India’s “power of example” is going to be even more carefully scrutinised and questioned as the country ascends in the global arena. It will be confronted with numerous challenges that will decide its future status. According to Tharoor (2012: p.284), India “has an extraordinary ability to tell stories that are more persuasive and attractive than those of its rivals.” What this chapter aims to shed light on is that India has an attractive message, but whether it will be capable of harnessing its potential effectively with others will depend on developing its special toolbox of soft power instruments.
4
Soft Power in Indian Foreign Policy
India has considerable soft power assets. Yet, it is rightly argued that “mere possession of soft power resources does not make a country attractive on the world stage; these assets need to be translated into influencing the behaviour of other states and stakeholders, requiring a concerted effort by policy makers” (Thussu, 2013: p.12). Conversion of soft power resources into soft power strategies, or specific capacities into capabilities, is what can determine the success of India’s foreign policy. Moreover, due to the nature of soft power, the state is not the only actor involved in its projection and augmentation, although it is undoubtedly the most powerful. This holds true in the case of India as, Shashi Tharoor reminds us (2012: p.279) that soft power, “is created partly by governments and partly despite governments; partly by deliberate action, partly by accident.”
This chapter focuses on the government’s deliberate actions undertaken to utilise India’s soft power for advancement of its national interests. Although “softer use of power” is discernible across traditional Indian diplomacy in the post-Cold War period (such as restraint in the use of force, insistence on multilateralism and abstention from interfering in the affairs of other countries), this chapter examines five specific soft power tools, policies and activities of state authorities, developed in the last two decades, in pursuit of foreign policy. These include public diplomacy, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, development cooperation policy and relations with its diaspora.
Public Diplomacy
A major tool of soft power, which aims to engage, inform and influence foreign public in order to gain support, sympathy and goodwill for a country’s foreign policy, is public diplomacy. It can be defined “as an instrument of statecraft that aims to shape foreign public opinion and, through it, influence the policy decisions made by other states. Given this understanding, public diplomacy consists of various forms of media management, public relations, information campaigns, and academic exchange that include, among others, a subset of activities associated with cultural diplomacy” (Hall and Smith, 2013: p.7).
Public diplomacy differs from traditional diplomacy in one basic distinction: it targets directly “the general public in foreign societies and more specific non-official groups, organizations and individuals” rather than “representatives of states, or other international actors” (Melissen 2007: p.5). It is also not the same as old propaganda, as it is more interactive, open, and transparent, and it seeks to actively engage people to build a relationship of trust and credibility. As stressed by Nye, “public diplomacy is a two-way street that involves listening as well as talking” (2004: p.111). In the era of round- the-clock TV broadcasting, social media, and Internet 2.0—when information travels at galactic speed and everyone can be an author of information reaching millions in all corners of the globe—successful management of country’s image becomes more difficult, and public diplomacy, more important. It entails also other related concepts such as nation-branding or foreign cultural relations.
Reputation has always mattered in international relations, and states have always had tools at their disposal to interact with and influence the foreign public. Most countries maintain special agencies, departments or even whole ministries responsible for projecting the desired image of its country abroad and disseminating favourable information. India itself “has a long history of trying to use public diplomacy and other instruments of soft power to secure its foreign policy objectives. After Independence, India invested considerable resources in high-level dialogues, intellectual and cultural exchange, and conferences of concerned parties, seeking to influence peoples as well as governments by using open diplomacy and moral persuasion” (Hall, 2012: p.1090). Using international forums, especially the UN platform, to convey India’s message to an international platform, India “sought to leverage its democratic credentials, its extraordinary history and cultural heritage, and its contributions to anti-imperialism and non-violence” (ibid: p.1099). As long as India remained outside major globalisation trends, associated with the group of socialist states and Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War period, it, along with some other Asian countries, “used public diplomacy and propaganda to pursue anticolonial agendas, spreading ideas aimed at undermining European influence in the region and throughout the ‘Third World’” (Hall and Smith, 2013: p.3).
As the world has changed after the Cold War, so did Indian public diplomacy. The emergence of India on the international arena, liberalisation of its economy(which opened it to foreign investments) and growth of modern media and communication technologies, all made the issue of perception ever more important. Active use of public diplomacy by other great powers, especially China’s “charm offensive”, drove India to up its ante in this area. India wanted to spread its new image and needed new tools to achieve its aims. Since the beginning of the new millennium, India has looked beyond these well-established traditional instruments of public diplomacy and employed a number of new initiatives to enhance its global influence. According to Hall (2012: p.1090), the novelty of the new approach entails three elements: actively seeking new audiences within India, the West and the developing world; engaging the wider public on foreign relations issues in an increasingly interactive and democratic manner; and seeking to utilise new media rather than traditional methods.
