UK ranks top in Facts4EU.Org’s all-time Global Soft Power review
British consistency makes it No.1 for Global Soft Power since 2010
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An exclusive Facts4EU.Org report
Facts4EU.Org presents our review of the major Global Soft Power rankings in the world.
Our analysis of these rankings covers every year from the first in 2010 until the latest for 2022.
We reviewed the three emerging ranking systems that have over time become more and more detailed and analytical. We started with the Institute of Government reports in conjunction with Monocle magazine that ran between 2010-2014; then the Soft Power 30 reports with Portland Communications 2015-2019; and finally Brand Finance 2020-2022.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
British consistency makes it first for Global Soft Power
The basis of our thirteen year review is simple enough: Five points for first place down to one point for fifth place. This gives a potential of 65 points for the thirteen years of Global Soft Power rankings. Below are the results:
- No.1 – United Kingdom 53/65
- No.2 – United States 44/65
- No.3 – Germany 43/65
- No.4 – France 30/65
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge
- Only one country has consistently appeared in the top three every year since 2010: the United Kingdom
- Other countries appearing in the top five in some years are: USA, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, China, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia
- The UK’s strength comes in its consistency over the period – never once falling below No.3
- Another interesting take-away: the US dropped to sixth in 2021
- No.1 rankings: the UK has had 4; France 3; and Germany 2
- France has been outside the top five for the last three years of 2020, 2021 and 2022
Despite constant attacks by self-loathing, home-grown critics, the UK continues to excel and has never been out of the top three – ‘despite Brexit’.
What is ‘Soft Power’?
The concept of Soft Power was conceived by Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard in the mid noughties – based upon the influence that a country could exert by its diplomacy, influential factors such as culture, media, language, law, education and trade – rather than through hard power of military might.
Professor Joseph Nye, Harvard University
"When one country gets other countries to want what it wants, might be called co-optive or soft power in contrast with the hard or command power of ordering others to do what it wants"
-Professor Joseph Nye writing in his first book on the subject of Soft Power: 'Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power’ 1990
The United Kingdom has Hard Power too
Whilst it is not a superpower and while its defence capabilities do need to be built up, the UK has international reach that no other European country has - including France.
British aircraft carrier QEII off Gibraltar, 2018
The combination of hard and soft power is important. They are complementary and mutually supportive. Ukraine is showing how the UK can take a lead in both hard power through the provision of military equipment and training and soft power by helping with relief and political support.
Remember when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London?
“We may not have many gunboats any more, but we hardly need them, because we are already fulfilling our destiny as the soft power capital of the world – and that is thanks to a woman who knew all about soft power and the deep Freudian terror that every man has for the inner recesses of a handbag.”
- Boris Johnson delivering the annual Margaret Thatcher Lecture
to the Centre for Policy Studies, 27 Nov 2013
Observations
How soft power and hard power can be a power for good
At a time when the world is yet again held in suspense by the tragedy of war, it should be cheering and comforting that the United Kingdom is considered to be able to exert influence – we believe for the good of the world. Our review clearly shows that over the past dozen years it is the UK which has led all major countries.
The self-flagellation of the UK – ironically by our very own globalists who would give up our sovereignty yesterday, today and tomorrow – cannot deny the truth: Britain is the most quietly influential country in the world.
You hear it all the time, no matter how well the UK does something it is never good enough and will inevitably mean a fall from grace, the end of any influence and we must therefore cling to global institutions as our only chance of safety. It might be the UN, the WHO - and inevitably the EU – but whatever or whoever it is the message is always that Britain cannot do things well and must work with others if it is to get anywhere.
The UK punches above its weight
Today’s Facts4EU.Org analysis of the Global Soft Power rankings shows the arrant nonsense that such repeated and disparaging attacks on our own country by our own people are.
In researching this report we found attacks on Britain’s standing for not going into lockdown quickly enough or long enough or strictly enough. Yet as we come out of the pandemic the latest study in Lancet shows that the UK’s approach was not as bad as often reported and that countries that resisted lockdowns often did better. And of course we helped develop vaccines and made them available throughout the world.
Criticisms of our Afghan withdrawal, our handling of refugees, our leaving the EU, our cutting of the foreign aid budget – on and on it goes with the message being that people will ultimately hate us and our reputation will be trashed. And yet when we look at the soft power rankings we find the reverse – the UK has the greatest Soft Power influence – stronger than the US over the period and consistently more influential than Germany and France.
Top of the World “despite Brexit”
Let it be heard: the UK came top of the rankings in 2010, 2012, 2015 - and 2018. Yes, that’s right after Brexit. And since the Brexit vote the UK has never been below third.
We should celebrate our strengths and promote them, not weaponise every fault no matter how minor as a means to do down our country and our Government – whatever its political colour.
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[ Sources: Institute of Government/Monocle | Portland Communications | Brand Finance | Centre for Policy Studies | Harvard University ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Facts4EU.org would like to express its thanks to the copyright owners of the annual rankings that fed into the review. For this year’s rankings of 2022 visit Brand Finance here.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 23 Mar 2022
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