Building Influence Through Soft Power: A Case Study Of Saudi Arabia’s Policy Towards Pakistan

Through the research of Saudi Arabia’s soft power,this thesis critically assesses the mainstream western theory of soft power and explores the non-western soft power reality and theoretical development.Saudi Arabia extends its influence in Pakistan through non-coercive means and soft power.It proposes new ways of perspective on Saudi Arabia’s religious,public,and cultural diplomacy and soft power tools,demonstrated to be more effective in influencing other countries than traditional coercive material force.This dissertation will also examine how Saudi Arabia’s worldwide public image has changed due to soft power techniques,including public diplomacy,cultural diplomacy,foreign aid for education,scholarships,humanitarian assistance and vibrant media investment.Saudi Arabia uses soft power tools in different ways and with varying effects.Generally,since the last few decades and particularly after September11-Saudi Arabia has adopted an increasingly active and pragmatic diplomatic approach worldwide that emphasizes complementary geopolitical and economic interests.Saudi Arabia’s influence and image have been bolstered through its increasingly open and sophisticated diplomatic corps and religion,funding infrastructure,scholarships,economic investment and humanitarian aid in many Muslims,non-Muslims,Arab and non-Arab countries.As we all know,rapid advancements in science and technology in the age of globalization are also changing the definition of power.Though there is no dispute that material capabilities(hard power)are critical to a country’s strength,but there are countries that have been cultivating and exercising influence through non-coercive and soft means.For instance,the twentieth century was known as the American century,not only because the US won the wars but also because much of the rest of the globe was convinced to embrace classic American principles and way of life such as;democracy,capitalism,music,film industry,food and culture.Secondly,it should come as no surprise that China has been a great win over the few decades,massively increasing its influence through soft means such as;economic aid,Confucius centers and media networks(CGTN).Likewise,many scholars of IR believe that over the past two decades,the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has acknowledged the significance of non-coercive and soft power tools such as religion – Islam,humanitarian assistance,media networks,scholarships and exchanges programs and funding for Madarasas(Islamic Schools)are some of the most vital and effective source of persuading influencing Muslim states and wielding influence.Since 2001,numbers of International Relations scholars and experts on Saudi Arabia have highlighted that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is cultivating and wielding soft power in Pakistan and the Muslim world generally.Scholars also argue that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is well known for using various tools to promote its soft power,which frequently works in combination with its hard power initiatives.The Kingdom cultivates and exercises soft power through formal religious(Islamic)ideology,Pan-Islamism,the idea of Muslim Ummah(community)and guardian of the holiest cities and mosques.In other words,Saudi Arabia instrumentalizes its multilayered identity – Islamic and Arab identities – to create and wield influence across the Muslim world including Pakistan.Moreover,public,religious and cultural diplomacy tools such as;exchanging students,scholars,journalists,business people,charity,humanitarian aids,funding for Madarasas – Islamic schools-and universities in Pakistan have also been used to create influence.Though King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz recognized and emphasized the importance of soft power,King Salman and Prince Muhammad Bin Salman(MBS)are credited with maintaining it in the modern age.Following MBS’s ascension to the throne in 2015,the traditional conservative monarchy is undergoing a major rejuvenation and transformation in socio-economic dimension.This research is unusual and unique because it looks into the soft power from a different conceptual orientation from the Nye US and West centric idea of the soft power.This research claims that the soft power paradigm,originally developed by Professor Joseph Nye,has specific ontological assumptions that make it impossible for illiberal,conservative and theocratic states to cultivate and wield soft power.As Professor Nye argues,soft power sources must be global and western liberal ideals.Due to this,soft power potential of some non-western and illiberal states has been discriminated and overlooked.Therefore,this research strives to critically examining,and contextualizes the soft power to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s potential,sources and channels of cultivation and wielding of influence through soft power as a case study of Pakistan.Moreover,Saudi Arabia’s influence via soft power in Pakistan would be examined and contextualized through some inter-subjective variables such as;religion(Islam)-Islamic ideology,pan-Islamism,the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad,Islam,Saudi