The responsibility to influence perceptions of India abroad has been, traditionally, shared by several institutions: the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and ICCR, among others. A special department within the MEA – the External Publicity Division – has maintained the central role in handling India’s international image. It was tasked to “engage with the media, articulate the views and positions of the Government of India on various national and international issues, disseminate information on India’s relations with its immediate and extended neighbours and publicize the achievements and successes in meeting our foreign policy objectives, to both Indian and international media” (MEA, 2013: p.153).
In practice, the External Publicity Division facilitates: press coverage of Indian VVIP visits abroad and incoming VVIP visits to India; organisation of regular and special briefings and background interactions for the media, both Indian and foreign-based in Delhi; issuing press releases and statements; and conducting familiarisation visits of foreign journalists. For instance, during 2012–13, the division, apart from securing media coverage of high level visits that year, organised 189 visits of foreign journalists and editors from 50 countries to India, and facilitated the work of 201 foreign media representatives based in India (MEA, 2013: p.154). The division manages the ministry’s website and active presence on social media. In September 2012, the ministry revamped its web portal; today it is more attractive, interactive and user -friendly. It has also launched its YouTube channel, Facebook page, Flickr, and Google+ pages (MEA website, 2014).
As these activities were not deemed satisfactory enough, in 2006, a new Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) was created within the Ministry of External Affairs, to manage and promote a positive image of India to the outside world and domestic audiences. Whereas the External Diplomacy Division tackled traditional media and journalists at a formal level, the new division was tasked with reaching out to new audiences by implementing new interactive and communicative tools. This decision stemmed from recognition that
, in the information era, India needs “a coherent public diplomacy strategy that functions as a vital part of foreign policy and effective nation branding approach that goes beyond the highly successful ‘Incredible India’ tourism campaign” (Suri, 2011: p.297). The new institution was seen clearly through a soft power lens. As admitted by Joint Secretary Navdeep Suri (2011: p.297), the “PD Division, given the limitations of both its resources and its influence, is only one of a host of players engaged in deliberate or incidental projection of soft power. Nevertheless, some of our activities in this area are aimed at a conscious amplification of our soft power potential.”
In 2013, PDD employed four diplomats, along with the joint secretary, and around 40 supporting staff (Interview with PDD official, New Delhi, April 2013). Major tasks of the new division included hosting foreign visitors; supporting promotion of Indian culture and disseminating knowledge about it; promoting a positive image of India’s support for developing countries; reaching domestic audiences to explain and discuss Indian foreign policy; managing India’s image and branding; and developing digital tools of diplomacy. It is involved in production of material about India’s richness and diversity: for example India Perspective, a publication which is distributed in 17 languages in 160 countries through diplomatic missions, as well as documentary films; organisation of seminars and conferences with domestic and international universities, think tanks, and research organisations; supporting Track 1.5 and Track 2.0 dialogues between Indian and foreign experts and decision-makers; organisation of lectures explaining Indian foreign policy to domestic audiences; and development of effective Web 2.0 strategies and utilisation of a full range of social media tools to increase its outreach in the modern world.
Social media was used by default to disseminate information about activities undertaken by PPD. It started its account on Twitter, @Indiandiplomacy, in July 2010, followed in quick succession by a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, and a blogspot page under the same moniker. Its public diplomacy website went live in October 2010 and became the first Indian government site to utilise the full range of Web 2.0 tools. On its Facebook page, the division posted articles and relevant links “projecting India’s soft power including stories on culture, literature, economy, science, defense and social achievements”. (MEA, 2013: p.156). On its YouTube channel, it uploaded almost all of the documentary films produced by MEA since 1981, and the collection today boasts nearly 1,000 movies in various languages. In 2013, PDD had nearly 100k likes on Facebook, around 60k followers on Twitter and thousands of viewers on YouTube (ibid). For its digital activities, PDD has merited several awards: in 2012 it received the “Platinum Icon” from Webratna Awards for innovative use of technology in the sphere of digital diplomacy from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; it was also presented with the Gov2.inaward, from Governance Now magazine, for being the first central ministry to propagate and extensively use social media as a communication tool to connect with ordinary citizens.
New social tools have substantially improved the outreach to Indian and foreign societies and reduced the distance between authorities and citizens. Tharoor, an active user of social media himself, has advocated further strengthening of the MEA’s presence on different social media sites, not only to considerably expand its reach and message but also to get feedback and encourage interaction, thus learning more about their audience. He notes, “the Government of India should understand that using social media brings into government’s ambit a large number of people who would otherwise be indifferent to India’s diplomacy (Tharoor, 2012: p.308).
