it has good facilities, and it's people are nice, they are not savages, right? So uh these things need to only when people come and it's experience, they interact, and they grow um uh uh grow a good impression. I have many experiences of uh when whenever the Chinese visit Dubai, they visit Sheikh Zai Mosque, they told me like this we never thought a Muslim country or Arab country can be this developed. I mean this modern. So okay, this is what the media tells you. So you can feel how this misunderstanding in a gap is existing. So this can only be uh narrowed or be mixed up by uh tourism. You know, I I'm I appreciate many countries in the global south they are doing uh promoting their tourism. They should, they should, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:09

But I mean thinking also of the other side of tourism here, as you said, I mean, um Chinese people are visiting the United Arab Emirates and they are impressed by the level of uh of the heritage here, heritage reservation, and at the same time, modernity. I mean, traveling to other countries for this person maybe to travel, traveling to another country, he he or she might have also a bad um perception in another country. And so the there will be some of the mixed feelings here. So, how can we tackle this? Um, maybe um introduce a new idea, change the mentality of the people that we have to accept also the level of modernity, the the different experiences that uh we can experience in the global south, because not not, I mean, all countries in the global south are modern and you know has a very good infrastructure.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

So in this case, see that is strategies, let's see. So you can some countries, if your facilities or the you know modern uh uh modernization is not that yeah, so you can develop a kind of alternative, you know, new kind of uh creative tourism. Um for example, you can do like eco-tourism, so featuring your preserving of nature, or you can do ethnic tourism, featuring your diverse cultures, you know, traditions, and you can do uh the like adventurous tourism, you know. So this all kinds of things you can attract different types of uh tourists, and you can best use of your uh unique advantage of what of your country. Uh not every country has to be like Dubai or you to build like a luxurious hotel, you know. Yes, no. That would be like if every do that, that will be boring. You know, you go everywhere in the same. Why not why doing that? So better, each country develop their own brand, their own uh you know um advantage of their own selling point of their tourism instead of all uh all doing the similar things. Of course, basic things, let's see, you know, um road, you know, air travel, all these things should be like improved. That's why I think countries like China and Turkey, they are uh pioneering and in UE too. And they have uh uh industrial capacities, they are investing in improving the infrastructures in those global source countries. This is what we call source-source cooperation, right? So by doing so, uh they help that country to attract more tourists and uh that country to attract investment, and they also get their returns. So it's it's a kind of win-win cooperation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 25:47

Another uh attractive asset here in the in the soft power is sport diplomacy. I mean, hosting the World Cup in uh in Qatar or the Olympics in uh Brazil, it has did uh sort of like a reset a reset of the global narrative from the global south when it comes to sport diplomacy and the readiness of these countries and the global south to host such big events. But I mean, thinking of the national identity, to what extent do you find that sport diplomacy may boost uh diplomatic imaging and the uh perception of these countries and enhancing their national identity to the rest of the world?

SPEAKER_03 26:25

It indeed. The examples just mentioned, I think they all made the citizen of that hosting country proud. I think the Qatar World Cup made all Qatar so proud, you know, as a such a small country in size, but they were able to project a big soft power globally, and uh they made uh like a very solid stamp on the history of uh world football. Uh, similarly, you can say about other countries, like uh they hosted the great event. Uh in so, first of all, in terms of identity, they boast identity, they make them proud of their citizens, right? And also uh they were successful in uh boasting or improving the image of uh that country uh by showing us how efficiency, how you know um organized, you know, how they can uh handle such a sophisticated big uh MAGA event, like the game, the football game or different kinds of games. So I encourage, I mean, and also uh many global source countries are doing that by hosting the uh MAGA event or sports, um uh big sports games to uh strengthen their national identity, uh improving their uh their national image, and also uh um boosting the tourism and economy. So by bringing uh tourists in, by featuring their product, their their you know, local produce to the world and make them uh better known, you know, w for the world. So it it is uh a very good uh investment. Global source countries should focus on to promoting their soft power.

SPEAKER_06 28:06

But Qatar has been uh criticized of I mean doing all of this influence and impact, but it was a little bit limited, I mean, uh, to the event itself. Do you think that Qatar can boost the the impact to have more of uh long-term influence in the city?