as a guardian of holy cities,and the spiritual leader of the Muslim Ummah and the Muslim world,Islamic identity,humanitarian aids and public and religious diplomacy tools.These are some of Saudi Arabia’s significant rudiments to increasing its influence and popularity in the Muslim world and Pakistan.Furthermore,this dissertation aims to fill the vacuum in the literature on the use of soft power influence in nonwestern settings by undertaking a qualitative case study of Saudi Arabia’s soft power strategy in Pakistan.Primarily,this study will be an exploratory case study,and the study will be examined through the prism of discourse analysis of the official statements,press releases,website information,and speeches of the top leadership of Saudi Arabia.This dissertation relies on both primary and secondary sources for the data.For primary data,this study relies on experts’ interviews,translated documents,speeches delivered by Saudi Arabia’s top leadership,and official statements by the Saudi religious and political leadership.I also relied on books,articles published by the academic journals and newspapers articles for secondary data.Moreover,this dissertation comprises five chapters.Chapter one starts with a brief background of the study and the research question and problem statement.The significance of the study will be discussed,and the case study approach will be employed.This chapter addresses how case studies,specifically single case studies,are used in qualitative research.The single case study technique will be discussed in this chapter and its suitability for addressing the dissertation’s research topic.Discourse analysis is offered as the most suitable technique for this study,and the chapter shows that the theory of constructivism assists the scholars of IR in understanding and assessing soft power influence through ideology,belief and identity.Chapter two,‘Theories and theoretical frameworks of power in IR’ this chapter provides an overview of several theoretical approaches to power within IR dating back to its philosophical origins.The chapter will address realist schools of thought and constructivist thinkers’ approaches to power and Professor Joseph Nye’s idea of soft and hard power.Hans Morgenthau,Max Weber,Robert A.Dahl,Steven Lukes,Kenneth Waltz,and Alexander Wendt are only a few influential power theorists that would be addressed.This chapter also focuses on contemporary perspectives on hard power and Saudi sources of attraction.Special attention would be given to the constructivists’ perspective of power and their soft power and hegemony ideas.The chapter concludes with a discussion of the importance of constructivism and an explanation of why it is an apt method to study soft power and non-coercive influence.This chapter offers numerous criticisms of Nye’s idea of soft power and advocates for a reconceptualization of the concept to understand better its usage by the illiberal,theocratic and non democratic states.Chapter Three ‘Saudi Arabia discourse on the soft power influence This chapter aims to identify and analyze Saudi soft power currencies and tools and Saudi soft power rhetoric in the Muslim world and Pakistan particular.This chapter looks at Saudi Arabia’s soft power instruments for cultivating and wielding influence in Pakistan’s Islamic republic.This chapter also looks into Saudi Arabia’s localized sources of soft power currency of influence rather than the global soft power espoused by Professor Nye.Moreover,this chapter also looks at Saudi Arabia’s intersubjective variables of soft influencing and meta-theoretical commitments between two Islamic Sunni majority nations – Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.This chapter also discusses Saudi Arabia’s concept of the Muslim Ummah,Islamic ideology,Islamism,and hegemon and spiritual centre of the Muslim world-all of which have been crucial instruments in the kingdom’s cultivation and spread of influence in Pakistan.Chapter four ‘Assessing Saudi Arabia’s Influence: a case of Pakistan’ Without a doubt,Saudi Arabia’s top political and religious authorities create and employ localized resources of attraction and commonalities to attract and influence Pakistanis,such as the Muslim Ummah,Ideology,Islamic philosophy,protector of sacred places,and the birthplace of Islam and Prophet Muhammad.This chapter aims to assess,evaluate,and analyze Saudi soft power influence in Pakistan through non-coercive,intangible,soft means and inter-subjective variables.The nature of Saudi Arabia’s kinship,empathy,commonalities,and attractions established in the Pakistani state and society,elite and masses are also examined and analyzed in this chapter.This chapter will also conduct a discourse analysis of several key speeches delivered by Saudi Arabia’s top leaders.Chapter five ‘Conclusion and Recommendations’ The dissertation concludes with a conclusion and recommendation that how Saudi Arabia uses soft power to influence Pakistan and how the kingdom invests heavily in the cultivation and exercise of soft power while wielding imperative cultural and religious aspects.This chapter also looks at how this alternative definition of soft power might help us better understand the diplomatic efforts of theocratic,illiberal and conservative countries.