Soft Power

Power can be demonstrated in different ways, either by enforcement or by being able to control others’ motives. On nation states level, countries gain power through politics, economic sovereignty or military arms. Hard power and soft power are tools in which power can be demonstrated. The use of arms, tanks and heavy equipments is considered the tough way towards power. Whereas, media is a soft tool that countries use in a way to display power in other states. Because war and blood shed are very violence many countries prefer to rely on soft power rather than the hard power that disfigure the country’s image and create negative consequences in both parties.

Soft power is effective unless people are extremely aware of it. Rejection may lead to a reflective reaction. When people know that somebody is trying to impose something on them, they may become aggressive towards anything that comes from this party. And soft power may become useless. Therefore soft power needs a recipient that is open and opted to consume what comes to him/her.

In Arab countries, many people believe think that the imported media into Arab and Muslim countries is part of the Western conspiracy in Middle East. The intense injection of Western, in particular American, media products into local media lead to what’s identified by “intellectual invasion”. In a way or another people’s behavior and thoughts are being influenced by Westerns and some concepts are good and others are not. People in these countries consume Western media products that it has been influential to the extent that social scientists may rise alarms for. People may argue that these products are pure entertainment materials and that they wouldn’t affect the Islamic creed. Others would find it a way that leads to deteriorate the local social structure. I personally believe it has an influence, which requires monitoring. For example, MBC has channel MBC 2 that is dedicated to broadcast American movies and programs on a regular base. When school students had a trendy fashion of wearing gothic style. That blamed MBC2, and it became very controversial in the educational and social settings. This influence is a type of soft power, which in fact focuses on youth who are able to absorb more than older individuals. MBC 2 encounters attacks from many conservative people especially in Saudi Arabia. Despite the fact that the mother company censors the channel, many movies have edited sciences. And because MBC is a Saudi private owned company based in another country and broadcast through Satellite, the Saudi government has limited control over it.