Evolution and Dimensions of Taiwanese Soft Power and its Effectiveness in Europe

Stefano Pelaggi

《Tamkang Journal of International Affairs》 22卷3期 (2019/01) Pp. 49-118

https://doi.org/10.6185/TJIA.V.201901_22(3).0002

摘要

The research aims to deepen the theoretical dimension of Soft Power and Nation Branding concepts applied to the Taiwanese political and cultural context, with particular reference to the ability of these categories to communicate effectively in Europe. The different interpretations of the concepts of Nation Branding and Soft Power are analysed as well as the different implementations of cultural promotion from the democratic turn of the Country until the end of the second presidential term of Ma Jing-yeou. The communicational strategies adopted over the years by Taiwanese institutional actors and how they conformed to peculiar and specific identity instances are mainly linked to internal political dynamics. The shaping of Taiwanese national identity seemed to be the main target in most of the practices adopted in the last decades, a dynamic that occasionally fails while dealing with the syncretism of contemporary global communication. The extraordinary vivacity of the Taiwanese artists and the vibrant cultural scene of the country sometimes appears constrained within the strict limits imposed by the international community and Taiwan Soft Power fails to convey a message suited to the polysemy of post-modern society. The research hypothesis focuses on the impact of Taiwanese soft power in Europe, in particular on the inability of the structures dedicated to the Taiwanese cultural promotion in Europe to create a real impact. As Nye stressed ＂actions speak louder than words, and Public Diplomacy that appears to be mere window dressing for Hard Power projection is unlikely to succeed.＂ Taiwanese structure for promoting his image in the Western countries it is too focused on an approach incapable of adequately rendering the country's cultural vitality and the energy of the democratic process generated in Taiwan in the last few decades.

關鍵字

Taiwan Soft Power ； Nation Branding ； Taiwan Public Diplomacy ； Taiwanese Cultural Promotion

參考文獻

Ahn, Mun Suk, and Young Chul Cho. “Taiwan’s International Visibility in the Twenty-first Century: A Suggestive Note.” International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis 72, no. 1 (2017): 79-90, https://doi.org/10.1177/0020702017692608.

Callahan, William A.. “Identity and Security in China: The Negative Soft Power of the China Dream.” Politics 35 (2015),http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9256.12088.

Kaneva, Nadia. “Simulation Nations: Nation Brands and Baudrillard’s Theory of Media.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 21, no. 5 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549417751149.

Kuo, Sai-Hua. “Social Change and Discursive Change: Analyzing Conversationalization of Media Discourse in Taiwan.” Discourse Studies 9-6 (2007): 743-765. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445607082577.

Zemanek, Adina Simona. “Nation Branding in Contemporary Taiwan: A Grassroots Perspective.” Culture, Theory and Critique 59, no. 2 (2018): 199-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2018.1431949.