ABSTRACT
Public diplomacy is inevitably linked to power. The work by Joseph Nye is well known in this respect, particularly soft power. Soft power is “based on intangible or indirect influences such as culture, values, and ideology.”1 It is arguably the most referenced term in the public diplomacy lexicon, though its prevalence does not mean that we all agree on its definition and application. The term “soft power” was first coined by Nye in 1990. He wrote that the United States must invest in measures that lead to better ties that bind: “. . . the richest country in the world could afford both better education at home and the international influence that comes from an effective aid and information program abroad. What is needed is increased investment in ‘soft power,’ the complex machinery of interdependence, rather than in ‘hard power’—that is, expensive new weapons systems.”2
