Affiliation:
1. Classical and Archaelogical Studies, University of Kent
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to show that the concepts of soft power in contemporary political science are very similar to those expressed by the Roman politician and orator Cicero in the late 1st century BCE. I will then show how these concepts can be used to analyse ancient international relations and contemporary politics. This paper will be divided into two sections: the first will show the modern definition of soft power; the second will explain Cicero's concepts and analyse a case study in ancient Greece in the 2nd century BCE concerning Roman foreign relations. It is my essential contention in this paper that no history of Roman imperialism — a momentous period in Mediterranean history spanning over a millennium, which changed fundamentally the course of European, North African and Near-Eastern history — can be complete without discussion of ‘soft power’, an important concept too often (wrongly) ignored in the study of Roman history in general.
Publisher
Brief Encounters Postgraduate Journal
Reference14 articles.
1. “Soft power and corporate imperialism: maintaining British influence”;Bell, E.;Race & Class,2016
2. “Think Again: Power”;Ferguson, N.;Foreign Policy,2003
3. “Who’s Afraid of Mr. Big?”;Joffe, J.;The National Interest,2001
4. “An Unclear Attraction: A Critical Examination of Soft Power as an Analytical Category.”;Hall, T.;The Chinese Journal of International Politics,2010