SPEAKER_03 28:22

They should, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 28:23

Same goes, I mean, for Brazil and other countries in the global south.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

They should do something what what I call the post-event or post-game economy, right? After the game. You should like this follow-up, sustain, and you should turn those uh like facilities for more like uh you know um other business or entertainment hubs, make use of them basically, and uh the grow like a uh legacy tourism, like let people come back to see. Uh I think the Dubai did uh successfully after they host Dubai um Expo 2020, they make uh mix use of those uh facilities by hosting a lot of conferences. And I got invited a lot of times, you know, all the locations will be in that area. So they host big stewards cool hosting the big events, and they also allow some private actors or some companies to come into like uh run some of the national pavilions. And uh those companies actually bring more activities and business uh showcasing and uh it's so basically you are keeping the those uh the you know event impact there, sustainable or continuing legacy. Uh yeah, Qatar should do more to make their impact lasting. Instead of okay, you first uh game and people forget about you. That's not uh you know the desirable one.

SPEAKER_06 29:44

Speaking of the South-South cooperation here, uh I mean we have many um forums, regional forums within the global south, the China Afro Um Forum, or let's say the the cooperation forums between the Arab world and the African world. So like do you think that these forums are bringing much or they are more of like a slogan politics? Um I mean, high-level um figures are coming to meet, coming up coming up with a statement at the end of the event, and then nothing happening. So, do you think that there is a real benefit for the global south to do more of a south south-south cooperation through forums?

SPEAKER_03 30:26

See, forums as the name indicates, is a place where people express their desires, their opinions, their stance, their perspectives, and then exchange views and to see if they can reach a consensus and further uh agreement or action plan. So this is where forum is very necessary. Uh, because see, Global South is a very, very diverse uh uh group of countries. You know, even you just think of China-Arab States uh forum, like China Africans from each side. There's uh you know diverse countries, and they might have diverse interests and diverse uh perspectives. So you need them to speak out and to see what is can be agreed and what cannot be agreed, and they can work on. So that's uh number one, it's it's it's useful. Secondly, in the global south, you know, the the country's development and the corporation need political will, very political, very strong leadership support. So even by hosting this high-level uh political uh forums and discussions and exchange, you are able to mobilize, you know, uh support, and you can show the strong will from the leadership from both uh both sides, you know, from China side and from African side or Arabic side, to see they're willing to focus on some development and some of uh uh South-South cooperation. So, yes, uh this forum they tend to uh speak a lot, and um but they did show at least show the you know the for uh place for people to exchange views and to reach consensus and to show the strong will. And then the rest is for the specific sectors, for industries, for business to work on the specifics. But the if you have this cover and umbrella, yeah, political support, that's very crucial.

SPEAKER_06 32:14

But can we rely on them and the global south at least to achieve a multilateral impact here for the rest of the world?

SPEAKER_03 32:22

Yeah, this needs to be worked out some kind of first of all, uh this kind of forum or mechanism, like a BRICS or uh SCO Shanghai Corporation uh thing. Or OIC, for example. Yeah, so this these things um forums or organizations uh mechanism is necessary to coordinate, you know, to to convene. Uh convene. But that's not enough, as I said. So uh for global source it's uh it's much more bigger. You know, so I I think it's it's time to call for global source kind of a coordination mechanism on top of the those who already existing ones. So these are those are like kind of more like a uh regional or some like a uh more uh corporation focused uh mechanism. But for global source we need a uh bigger, more like um uh uh inclusive, diverse uh platforms to ask. UN already had had one, but if global source has like a uh their own platform or uh not like at least mechanism they can exchange, that would be very useful to uh actualize all this uh uh you know uh proposals, ideas, make them um you know uh more like real realize them.

SPEAKER_06 33:42

This is could be applicable for the peacetime. What about the hard times, wars, the crises? I mean, we we've been through COVID-19, I mean a few years ago. Um India's uh aid program was getting uh praise of the development and the support that the rest of the world, especially in the global south and the surrounding of India, gained out of this program. So can we rely on soft power in such time? I mean, at least to do uh simple crisis management here.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

Um global south countries uh already uh they are using their own way of uh you know uh solving their uh issues, the issues between among them or between them. And uh for example in Africa we've uh seen some like a uh conflict part of the civil wars, or they are using the traditional tribal way of uh uh like arbitration of uh solving the problem. You know, it's contributing to the peace process. And uh many of like a localized uh practice of uh conflict uh resolution, prevention, uh medical aid, economic event are there. Uh at just the media or the scholarship did not really report or study them that much. So I think I'm sure Global Source has a lot of things to contribute for for the things you you mentioned. And uh uh just we need maybe uh like scale up them, you know, make them more like uh applicable to more regions and to uh make them institutionalized a little bit if we can.

SPEAKER_06 35:25

What about humanitarian assistance here? I mean, can we rely on a compassionate model from the global south? Global change is on the move, and south is where it's all happening. This is a global southing, a must-listen podcast, putting the spotlight on powerful stories, bold innovations, and untold leadership from the global south, all reshaping our shared future.

