Analyzing Rising Power from the Perspective of Soft Power: a new look at China's rise to the status quo power

A rising power has traditionally been considered as a revisionist power in realist international relations theories. However, a preliminary analysis of the rising China's foreign policy behavior doesn't uphold such conventional wisdom. Through the case study of China's rise, this article investigates whether the soft power concept provides a new approach in analyzing a rising power. Firstly, empirical connections between soft power and the rise of China are established by discussing the Chinese idea of soft power. This is followed by an examination of how China adopts a soft power-based global strategy and wields soft power in its rise to a status quo power. The findings suggest that the soft power concept can be applied to analyze a rising power. Moreover, when a rising power tries to develop its soft power resources and wield its soft power, its revisionist policy orientation will greatly decrease. This in turn allows for a smoother transition to a status quo power.