Greater use of the Internet by the Ministry of External Affairs and other government institutions will continue in the future with even renewed vigour under the new BJP government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an active presence on social networking sites, drawing a large following from people who are equally active, especially on Facebook and Twitter. Not surprisingly, one of his first decisions after taking office was to advise the new ministers in his cabinet “to use the microblogging sites and the social media platform extensively for public outreach” (Shukla, 2014).
After a period of increased activism and expansion, PDD was, however, dissolved as a separate unit and merged with the External Publicity Division in 2014. In the BJP government the Ministry of External Affairs has now one joint External and Public Diplomacy Division. This appears to have been a positive change that can lead to better coordination of activities by different departments and enhanced effectiveness in their work. Apart from the government, there are also other public bodies that play an increasingly important role in public diplomacy. One such institution is the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). Established in 1943 as an independent think-tank, it was reformed by the Act of Parliament, in 2001, and reinforced as a semi-autonomous agency of MEA. ICWA is involved in research on foreign relations and promotion of knowledge about Indian foreign policy through its publications, including the major journal, India Quarterly. It organizes conferences and seminars on international relations, facilitates Track 2 dialogues and serves as a prestigious platform for visiting leaders and diplomats. Over the years, it has reached out to foreign experts and opinion leaders and globally expanded its network of partners. By 2012, it had signed MoUs with similar think tanks from 19 countries. Although it appears to be an old-fashioned and overly bureaucratic institution, it has gradually improved the quality of its research and expanded its number of researchers, emerging as one of the important tools of Indian public diplomacy.
The Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) – another semi-autonomous think-tank – plays a similar auxiliary role for the MEA in external relations. It provides inputs for the government of India on international economic issues and development cooperation but focuses its effort on relations with other developing countries. RIS is engaged in several Track 2 processes; it organises workshops, seminars, conferences and trainings for experts from the Global South countries; and is engaged in networks of cooperation with numerous partners. Its research and conference activity gives India another channel to circulate its perspective on crucial topics in South-South and South-North negotiations and discussions.
An important area of public diplomacy, present in every country, is promotion of national perspective through state owned media. Here, however, compared to other major powers, India is significantly weaker. The major media outlet, established by the government with a mission to spread Indian worldview in other countries, is the External Services of All India Radio (AIR). Created in 1939, today AIR broadcasts in 27 languages to more than one hundred countries. Its primary service is in English, with eight hours of daily broadcast on shortwave radio to 79 countries. (Hall, 2012: p.1101). Services in other languages are limited to a few hours. With its limited operations and the general decrease of radio popularity in the contemporary world, dominated by TV and Internet, this tool has a minimal impact on global perceptions of India.
More worryingly, India does not have an international TV news channel to influence discourse on international relations and bring Indian perspectives to a global audience. The rise over the last decade of Qatar–based Al-Jazeera TV as a global broadcaster challenged the traditional media market dominance of American (CNN) or British channels (BBC). Also other countries have launched their own professional round-the-clock news channels: China – CCTV; Russia – Russia Today; France – France 24; Saudi Arabia – Al Arabiya; and Iran – Press TV. Although there are plenty of private news channels in India, there is no major TV with global outreach, while the public service broadcaster Doordarshan is theoretically available to members of the Indian diaspora and other viewers in 67 countries. There is growing recognition of this problem and, there have even been some attempts to “position Doordarshan as a major global infotainment player” (Suri 2011: p.301). Thus far, however, this attempt has not brought any tangible result.
Economic Diplomacy
Another important instrument of fo
reign policy, closely related to public diplomacy and crucial for a country’s soft power, is economic diplomacy – “that is activities by foreign ministries and embassies in support of their country business and finance sectors (Melissen 2007:XVIII). As long as India was stuck as a state-controlled economy, economic diplomacy played a limited role and was focused on export promotion and earning hard currencies to bridge the foreign exchange gap. This changed with the end of the Cold War and liberalisation of the Indian economy, from 1991. Promotion of economic interests abroad, to fuel India’s growth, has become a priority for each successive government.
Nowadays, India’s image has gained tangible value in a highly competitive global market. One Indian author observes, “the success or otherwise of economic diplomacy depends not merely on objectives realities; perceptions are equally important in ‘selling India’” (Sikri, 2009: p.222). Economic diplomacy is now vital to secure India’s interests in new areas such as energy security, intellectual property rights, environmental issues and climate change negotiations. It includes numerous and varied tasks: attracting inflow of foreign direct investments and promoting crucial investments abroad; promotion of national interests in multilateral trade negotiations; and influencing other countries’ regulation to create more favourable business conditions for national companies active in foreign markets.
India’s Soft Power Page 12
