[ecrea] London conference - Communicating Soft Power, 9-10 September

CALL FOR PAPERS



Communicating Soft Power:

Contrasting Perspectives from India and China


Date: 9 and 10 September 2013

Venue: University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS

Organized by the India Media Centre and the China Media Centre of the 
Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) of the University of 
Westminster, London

The notion of soft power, associated with the work of Harvard political 
scientist Joseph Nye, is defined as ‘the ability to attract people to 
our side without coercion’. Nye’s concept, whose focus is primarily on 
the United States, has been adopted or adapted by countries around the 
world. It has generated much debate about the capacity of nations to 
make themselves attractive in a globalizing marketplace for ideas and 
images.

This two-day international conference will explore competing and 
contrasting approaches to soft power in India and China, the world’s two 
fastest growing economies, whose rise is set to reconfigure global power 
equations in a multi-polar world. The conference will discuss the 
American origins of the concept and how it has been extrapolated in 
non-American contexts, namely in India and China. Contributors to the 
conference will examine whether soft power needs to be de-Americanized 
and expanded to be more inclusive, and historicized to take account of 
the role of countries and civilizations, such as India and China, in the 
global communication sphere. India’s global cultural presence is 
primarily driven by its privately-owned creative and cultural industries 
– it is home to the world’s largest film industry, as well as a hub for 
the global IT industry. In the case of China, the state has taken the 
commanding role in promoting the country’s soft power to supplement its 
hard economic prowess, as the world’s second largest economy. This is 
evident in the Chinese government’s extensive investment in 
international broadcasting as well as in setting up Confucius Institutes 
around the globe.

The University of Westminster, which hosts the highest-ranked research 
department in media and communication in the UK, is home to specialist 
media research facilities in the China Media and India Media Centres. 
This pioneering attempt to discuss Asian soft power in a comparative 
framework will provide an opportunity to examine the strengths and 
limitations of the idea of soft power, deploying a multi-perspectival 
approach.

Suggested topics for papers include, but are not restricted to, the 
following:

 Rethinking soft power

·         Diaspora as soft power

·         Public Diplomacy Web2.0

·         Contest or cooperation – towards a ‘Chindian’ public sphere?

·         Bollywood as soft power

·         Media and diplomacy - a global CCTV?

·         Soft, Hard and ‘Smart’ power

·         Branding nations and cultures: Yoga, Confucius and spiritualism

·         Soft power – democratic vs. authoritarian discourses

·         Creative industries as soft power - globalization of India’s 
IT industry

·         Engaging with Chindia – international perspectives

·         Comparing communication strategies – challenges and opportunities



Keynote plenary speakers:

 Professor Amitabh Mattoo

Australia-India Institute, Melbourne and Jawaharlal Nehru University, 
New Delhi



Professor Hu Zhengrong
Communication University of China, Beijing



Martin Jacques

Author of When China Rules the World (TBC)



Lord Bilimoria

UK-India Business Council



Conrad Bird

Prime Minister’s Office & Cabinet Office Communications, UK



Professor Rachel Dwyer

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London



Professor Jiang Fei

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing



Isabel Hilton
Editor, China Dialogue, London



Dr Dibyesh Anand

University of Westminster, London







Professor Zhong Xin

Renmin University, Beijing



Professor Jaideep Prabhu

Director, Centre for India & Global Business, University of Cambridge (TBC)







PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION

The conference will take place on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 September 
2013. The fee for registration will be £195 with a concessionary rate of 
£99 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments, 
lunches, wine reception and administration costs. Registration will open 
in June and not conditional upon presenting a paper.



DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS

The deadline for abstracts is Friday 17 May 2013.  The abstracts will be 
peer reviewed and successful submissions will be notified mid June. 
These should be between 200-350 words and must include the presenter’s 
name, institutional affiliation, email and postal address, together with 
the title of the paper and a brief biographical note. Please send 
abstracts to Helen Cohen, Events Administrator at 
(journalism /at/ westminster.ac.uk)





For any academic-related inquiries please contact the conference 
organizer Professor Daya Thussu, at (D.K.Thussu /at/ westminster.ac.uk)

A selection of the best papers will be published in an edited book and 
in a special themed issue of a peer reviewed international journal.



Dr Daya K. Thussu

Professor of International Communication and Co-Director of India Media 
Centre

Department of Journalism and Mass Communications

School of Media, Arts and Design

University of Westminster

Northwick Park, Harrow, HA1 3TP

Tel: +44(0)207911 5000 Ext: 4157   Fax: +44(0)2079115943

(D.K.Thussu /at/ westminster.ac.uk)


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