Economic Outlook of Pakistan and Hard-Soft

Power

Instructor: Dr. Adeela Ghazanfar

Subject: Pakistan Studies
 Hard-Soft Power

Hard Power
• Hard Power represents a coercive approach to international
relations and employs the use of military or economic power
to achieve certain outcomes. The underlying theme of Hard
Power is coercion and states use such power to influence
weaker states to comply with their will.
• Hard power can be used to establish or change a state of
political hegemony or balance of power. Although the
term hard power generally refers to diplomacy, it can also
be used to describe forms of negotiation which involve
pressure or threats as leverage.
 Soft Power

• Soft Power, in contrast, represents a subtle, persuasive approach

to international relations between states. States utilize Soft Power
to “attract and co-opt” other states to desire what they desire.
• It has the ability to influence the preferences and interests of
other states. This persuasive approach is applied through
cultural, historical and/or diplomatic means.
• It is also considered the "second face of power" that indirectly
allows you to obtain the outcomes you want. A country's soft
power, according to Nye, rests on three resources: "its culture (in
places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it
lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies
(when others see them as legitimate and having moral
authority)."
Smart Power

• In international relations, the term smart power refers to

the combination of hard power and soft power strategies.
It is defined by the Center for Strategic and International
Studies as "an approach that underscores the necessity of
a strong military, but also invests heavily in alliances,
partnerships, and institutions of all levels to expand one's
influence and establish legitimacy of one's action.“
• smart power "involves the strategic use of diplomacy,
persuasion, capacity building, and the projection of power
and influence in ways that are cost-effective and have
political and social legitimacy" – essentially the
engagement of both military force and all forms of
diplomacy