DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

The Internet: An (other) agent that disseminates Japanese 'soft power' resources

  • Published : 2012.04.30

Abstract

The popularity of the Internet has affected international politics in many ways; however, it is seemingly overlooked by most scholars, and in particular, realists who view the Internet as low-politics. This article argues that the impact of the Internet on international politics should not be underestimated. By focusing on the capabilities of the Internet in general and P2P networks in particular, this paper shows how the Internet is able to disseminate soft power resources. This is demonstrated by an examination of the dissemination of Japanese soft power resources through BitTorrent. Finally, it is concluded that the Internet is a plausible agent for distributing the resources of soft power; however, once disseminated, soft power resources do not always transform into soft power. In the end, contextual conditions within states always apply.

Keywords

References

  1. Allison, A. 2006. Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
  2. Buford, J. & Yu, H. 2010. "Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications: Synopsis and Research Directions." Pp. 3-46 in Handbook of Peer-to-Peer Networking, X. Shen, H. Yu, J. Buford, and M. Akon (eds). London: Springer.
  3. Carr, E.H. 2001. The Twenty Years' Crisis: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Mcmillan.
  4. Chadwick, A. 2006. Internet Politics: States, Citizens, and New Communication Technologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. De Boever, J & De Grooff, D. 2010. "Examining the Use of Peer-to-Peer Networks from an Activity Perspective." Pp. 91-116 in Handbook of Peer-to-Peer Networking, X. Shen, H. Yu, J. Buford, and M. Akon (eds). London: Springer.
  6. Diplomatic Bluebook. 2006. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2006/14.pdf (accessed on 14 December 2010)
  7. Hunt, J. J. 2010. ""BitTorrent: The State of Play." Micro Mart no. 1136 (9-15 December): 8-18.
  8. Lam, P. E. 2007. "Japan's Quest for 'Soft Power': Attraction and Limitation." East Asia 24, no. 4: 349-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-007-9028-6
  9. McGray, D. 2002. "Japan's Gross National Cool." Foreign Policy (May/June): 44-54.
  10. McVeigh, B. 2000. Wearing Ideology: State, Schooling and Self-Presentation in Japan Oxford and New York: Berg.
  11. Nye, J. 2004. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs.
  12. Nye, J. 2010. Cyber Power. Paper, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/cyber-power.pdf (accessed on 12 December 2010)
  13. Otmazgin, N. K. 2008. "Contesting soft power: Japanese popular culture in East and Southeast Asia." International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 8, no. 1: 73-101.
  14. Public Relations Office, Government of Japan. 2009. Japan's Pop Culture Broadens Its International Reach. Highlighting JAPAN. http://www.gov-online.go.jp/pdf/hlj_ar/vol_0026e/10-13.pdf (accessed on 14 December 2010)
  15. Weiss, C. 2005. "Science, technology and international relations." Technology in Society, 27, no. 3: 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2005.04.004

Cited by

  1. Social Media Use during Japan's 2011 Earthquake: How Twitter Transforms the Locus of Crisis Communication vol.149, pp.1, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900105