Soft power: Learning from China’s charms

In the wake of the 1998 reform movement, Indonesia’s challenges in the international arena seems to be getting more complex. The impacts of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and human rights violations allegations in Timor Leste have caused Indonesia’s position in international politics to lag.

On the other hand, however, a number of countries — such as China, India and other emerging powers — have been expanding their influence through fast development in terms of global issues and diplomatic approaches. It is a new era, where every nation is engaged in tough competition with others in respect to their own national interests.

But one should make no mistake: Indonesia has already implemented several policies to gain a global influence. For example, in light of the current global political developments, the Indonesian government has decided to promote a so-called “Natalegawa doctrine” (of Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa) which emphasizes the state of “dynamic equilibrium” and utilizes the advantages of “cold peace”, or that of the post-Cold War period.

Yet, the promotion of such foreign policy remains unclear. Especially if we look into the “careful” and “thoughtful” policy of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in adhering to the jargon of “zero enemies, million friends” even in responding to an important case, such as the Indonesia-Malaysia border conflict as well as the Tanjung Berakit incident. Thus, the policy leads to at least two questions: How can this policy work effectively? How can Indonesia succeed in competing with other emerging power?

The situation is so different if we compare Indonesia with China. China has come under the spotlight in the global arena. And it is because it exercises all the powers it has. As Joshua Kurlantzick referred to it, “China’s charm offensive”, which describes how China uses its soft power — culture, investment, academia, foreign aid, public diplomacy — to influence many countries in the developing world, the world firmly agreed. China is no longer a poor developing country; it has become a potential superpower that continues to expand its influence.

However, along with China’s economic achievements, several other countries are also concerned with the so-called “China threat theory” — a projection of China continuing to rise and becoming a threat to the current global security.

Therefore, the foreign policy campaign of “peaceful development” (heping jueqi) becomes an important key word for China in promoting global cooperation and opening up wider opportunities.

Supporting the campaign, think tanks are involved in formulating the policy into China’s dream to build a “Harmonious Society” (hexie shehui) with other nations. This is a different style of charm to those of Western countries.

China explores various relationships with a pragmatic approach, especially in trade relations (both goods and services) and the possibility of investment concessions (such as infrastructure and mining projects), as well as culture and language (such as building several Confucius Institutes in developing countries). And it also emphasizes the commitment of “no intervention” in the domestic affairs of other countries. No doubt these approaches are warmly welcomed in other developing countries — like Sudan, Angola and Myanmar — which have been resistant to interference in cooperating with the West. On a more advanced level, China also initiates strategic partnerships with important countries in the region, including Indonesia.

Now, several countries seem to kowtow to China’s will. This could be seen in an increasingly positive perception of China in a number of countries (especially developing ones), and as several countries (including Indonesia to a certain extent) followed China’s persuasion to boycott the recent inaugural ceremony of Liu Xiaobo as Nobel Peace Laureate.

Even though Indonesia’s relative power is still not equal to that of China’s, the prospects of its increasing hard power (in terms of economics), Indonesia should also develop its soft power. As a matter of fact, Indonesia is currently lacking in soft power in terms of having a positive presence in other countries. Several actions could be endorsed, as follows:

First, the government has to think of itself as a host of players. The traditional approach which focused only on the Foreign Ministry would not be effective because every institution has its limits.

Hence, the promotion of multi-track diplomacy is needed, especially in engaging more stakeholders in the promotion of culture, investments and so on. It is time for Indonesia to invest in and initiate cooperation, especially in the region.

The so-called “investments diplomacy”, such as the Suramadu Bridge and US$5 billion China-Africa Development Fund in 2007 to support Chinese firms investing in Africa are good examples. Therefore, it is hoped that the tangible presence in other countries will lead us to gain good will and trust.

Second, the government has to decide which part of our identity should be promoted further in the world. As Mingjiang Li states, to gain soft power a state only attempts to display the good parts of its culture that the outside world believes is enjoyable or agreeable and hides those elements that cause uneasiness or misgiving in other states (Mingjiang Li, 2009). Hence, we could build a strong image that would be easily noticed by other countries.

Third, Indonesia has to be firm in endorsing certain issues, especially with regard to its national interests, such as the migrant workers issue, human rights, and so on. This action could be practiced both in terms of bilateral relations and even multilateral relations (such as in ASEAN). It will build not only the identity of Indonesia, but also the image of national capability. The recent promotion of democracy in the form of the Bali Democracy Forum is a good example.

But we have to notice that the lack of consistency and coordination, both internal and external, could blur this. How would other countries believe Indonesia a democratic country when vote-rigging and violence against minority groups are so often seen?

In summary, Indonesia not only needs to develop its strengths, but also continue to maintain good relations with other countries. The development of Indonesia today is still dependent on the international situation. Therefore Indonesia should be more serious in promoting its soft power.


The writer is a research assistant at the Department of International Relations of Gadjah Mada University, and the Institute of International Studies UGM, Yogyakarta.