Soft or Hard Power in Diplomacy

Abstract

With the end of the Cold War, the military-based structure, which was the only relatively single actor in the international system that went through a serious transformation, was replaced by a deepened structure with new actors such as individuals, companies, and international organizations alongside the state. This transformation of the system requires actors, especially states, to revise themselves through new security perceptions, and instead of military interventions, which are described as hard power, soft power resources such as education, science, sports, culture, art, and economy come to the forefront. In a world that has become interdependent in many respects, countries need to both protect and defend their national interests and maintain relations with other countries in the face of the risks of biased, false news and incitement to societies caused by increasing information resources. In this study, soft power and hard power concepts will be discussed, and their place in diplomacy will be examined.