When analyzing the elements of a country's comprehensive national strength, it is usually divided into tangible strength and intangible strength, or hard strength and soft power. Joseph nye, a professor at Harvard University, divides comprehensive national strength into two forms: hard power and soft power. Hard power refers to the dominant strength, including basic resources (such as land area, population and natural resources), military strength, economic strength and scientific and technological strength. Soft power is divided into national cohesion, the degree to which culture is generally recognized and the degree to which it participates in international institutions. In contrast, hard power is easier to understand, while soft power is more complicated. Joseph nye summarized soft power as guidance, attraction and imitation, which is an assimilative force-the attraction of a country's thoughts and the ability of political guidance.
As an important part of a country's comprehensive national strength, "soft power" refers to the intangible influence released by a country relying on the attraction of its political system, the appeal of its cultural values and the affinity of its national image. It has profoundly influenced people's views on international relations. "Soft power" mainly includes the following contents: First, the attraction and appeal of culture. The second is the attraction of ideology and political values. The third is the morality and legitimacy of foreign policy. The fourth is the affinity when dealing with state-to-state relations. The fifth is the attraction of development path and institutional model. The sixth is the ability to guide, formulate and control international norms, standards and mechanisms. Seventh, the degree of appreciation and recognition of a country's international image by international public opinion.
Once the concept of "soft power" was put forward, it received a positive response around the world, and all countries in the world were studying and carefully planning to improve their "soft power".
Klein, an American scholar, put forward the famous "national strength equation" in the 1970s, taking "strategic goal" and "national will" as important components to measure national strength. Both "strategic goal" and "national will" are extremely complex intangible factors, which can also be called soft power, and it is difficult to measure them by static standards. Backman, another American scholar, regards national homogeneity, social integration, political stability and national morale as soft power. Robert Cooper, a famous British scholar, believes that legitimacy is the core element of soft power.
To sum up, hard power refers to tangible material strength; Soft power refers to spiritual power, including soft elements such as political power, cultural power and diplomatic power. There are both close ties and differences between them. They are not simple addition and subtraction, but complement, restrict and coordinate with each other. Hard power is the tangible carrier and materialization of soft power, while soft power is the intangible extension of hard power. In the current tide of globalization, information revolution and network age, the importance of hard power is obvious. Soft power, on the other hand, has super expansibility and conductivity, transcends time and space, and has a great influence on human lifestyle and code of conduct.