Soft Power and Public Diplomacy- Perspectives of the Global South

Abstract

In contemporary times, public diplomacy is increasingly regarded as one of the most important means of augmenting one’s soft power. The rise of the notion of soft power in turn represents the importance attached to ideas, perceptions and legitimacy by states and non-state actors in today’s globalised international system.
Structurally, the way soft power has been defined and the language of public diplomacy has already been handed down by those who came up with the term specifically: that is the northern countries. Thus the framework and discourses on soft power are hegemonic in nature. What is required is a re-construction of soft power and public diplomacy from the perspective of the south- making it more inclusive.