International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology

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The Social Identity Dynamics of Soft Power Narrative Influence: Great Power Diplomatic Bargaining Leverage Amidst Complex Interdependence

  • DeDominicis, Benedict E. (Department of International Studies, Catholic University of Korea)
  • Received : 2022.07.28
  • Accepted : 2022.09.05
  • Published : 2022.09.30
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Abstract

Vaccine diplomacy is a manifestation of competition for political influence among great powers amidst the Covid-19 pandemic's blatant illustration of ineluctable interdependency across the global community. The reinforcement of trends bolstering global polity construction intensify concomitantly with nationalist populist value and attitude expressions increasing political polarization. The interdependency graphically illustrated in the Cold War-era's mutual assured destruction incentivized competition into indirect competitive intervention in the internal politics of third actors. Indirect international influence contestations included extended, de facto challenge competitions to generate soft power on behalf of the victor, e.g., the space race. The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified this competition to offer alternative development models while intense domestic political polarization undermines the mobilizational capacities for achieving sustainable development. In contrast to multinational and multiethnic states, nation states have an inherent mobilizational advantage because of the enhanced control capabilities available to the authorities without emphasizing coercion. Control through Gramscian hegemonic mechanisms is more readily feasible in nation states through the greater feasibility of commodification of social relations by states authorities regulating and channeling social competition to encourage social mobility and creativity. The regulation of the so-called private sector serves to manage and contain social competition while channeling it to develop the institutional capacities for control and allocation of developing societal human resources. It enhances developed state control mechanisms and international influence capacities. The appeal of offers of aid and assistance to the so-called developing world becomes ever more urgent amidst Anthropocene crises including its most recent, current Covid-19 pandemic disaster.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank two anonymous peer reviewers as well as the journal editors for their thoughtful critiques and comments. The author would also like to thank the Virtual Open Research Laboratory program in the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for digital access to library resources. Any errors and omissions are solely the responsibility of the author.

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