SPEAKER_07 35:51

You are listening to Global Serving Podcast.

SPEAKER_06 35:59

Picture this. Bollywood movies are reviewed in the whole Arab world, not only in communities but also in villages. Turkish cuisine is tested in Latin America and in East Asia. Or maybe Mandarin language is taught in Confucius Institutes, not only in the global south, but in the rest of the world. So we have to ask a few questions here. How can we sustain the influence of soft power within the global south and maybe enhance the collaboration in this regard? To answer these questions, joining us today in this episode, Dr. Shao Jun Chai, coordinator at Educators Without Borders International. So we are very delighted to have him here. Dr. Chai, thank you so much for joining us in this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 36:50

My pleasure.

SPEAKER_06 36:52

So, as we introduced in the beginning of the episode, today we will be discussing the soft power, but from the perspective of the global south to the rest of the world. Thinking of the very essential conceptualization of soft power. It started with Joseph Nye in the 90s, but now we find it also applicable for the 21st century. So, how do you find it relevant to us today?

SPEAKER_03 37:15

It is very uh relevant because we are entering a new era of multipolarity where uh many powers, not only just great uh traditional great powers from global south, are uh determining or like uh dominating the discourse of uh globalization or global order, but also actors and players from global south. Uh these new rising powers uh like China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and others are also entering uh discourse and entering the deciding and debating about global order and future. In particular, as you said, the soft power is also um entering the RC from global source uh players. We it will be very interesting to see how global source players can um contribute to soft power uh in our era.

SPEAKER_06 38:17

But thinking of the population, the world population, 85% of the world population is located in the global south, according to you, in 2023. And so, I mean, this is a huge power that we have in the in the global south, especially, I mean, the the very basic aim of the soft power is to enhance our influence and attraction. So, can we redefine the soft power? I mean, from the global south, or are we still sticking to the very classic way of it?

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Definitely by bringing uh global south into uh soft power discussion, we can reconceptualize uh reconceptualize and redefine soft power. Soft power is attraction and not coercion. So it's depend not depending on uh the size or military might or economic uh strength of a certain countries, it's defined uh more by how a culture, how ideas, institutions, values are attractive to others uh without using coercion or without using uh economic payment. So this is the where global source fits very well because global source uh the if they enter the discourse of uh soft power, it would be evident and demonstrable that uh their values, their uh ideas, institutions, cultures will have attractive uh naturally, let's say, without like uh their uh the military or economic side, which always we see related with the global north countries. That's why people got confused. Is it global like a soft power really uh soft, or is it related to the you know the strong or the strength might of those powers? So by bringing global south, we get a genuine soft power concept, more genuine understanding. That's I think uh it's really important to bring them in.

SPEAKER_06 40:12

Based on what you just said, that I mean there's sort of uniqueness in the values and the culture that we have from the global south to the rest of the world. And so this will definitely open a new chapter for soft power. But thinking of the strategies also of implementing the soft power, do you find it the same? What distinction we are bringing to the world?

SPEAKER_03 40:34

Uh yes, uh see. Uh in the past, uh we talked about more like a globalization or globalization of a soft power of certain countries, talking about uh like Americanization, westernization, etc. Uh this often brought the things like uh very flattening homogenization. And everything looks the same, you know, all McDonald's, all you know, uh Hollywood. So it's kind of boring after a long time. But I think global source bring a new, unique and a genuine, authentic perspective from the local cultures, from the east, from the south. And uh uh the thanks, I think, thanks to the internet technology, communication technology and globalization uh of transportation, all these things, global source countries now they can um uh leverage this technology and more other uh easy of uh transportation and communication to uh make their soft power uh known better, you know, and spread further. So this is like a new strategy I think they are doing. And not only are they differentiating them from the West, from the traditional soft power uh discourse or institutions, but uh they are using new strategies, new media, you know new technologies to leverage their soft power. This is uh uh a very good strategy for them.

SPEAKER_06 41:59

Interesting. Besides the um technology and uh, as you said, media, what about the cultural asset here? Is it um can we rely on the cultural asset in the global south to enhance our influence and attraction?

SPEAKER_03 42:13

Yeah, as I said, uh global south cultures can really enrich and uh authenticate, you know, make our global culture more authentic and more organic and more genuine and more connected to the local populations, which is uh uh, as you said, like a majority of the world. Uh their cultures uh they can have all kinds of strategies or methods to uh spread them, like culture diplomacy, uh uh culture industry, creative economy, and in fact, you know, many we've seen many successful stories, you know.