Culture as soft power

When people speak of the strength of states, they recall the economy and the army. But there is a third force that is easy to underrate — culture. A film, a book, a song, or an athlete can do more for a country’s image than a dozen official statements.

This is called “soft power”: influence through attraction, not coercion. Festivals and prizes are its infrastructure: they turn individual talents into a recognizable stream. Countries that understand this invest in culture not out of vanity but shrewdly — like roads or ports.

But soft power has an honest condition: it does not work on command. Propaganda repels; sincerity attracts. You cannot “appoint” a culture great — you can only create conditions in which talent is not obstructed.

My opinion: the best thing a state can do for its culture is to stop getting in its way and give a voice to those who have something to say. This is a judgment, but history confirms it: flourishings happened where there was more freedom, not more control.