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Our soft power.

The educated young woman said: What is the definition of soft power, and does it have criteria by which it can be measured?
I said: Soft power, is a concept coined by Joseph Nye from Harvard University in the early nineties to describe the ability to attract and annex without coercion or the use of force as a means of persuasion. on youtube.
And yes, soft power has become standards and indicators by which the impact on peoples can be measured.
The young woman said: Is soft power primarily spiritual?
I said: To some extent, soft power means that the state has moral strength through the ideas, principles and morals it embodies, and through culture, arts and sciences, which leads others to respect and admire this method and then follow its sources.
But from another entrance, I read an article by Dr. Gamal Abdel-Gawad, professor of political science at the American University, in which he said: Soft power is the strength of a model, the attractiveness of culture, the transcendence of values ​​and principles, and the credibility of commitment to all of this. It is having the characteristics that make others look up to the country as a role model and as a source of inspiration.
Soft power is the ability to influence others so that what you want becomes what they want, and so that your values, culture, principles and way of life become the model they would like to follow. The spread of fast food with its famous brands from the United States to the rest of the world gives America a soft power.
People all over the world’s attachment to American jeans is a soft force. Denmark’s reputation as the least corrupt country in the world is a soft power. The precision known to Swiss society is a soft power. The amazing civilized development in Dubai and the administrative efficiency in the UAE is a soft force. Having Al Jazeera TV in every hotel in the world is a soft power. Hollywood in the United States and Bollywood in India is a soft power.
We may understand soft power as the opposite of hard power in its military and economic dimensions, and we may understand it as the third side of the power triangle: the power of coercion, the power of reward, the power of inspiration, the objective equations of military power, the power of the economy, and the power of culture and morals. Military and economic powers produce the ability to prevent and grant.
Military coercion gives its owner the ability to destroy an opponent and protect allies. Economic power gives its owner the ability to reward allies and deprive opponents of advantages and benefits. Soft power does not enable the ability to punish or reward, but only the ability to influence indirectly and from a distance.
Military power exerts its influence by appealing to the survival instinct. Economic power, on the other hand, exerts its influence by addressing the craving for wealth and the instinct of greed. As for soft power, it exerts its influence by addressing the human aspiration for transcendence and excellence.
Soft power, says Dr. Jamal Abdel-Gawad, despite its importance, is an elusive concept. Soft power can be measured by the number of people who look to the state for a role model. But didn’t millions look to the Soviet Union, communist China, and even Nazi Germany for inspiration? Where are the aspects of moral elevation in these extinct models? Soft power is also the power of ideology, which may be good or evil. Soft power is not always a moral force.
Another young man said: So what are the sources of soft power, doctor?
I said: Soft power is based on three sources:
■ Culture with all its spectrums that attract others and affect their conscience, and the media, which becomes a source they trust and turn to.
■ Political values ​​when they rise to the masses at home and abroad as a model that respects freedoms and raises the level of humanity within the soul.
■ The economic and technological presence that mixes with the needs of individuals and becomes a part of them.
Even individual models of excellence and creativity become a soft force if they are harnessed well, with millions aspiring to them. Mohamed Salah became a soft power for Egypt, just as Cristiano Ronaldo became for Portugal and Messi became for Argentina.
Our history and its view of the world is a soft force. Egypt is full of sources of soft power, guys. Therefore, I respect the division of forces into three sections: hard power such as the economy and armies, soft power and we have talked about it, and smart power that knows how to use what it has, strengthen it and deepen it so that the state has an influence on those around it and a positive influence on its people.
The young man who knew his admiration for the arts said: What makes the arts have this effect on the top of soft power, and then on the conscience?
I said: that literature and arts of all kinds touch the most beautiful of the human being, and arouse in the soul the desire for psychological and moral transcendence, and through it the culture of peoples can be confirmed and even disseminated, and with it beautiful values ​​become a way of life, and are transmitted to generations indirectly accumulating experiences, and social classes become enlightened and mixed And share the same fun.
Another young man said: Where are the arts affecting the Egyptian soft power that you are talking about, Doctor, why do we not feel it? My parents tell me that Egyptian films, singing, books, creativity and enlightenment of artists and writers were influential in the Arab world. An artist is not famous unless he comes to Cairo, and money in the Arab world is called Masari, and Umm Kulthum used to come to her every month to enjoy her concerts and art, and Abdel Halim, Abdel Wahab, Al Akkad, Taha Hussein, Ahmed Shawky and others.
I said: Everything you say is true, and the question remains: Does soft power and culture express the reality of what society is experiencing, declining when it descends and rising when it rises, or does it create civilization and push people and raise them to the best of them? Is art, literature and all aspects of culture separated from a changing reality affected by poverty, illiteracy, and the strict Salafist cultural invasion that owned money and controlled the economy of the countries that attract Egyptian labor?
We all know that labor migration is a
From three decades ago to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, the growth of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt, and the Shiite tide in Iran, led the cultural movement to close down and stifle the breath of freedom of expression.
The radiant young woman maliciously said: By the way, what is Egypt’s ranking in the region as the influence of a soft power on those around it in the annual report that ranks this globally and regionally?
I said: Unfortunately, Egypt comes in sixth place after Turkey, the most influential, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE and Israel.
She said: Is this correct, Doctor?!
I said: I admit to you that it is not correct.
She said: Was the people’s movement on 6/30 to succeed without a free media? He had the courage to attack the Brotherhood and expose their falsehood, and among them were the President of the Republic, the ruling party, the majority of Parliament and all the government, and they controlled the street, and filled Cairo Stadium on October 6th in the presence of Sadat’s killer who They took him out of prison, and they surrounded the Media Production City. Was it not the media and intellectuals who paved the way for the movement of the masses by the millions to end the rule of the Brotherhood? Are these not soft forces that influenced society without coercion?
I said: It is true.
Her colleague said: Aren’t creativity and innovation a product of freedom of expression? Do they not deserve more freedom?
I said: They deserve, for civilization is built only by the free.
She added: What is happening in the world around us in terms of scientific technological achievements is something that has not happened in human history before, and you are the fuel for this development in Egypt. And we express ourselves and discuss without dread or fear, for political wisdom says: If we allow fear to be planted in our souls, we will reap nothing but a shrinkage of our soft power.