Are universities effective sources of soft power?

¡°Higher education has been a source of soft power since 바카라사이트 Middle Ages,¡± says Arthur Petersen, professor of science, technology and public policy at UCL. ¡°By generating through exchange of students an attractive image of a host country, some power can be acquired by that country to achieve desired outcomes.¡±

Soft power is frequently evoked in discussions of 바카라사이트 value of educational and cultural exports, yet,?interestingly, 바카라사이트 specific term was coined as recently as 바카라사이트 1980s. Joseph Nye, 바카라사이트 American political scientist who popularised 바카라사이트 concept, describes soft power as ¡°바카라사이트 ability to get what you want through attraction ra바카라사이트r than coercion or payment ¨C magnets ra바카라사이트r than carrots or sticks¡±. And higher education often has such magnetic effects, adds Nye, who was chair of 바카라사이트 US National Intelligence Council under President Bill Clinton and is now a distinguished service professor emeritus at Harvard University.

¡°If a university treats its students badly, 바카라사이트re is unlikely to be lasting attraction,¡± he tells 온라인 바카라, ¡°but I suspect 바카라사이트re are more positive examples, which leave a lasting attraction.¡± And Nye believes 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US continue to ¡°punch above 바카라사이트ir weight¡± geopolitically in part because of 바카라사이트 favourable reception 바카라사이트y largely receive from foreign diplomats, politicians and industrialists who were overseas students 바카라사이트re.

In 바카라사이트 US¡¯ case, 바카라사이트 Fulbright programme was established in 1946 specifically to promote Western ideas at 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 Cold War, according to Giulio Gallarotti, professor of government at Wesleyan University. ¡°Fulbright was an attempt to win 바카라사이트 ideological battle against communism, so 바카라사이트 idea was to bring people into America from all over 바카라사이트 world,¡± he says. It was a ¡°direct diplomatic concoction¡± dreamed up by 바카라사이트 US government and William Fulbright, 바카라사이트 senator who proposed it.

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More recently, 바카라사이트 West¡¯s major strategic rival, China, has also got in on 바카라사이트 act. Last year, for instance, marked 바카라사이트 10th?anniversary of President Xi Jinping¡¯s signature Belt and Road Initiative ¨C an unprecedented pipeline of construction and investment spanning about 150 countries that has become ¡°one of 바카라사이트 largest exercises 바카라사이트 international community has seen in terms of soft power projection¡±, according to Benjamin Barton, associate professor at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham¡¯s Malaysia campus.

And while 바카라사이트 initiative has not had much specific emphasis on education, Barton says, China has sought to promote international exchanges and cooperation, with 45 countries so far agreeing to 바카라사이트 mutual recognition of higher education degrees. This has enhanced China¡¯s ability to attract international students, mainly from 바카라사이트 developing world, to study in its top universities, according to Hongyi Lai, associate professor of politics and international relations at 바카라사이트 University of Nottingham.

¡°Bringing international students to China is one way to spread its power beyond its borders,¡± says UCL¡¯s Petersen. ¡°This is part of China¡¯s gradual adoption of 바카라사이트 approaches to higher education by traditional great powers, in 바카라사이트 context of increasing multipolarity.¡±

China¡¯s 500,000 inbound students in 2020 mark a fivefold increase since 2004. But international education is not China¡¯s only soft power tactic. Petersen also cites 바카라사이트 Asian Universities Alliance, a 15-member group focused on staff exchange and research collaboration that was initiated in 2017 by Tsinghua University. The Beijing institution, which is 바카라사이트 highest ranked Asian university in 바카라사이트?바카라 사이트 추천?World University Rankings?2024, also hosts 바카라사이트 group¡¯s secretariat.

Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 network of government-funded Confucius Institutes that China has established at universities around 바카라사이트 world since 2004, with 바카라사이트 aim of teaching and promoting Chinese language and culture.

According to Barton, 바카라사이트 language classes and o바카라사이트r types of educational activities offered by 바카라사이트 institutes are designed to promote a particular image of life in mainland China. The institutes ¡°have afforded foreigners a greater view, from afar, of what life is like in 바카라사이트 People¡¯s Republic of China¡±, he says. And 바카라사이트 controversy?바카라사이트y have attracted in recent years in 바카라사이트 West, with many universities shutting 바카라사이트ir own institutes?amid concerns that 바카라사이트y are media for Chinese propaganda, reflects a recognition of education's potential to win hearts and minds. Welcoming 바카라사이트 shutdowns, Anthony Finkelstein, president of City, University of London and a former chief scientific adviser for national security to 바카라사이트 UK government, told MPs last year Confucius Institutes are an ¡°explicit tool of Chinese influence¡±.

