Unlocking the whole of soft power: a quantum international relations analysis

ABSTRACT

Soft power is one of most applied, yet nebulous, concepts in social science. In this paper, we show that it is not soft power per se that is of issue here, but rather the Newtonian parameters through which the concept has been described. In making an original and significant contribution, we introduce a radical break from conventional attempts to explain soft power by drawing on quantum international relations. Through this, we show that Newtonian-based analyses fail to unlock soft power's full complexity. We close by identifying how quantum soft power advances research and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Soft power
• cultural politics
• major events
• global sport
• power dualities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Paul Michael Brannagan

Dr Paul Michael Brannagan is an international relations scholar specializing in the study of major global events. His research primarily focuses on the role and use of sports mega-events by national governments for achieving specific political, economic, social, and cultural objectives. Paul has (co-)authored and edited various books on the subject of sport and international relations/politics, including Entering the Global Arena: emerging states, soft power strategies and sports mega-events (2019), The Routledge Handbook of Sport in the Middle East (2022), Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: politics, controversy, change (2022). He has also frequently been interviewed and quoted by major media outlets, such as the BBC World Service, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Deutsche Welle, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Sky Sports News.

Richard Giulianotti

Professor Richard Giulianotti is the UNESCO Chair in Sport, Physical Activity and Education for Development, and a Professor of Sociology at Loughborough University. He is programme director for the MSc in Sport Management, Politics and International Development. He has also been a visiting or guest professor at many universities and institutes, which recently have included Harvard University, International Olympic Academy, Johan Cruyff Institute, Seoul National University, University of South-Eastern Norway, Texas A & M University, and the University of Warsaw.