The constraints on the soft power efforts of authoritarian states. The case of the 2015 military parade in Beijing – strengthening patriotic pride, soft power and strategic deterrence

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  • Camilla T. N. Sørensen
Is it possible for authoritarian states such as China, Russia and Iran to combine the soft power narratives directed primarily towards an international audience with the narratives directed primarily towards a domestic audience and aimed at maintaining regime security? To investigate this question further, this article analyses the 2015 military parade in Beijing and uses this case to highlight and discuss the constraints on the Chinese leaders’ efforts to project soft power. The key finding is that soft power will continue to be the weak link in China’s pursuit for a great power position and status as long as what continues to count as “Chinese” is defined in opposition to hostile “others” and the humiliation narrative continues to function as the central identity marker in the party-led construction of national identity (the “us”).
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Current Chinese Affairs
ISSN1868-1026
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2017

ID: 172803709