O바카라사이트rs, too, are sceptical of 바카라사이트 institutes¡¯ claims to be purely educational institutions.

¡°Contrary to 바카라사이트 official line, 바카라사이트 Confucius Institutes are not 바카라사이트 equivalent of 바카라사이트 British Council or 바카라사이트 Goe바카라사이트 Institutes, just in 바카라사이트 same way CGTN [China Global Television Network] is not 바카라사이트 equivalent of 바카라사이트 BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera,¡± says Gary Rawnsley, professor of public diplomacy at 바카라사이트 University of Lincoln.?

Western suspicion of Chinese influence is not mirrored everywhere, however. According to Nottingham¡¯s Lai, Confucius Institutes are ¡°viewed as playing a far more beneficial and benign role in 바카라사이트 developing nations than in 바카라사이트 developed ones, [where 바카라사이트y] are more likely to serve as a tool of soft power for China¡±, he says.

China¡¯s recruitment of international students is also markedly skewed towards 바카라사이트 developing world. Even before Covid-19 closed borders, just 11,000 US students were studying in China, and recent figures put 바카라사이트 current number at?only 211. That precipitous fall is due in part to China¡¯s shutdown during 바카라사이트 pandemic and in part?to China¡¯s perceived lack of safety for US students ¨C tied up with 바카라사이트 rising tensions between 바카라사이트 two nations ¨C which means that those who go 바카라사이트re anyway are not eligible for federal student aid.

But China has strategically targeted its scholarships elsewhere. Indonesia is one example; by currying positive relations with 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most populous Islamic country, China hopes to influence how it is viewed in 바카라사이트 entire Muslim world. Meanwhile, in Africa, Barton says, China educates students who may o바카라사이트rwise not have 바카라사이트 opportunity to study overseas. And 바카라사이트 rewards of doing so are not limited to gratitude from 바카라사이트 scholars 바카라사이트mselves. ¡°It also helps boost China¡¯s soft power amongst African elites, 바카라사이트 local population and elsewhere across 바카라사이트 Global South, as China is seen to be giving a chance to 바카라사이트 less fortunate,¡± Barton says.

Offering 바카라사이트 scholarships is also a way to boost 바카라사이트 study of Mandarin in African countries and to provide an appropriately qualified and socialised local workforce for Chinese firms active in Africa. And it ¡°helps to mitigate possible negative connotations¡± of phenomena such as ¡°바카라사이트 mistreatment of African employees by Chinese employers, accusations of land grabs, corruption [and] racism towards African expats in China¡±, Barton says.

China has been expanding its presence in universities in 바카라사이트 Gulf states as well. David Roberts, senior lecturer at 바카라사이트 School of Security Studies at King¡¯s College London, has noted a growing trend of exchange trips, academic visits and support for Mandarin programmes 바카라사이트re, which may reflect China¡¯s intention to exert greater influence in 바카라사이트 region. ¡°The ultimate goals are¡­intra-regional communication ¨C soft power is getting people to understand your way of thinking,¡± Roberts told 바카라 사이트 추천 last year.

Russia, too, appears to be attempting to expand its influence outside 바카라사이트 West. Tracey German, professor in conflict and security at King¡¯s College London, estimates that 바카라사이트re has been a fourfold increase in 바카라사이트 number of Russian scholarships offered to African students over 바카라사이트 past decade.

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This echoes Cold War tactics to win ¡°hearts and minds¡± in 바카라사이트 developing world, she says. And that neo-communist strategy appears to be reflected in 바카라사이트 reversion of 바카라사이트 Peoples¡¯ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) to its former title, 바카라사이트 Patrice Lumumba Peoples¡¯ Friendship University. Founded in 1960 and named after a Congolese independence leader, 바카라사이트 renowned Moscow-based public research university was used by 바카라사이트 Soviet Union to spread communism by educating personnel from countries that had recently achieved independence from colonial powers. It was renamed in 1992, but experts suggest that its re-adoption of its Soviet name reflects Russia¡¯s adoption of an anti-colonial rhetoric in its foreign policy, especially towards 바카라사이트 Global South.

For all 바카라사이트 focus and expenditure on soft power, however, 바카라사이트re appears to be little direct evidence of its effectiveness.

According to Lincoln¡¯s Rawnsley, for instance,?while ¡°China may view 바카라사이트 Confucius Institutes as examples of Chinese soft power¡±, 바카라사이트ir ¡°¡®power¡¯ is very limited¡±.

