Publication Type
News Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2026
Abstract
Lily Kong argues that while force remains essential to deter aggression and manage worst-case scenarios, military strength may prevent defeat, but it rarely produces legitimacy. When hard power dominates the strategic imagination, volatility rises and markets suffer. Soft power – the ability to influence countries through persuasion, attraction and legitimacy – has become a strategic asset, she writes. It shapes expectations, lowers baseline tensions, and creates off-ramps in moments of crisis, often determining whether tensions escalate, how long crises last, and how much economic damage they inflict. Prof Kong believes that in a nuclear-armed, economically interdependent Asia, the real test of power is credibility, restraint, and attraction. The conflicts visible today, she argues, do not disprove the importance of soft power — they underline how urgently it is needed.
Keywords
Asia, soft power, international relations
Discipline
Asian Studies | Human Geography | International Relations
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Business Times (Singapore)
ISSN
1733-8179
Publisher
Singapore Press Holdings
Citation
KONG, Lily, "Asia’s future will be won by soft power, not force" (2026). Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 4375.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4375
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4375
Creative Commons License
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