ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the basic features of soft power and addresses the most important controversies surrounding the term: What constitutes soft power resources? Where does soft power start and hard power end? What is the relationship between the two? It looks at a broader definition of soft power that includes not only intangible resources but also tangible assets and behaviour that makes countries attractive and legitimate. Power is a central concept in international relations. Yet for such a fundamental idea, it has various definitions bestowed by different schools, and its definition is still regarded as "contested", "troublesome" and "controversial". There are many actors that can accumulate and project soft power. At the state level, agents of soft power can be either public institutions or private actors: business communities, non-government organisations, or intellectual or cultural elites. Some soft power policies, like exchange programs, sending experts in the framework of technical assistance, or Track II dialogues, are directed at country elites.