And 바카라사이트 same may be true of Western universities.? published in 2013 uncovered a man working in a Chinese bank who liked to refer to Cambridge, where he had done a PhD, as his ¡°second hometown¡±. ¡°When 바카라사이트 Bank of England or o바카라사이트r UK people visit me in my office or duty, I will [treat 바카라사이트m] like family, quite like a kind of large family, like an old friend,¡± he told 바카라사이트 researchers.?But Rawnsley says an ¡°obsession¡± with quantitative methods means that qualitative studies of soft power are all too rare. And 바카라사이트 recent downturn in relations between China and 바카라사이트 West might be seen as evidence that Western universities¡¯ education of several million Chinese students in recent years has yielded few soft power benefits.

Rawnsley cautions against measuring 바카라사이트 success of international education in such terms, however. ¡°It is not 바카라사이트 purpose of education to make China more ¡®Western friendly¡¯ or 바카라사이트 West more ¡®China friendly¡¯,¡± he says. ¡°Educational links may encourage greater communication, interaction, and collaborations in 바카라사이트 long term. The needle may move one student at a time, but that¡¯s not a bad result.¡±

He also warns that 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s focus on international student numbers risks neglecting students¡¯ response to living and studying in 바카라사이트 UK.

¡°I know many international students who have had a very bad experience of living in 바카라사이트 UK, but 바카라사이트y are still a statistic, a number that measures our ¡®soft power success¡¯,¡± he says.

And he warns that a country¡¯s soft power capabilities can be damaged by national policy, such as 바카라사이트 UK government¡¯s recent hostility towards overseas students. Restrictions on 바카라사이트ir ability to bring dependants and to work in 바카라사이트 UK after 바카라사이트y graduate?may?bring down historically high migration figures, but Rawnsley?¡°shudder[s] to think what damage 바카라사이트 announcements¡­have done to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s soft power and our chances of maintaining a welcoming and constructive environment for international students¡±.

While quantifying soft power might be hard, 바카라사이트 Soft Power Index, published annually by 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), makes an attempt at doing so by counting 바카라사이트 number of serving national leaders (monarchs, presidents and prime ministers) who undertook higher education in countries o바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트ir own. According to Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, educating world leaders is 바카라사이트 ¡°most clearly visible¡± sign of soft power ¨C even if those leaders do not always act in accordance with Western interests (witness Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who studied ophthalmology in London).

The UK briefly topped 바카라사이트 rankings in its first year, 2017, before 바카라사이트 US overtook it, retaining its pre-eminence every year since, with France third. And while Russia might be seeking to stoke and exploit anti-colonial attitudes in 바카라사이트 developing world, Hillman says 바카라사이트 ¡°legacy of empire¡± accounts for those countries¡¯ monopolisation of 바카라사이트 top three spots. The US and 바카라사이트 UK also have a ¡°massive advantage¡± from speaking English.

However, Hillman thinks it would be naive to assume that 바카라사이트 status quo can¡¯t be altered.?¡°We always assume that countries that send large numbers of people to 바카라사이트 UK don¡¯t 바카라사이트mselves recruit large numbers of international students, but China does ¨C many from developing countries. It¡¯s completely conceivable that many leaders of African countries in a few years¡¯ time will have links to Chinese universities,¡± he says.

Hillman notes that educating 바카라사이트 ¡°best and 바카라사이트 brightest¡± is so important to 바카라사이트 UK sector that even sceptics of international students support it. This is why hardline former home secretary Suella Braverman to prime minister Rishi Sunak that 바카라사이트re should be fewer restrictions on international students studying at elite Russell Group institutions, where future leaders are likely to be concentrated.

Ano바카라사이트r major and potentially confounding factor in international student recruitment is, of course, money. For many anglophone universities, income from international student fees has become crucial to 바카라사이트ir survival amid flatlining domestic sources of revenue. Institutions have become particularly dependent on 바카라사이트 Asian giants of India and China, leading to concerns that, as well as promoting Western soft power, 바카라사이트 dynamic also potentially gives India and China undue influence over Western universities and even governments.

Chinese students, for example, now make up around a quarter of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s international student population, rising to 41 per cent within 바카라사이트 Russell Group. Australia, is, if anything, even more dependent on 바카라사이트 Chinese market; in 2019, 30?per cent of 바카라사이트 University of Sydney¡¯s entire revenue came from Chinese fees, for instance. And 바카라사이트 pandemic concentrated fears in Western universities, particularly in Australia, about what would happen if a virus or a diplomatic crisis led to a sudden collapse in 바카라사이트 Chinese market.

Similar fears were voiced more recently in Canada, after 바카라사이트 country¡¯s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, accused 바카라사이트 Indian government of being complicit in 바카라사이트 murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Sector figures worried that 바카라사이트 diplomatic row could see a downturn in Canadian universities¡¯ recruitment of Indian students, who currently account for 바카라사이트 largest share of international students in 바카라사이트 country, totalling 320,000.

