As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours East Asia this week, her first official trip as secretary of state, she may find something surprising: Respect for the United States remains strong. Unlike in the rest of the world, America’s reputation in Asia remains robust.
New evidence suggests that in East Asia, U.S. “soft power” – the power to persuade others to do what you want them to do by attraction rather than coercion – has actually increased over the past eight years. Despite China’s rise, the United States remains the leading source of soft power in the region.
This is one of the principal findings of a 2008 survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on “Soft Power in Asia” (www.thechicagocouncil.org/softpowerindex). Extensive polling was done in the United States and the four nations Secretary Clinton will visit – Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and China, as well as in Vietnam. The survey produced some surprising and important findings.
Every country surveyed ranked the United States ahead of China in soft power….
Read it all.
David Shambaugh and Thomas Wright: Asia still likes America
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours East Asia this week, her first official trip as secretary of state, she may find something surprising: Respect for the United States remains strong. Unlike in the rest of the world, America’s reputation in Asia remains robust.
New evidence suggests that in East Asia, U.S. “soft power” – the power to persuade others to do what you want them to do by attraction rather than coercion – has actually increased over the past eight years. Despite China’s rise, the United States remains the leading source of soft power in the region.
This is one of the principal findings of a 2008 survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on “Soft Power in Asia” (www.thechicagocouncil.org/softpowerindex). Extensive polling was done in the United States and the four nations Secretary Clinton will visit – Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and China, as well as in Vietnam. The survey produced some surprising and important findings.
Every country surveyed ranked the United States ahead of China in soft power….
Read it all.