The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Soft Power of States: Cases of the United States and China

The following final thesis discusses a topical subject of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the soft power of states, with specific focus on the cases of China and the United States. The paper uses attractiveness as a proxy for soft power, exploring whether China’s and America’s domestic and foreign policies during the pandemic have improved their image in the eyes of the global audiences. For this purpose, the paper evaluates domestic responses to the pandemic in the dimensions of the economy, governance, public health, and human rights; describes and assesses the effectiveness of soft power instruments; and measures perceptions of target audiences through the analysis of cross-regional public opinion surveys. It also attempts to place the Covid-induced changes of countries’ soft power in the context of Sino-American strategic competition, making preliminary conclusions about the changes in the “balance of soft power” between the two great powers. The central argument is that the impact of the Covid pandemic on the soft power potential of both the US and China has been predominantly negative, contrary to the conventional viewpoint. However, there is a potential for soft power recovery, especially for the United States, provided the new administration displays domestic competence and assumes global leadership.