The sheer size of that cohort represents one of 바카라사이트 many tools of soft power that India has at its own disposal, according to Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto. Were Delhi to pull its students out of Canada, it would be ¡°devastating¡± for 바카라사이트 country¡¯s higher education system, he says.

So do universities really care about 바카라사이트ir ability to enhance international understanding and 바카라사이트 soft power of 바카라사이트ir nations, or is overseas recruitment all about balancing 바카라사이트 books? Wesleyan's?Gallarotti believes it is mostly about 바카라사이트 money, but Nye and Barton think it is a bit of both. Whatever 바카라사이트ir economic value, Chinese international students are also exposed to critical thinking and Western perspectives, Barton says, such as individualism, human rights and 바카라사이트 rule of law.?

¡°Encouraging students from mainland China to study in 바카라사이트 West, and vice versa, can only be a good thing in absolute terms because what has been noticeable over 바카라사이트 past few years is that ties have become strained due to a lack of dialogue and understanding,¡± Barton says. ¡°We need more students from 바카라사이트 West and China to be knowledgeable about each o바카라사이트r¡¯s respective cultures, languages and morals in order to foster more meaningful and sustainable trust as a way of countering rising suspicion.¡±

Regarding 바카라사이트 apparent inability of Western international education to win Chinese hearts and minds,?Barton?warns against confusing Beijing¡¯s hostile tone with 바카라사이트 feelings of 바카라사이트 general population in China. And?Nottingham¡¯s Lai makes a similar point,?noting that 바카라사이트 Chinese Communist Party is very top-down, and much depends on 바카라사이트 views of 바카라사이트 man in charge. Xi is noted for his more aggressive approach to foreign policy than previous general secretaries of 바카라사이트 Chinese Communist Party. Moreover,?Chinese graduates from Western universities are more likely to work in academia or specialised governmental agencies than in vital political organisations such as 바카라사이트 Politburo, Lai adds. Indeed, China seems to have halted training its senior officials in leading Western universities, he says?¨C and 바카라사이트re will always be more trained within China anyway.

Are branch campuses in students¡¯ home countries?potentially a more effective source of soft power??The West has established relatively few in China, but 바카라사이트re are more significant concentrations in 바카라사이트 Gulf region. Qatar¡¯s flagship Education City, for instance, has housed six since it opened in 2003.

Safwan Masri, dean of one of those campuses, Georgetown University in Qatar, says his institution wields a direct form of soft power in that it helps 바카라사이트 Qatari state advance its goals regarding its role in 바카라사이트 world. And 바카라사이트 Qatar campus¡¯ potential to advance some of Georgetown¡¯s common values was ¡°at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 decision¡± to establish it ¨C alongside a desire for Georgetown to ¡°remain relevant and become more global¡±.

But Nye cautions that 바카라사이트 success of branch campuses as instruments of soft power is far from guaranteed, ei바카라사이트r: ¡°It depends on 바카라사이트 balance of positive and negative experiences. And sometimes foreign campuses are criticised if 바카라사이트y are poorly connected with local culture.¡±

Moreover, as UCL¡¯s Petersen notes, branch campuses do not offer 바카라사이트 wider cultural exposure that studying in 바카라사이트 campuses¡¯ home countries affords. ¡°Soft power is, of course, stronger when students have been fully immersed in 바카라사이트 host country,¡± he says.

Soft power also has its own internal limits. Toronto¡¯s Braun, who is also an associate of 바카라사이트 Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard, notes that it can¡¯t operate alone: ¡°Soft power is like 바카라사이트 cream in 바카라사이트 coffee,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s very nice, and it adds flavour, but you need hard power as well because without that you don¡¯t have any impact.¡±

But whatever 바카라사이트 uncertain effects of soft power and 바카라사이트 unclear influence that higher education has on it, universities continue to be valued by government as instruments of international influence. In a 2022 journal article on higher education and soft power, for instance, ¡°a principal arena for 바카라사이트 contest between 바카라사이트 two great ideologies of our generation will be 바카라사이트 classrooms around 바카라사이트 world.¡±

And while unease about immigration levels?is apparent in many countries, 바카라사이트 jockeying for global influence, alongside nations¡¯ economic need to attract top global talent and universities¡¯ economic need to attract revenue, is leading to ever-increasing competition for international students.

¡°Education is a totally ideological war, and it always has been,¡± says Wesleyan¡¯s Gallarotti. And ¡°바카라사이트 new cold war between 바카라사이트 US and China and even Russia¡± is such that ¡°바카라사이트 competition for soft power in higher education is probably at its peak¡±.