Naren J Chitty is Professor Emeritus and Inaugural Director of the Soft Power Analysis and Resource Centre (SPARC) at Macquarie University (Australia) and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of International Communication.

Li Ji is currently working in the New South Wales (Australia) state government managing projects in relation to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. She is also a research affiliate of the Soft Power Analysis and Resource Centre (SPARC) at Macquarie University (Australia).

Gary D Rawnsley is Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln. From 2018-2022 he was the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

PART I Theoretical Perspectives 1. Taking A Measure of Attraction-Based Influence (Part One Overview) 2. An Experiential Theory of Attraction-Based Influence (Unintended and Intended) 3. The Gift of Grace: Soft Power, Charisma, and Transatlantic Relations 4. Taking A Soft Power Approach to Cultural Heritage Protection: Toward An Empirical Methodology 5. Tools for Measuring Soft Power: A Review of Recent Quantitative Analyses 6. Measuring Soft Power 7. Challenges of A Big Data Approach in Mapping Soft Power 8. Hybridity, Soft Power and Statecraft: Ontological Mapping 9. The Use of The Soft Power Concept in Empirical Studies 10. The Soft Power of International Education: A Theoretical Framework 11. Science Communication as Soft Power 12. Production and Consumption of Academic Knowledge: The Rising and Expansion of The 'Soft Power' Concept (1989-2020) 13. A Study of Soft Power Rankings: Concepts, Method(ology), and Evaluation PART II Contemporary Issues 14. Contemporary Issues (Part Two Overview) 15. Pandemic Soft Power: A Civic Virtue in The Context Of COVID-19 16. Assaying Experience of Soft Power: CALD Community Narratives in New South Wales in COVID-19 Pandemic Times 17. The Jury Is In? The Impact of Domestic and Global Responses to The COVID-19 Health Crisis On Soft Power of The US, China And Germany (2020-2021) 18. States Vs. Tech Giants: Who Is Wielding Soft Power? Soft Power in The Age Of Online Platforms 19. On The Soft Power of Values: The 'Scotland Is Now' Campaign 20. Large-Scale Events and Soft Power: Reconfiguration and Continuity in Light Of The COVID-19 Pandemic PART III Cases from across the Globe 21. Cases from Around The World (Part Three Overview) 22. It's A MAD World: How Diplomats' Online Framing of Crises Results In Mutually Assured De-Legitimization 23. An Analysis Of South Korea's Civic Virtue Soft Power 24. Soft power of First Ladies: Case studies of France and Poland 25. Private cultural foundations as actors of soft power in times of austerity 26. The Role of Film Auteurism Within The Mechanisms of Soft Power In Spain -
Carlos Saura As A Representative Of Spanish Culture Abroad 27. Does Soft Power Make Authoritarian Regimes Import Universities? Framing Analysis Of Discourses Around Transnational Higher Education Institutions In Kazakhstan 28. Explaining China's Soft Power In Türkiye 29. Soft Power In Dark Collective Memory: The Case Of Japanese War Museums 30. Understanding Chinese Philosemitism: Judaism And Israel As Soft Power In Contemporary China

The Routledge Handbook of Soft Power (2nd Edition) offers a comprehensive, detailed, and ground-breaking examination of soft power - a key factor in cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, and public diplomacy. Interrogating soft power as influence, the handbook examines manifestations in media, public mind, policy, and theory - in a fraught geopolitical climate, one demanding reconceptualization of soft power's role in state and civic society behaviour.
Part I provides important new conceptualization and critical analysis of soft power from international relations, philosophical, and other social theoretical perspectives; analyses multiple methods of soft power measurement and makes proposals; and connects soft power innovatively with other concepts
Part II addresses soft power and contemporary issues by examining new technology and soft power intentions, soft power and states' performance during the global pandemic, and soft power and values
Part III investigates cases from China, France, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kazhakstan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, and the United States - some in combination.
This innovative handbook is a definitive resource for inquirers into soft power desiring to familiarize themselves with cutting-edge debates and research. It will be of interest and value to students, researchers, and policy makers working in cultural relations, international communication, international relations, public diplomacy, and contiguous fields.