Playing Safe or Taking Risks? Comparing China and Japan's Soft Power Strategies in Thailand

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the increasing value of Joseph Nye's concept of soft power in East Asia by observing the actions of China and Japan in Thailand. The two major powers are trying to gather sociocultural and political resources towards improved economic relations and collaborations, while mostly detaching from ideological promotion. This article gathers opinions from "intellectual elites" to assess how the two countries understand soft power in action while outlining their main objectives, strategies, and impact. Although China's reputation is gradually improving, the country seems to be playing a risky game where admiration for its economic prowess and skepticism towards its opaque methods are equally present, resulting in a precarious position. Japan's image is still positive and stable, but its safe-playing stance seems to reflect the geopolitical status-quo and could be a missed opportunity to emerge as the third option beyond China and the United States.

Window‐dressing policy: Thailand's misuse of soft power as cursory practice

“…The unceasing attention to soft power applications has sometimes been described as “the soft power spring” (Arugay, 2021). Academics and policymakers alike have effortlessly researched how soft power strategies of countries such as the United States, China, Japan, Korea, and Iran have influenced target countries (see e.g., Akbarzadeh et al, 2021; Carminati, 2020; Hossain, 2021; Lee, 2009; Machida, 2010; Shah et al, 2017). The conceptual popularity is also evident in how Chinese officials privately asked for Nye's advice about the strategy to increase Chinese soft power abroad from time to time (Nye, 2021; p. 205).…”

East Asia’s soft power competition in Southeast Asia: a case study of public diplomacy efforts in promoting Japanese, Chinese, and Korean language learning in Thailand since the 2000s

“…Since then Japanese language learning has become increasingly popular in Thailand, and scholars have examined the role of Japanese language education as a tool for promoting soft power in the country. Carminati (2020) compares the soft power strategies of China and Japan in Thailand in terms of education and language. The author suggests that Japan is no longer seen as a "top study destination" as global competition increases.…”

“…Even though CIs in the West are frequently attacked for disseminating propaganda and eroding academic freedom, research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicates that CIs in the Indo-Pacific can be a win-win partnership (Lee, 2023). During the interview with 26 scholars and journalists in Thailand with expertise in either China or Japan, when asked about the CI's political influence, most agreed that Thais are generally confident that external cultural influences will not dominate them, so controversies are limited (Carminati, 2020). Kornphanat (2016) Catholic Church school, referred to as "The cradle of Thai elites" (Zhou, 2021).…”

“…claims that the local Thai group is unsatisfied and afraid of the role of CIs and China's expanding influence. Additionally, some Thai intellectuals have underlined that the role of the institutes in Thailand, which are seen as nationalistic tools, may not have been sufficiently scrutinized(Carminati, 2020). Thammasat, a well-regarded university in Thailand with a strong social sciences program and a history of student activism, has not yet opened a CI due to these concerns.…”