Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

Soft power, the power of attraction, coined by Nye during the end of the Cold War risk being too vague to be relevant. The loss of relevance does not stem from its theoretical dimension, but rather from a changing global landscape. Ultimately, Nye argued that the attractiveness of a nation’s culture, values, and policy would be more influential on diplomatic relations than material resources. However, countries appear to be pushing the boundaries of soft power, China being the most controversial case. China conceives soft power in a broader sense and through aid and investment the country is blurring the boundaries between soft power and economic power. Beijing is building economic attraction which includes skillful economic-diplomacy and the main instrument of attraction to China today is built upon money rather than traditional soft power. Therefore, the term, soft power must be combined with economic-statecraft as well, to be used as a policy tool for China. This essay therefore, uses the term soft power with Chinese characteristics, which includes both soft power and economic-statecraft to explain how China is using its economic power to create attraction in the Association of Southeast Asian Countries. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the interplay between soft power and economics and the importance of introducing a new term to understand China’s foreign policy within the Association of Southeast Asian Countries. The thesis concludes that soft power which Chinese characteristics should be used as a policy tool because Chinese soft power is heavily dependent on its economic power and as long as there is a great concern in ASEAN about Chinese foreign policy, Chinese investment will continue to generate a low soft power return.