Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye coined the term "soft power", or the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction, rather than coercion or payment, in his book Bound To Lead in 1990. However, he has since seen his brainchild, scribbled out on his kitchen table, grow in scope of application and distance.
He wrote in an article published in Nature in early 2017: "With time, I have come to realise that concepts such as soft power are like children. As an academic or a public intellectual, you can love and discipline them when they are young, but as they grow, they wander off and make new company, both good and bad. There is not much you can do about it, even if you were present at the creation."
His comment holds true more so than ever now as the Thai government is jumping on the bandwagon to promote the country's soft power after 19-year-old rapper Milli, the first Thai singer at Coachella, ate mango and sticky rice on stage. It is not surprising for the government to do this though. It once touted a plan following the phenomenal success of Thai-born K-pop singer Lisa, who wore a traditional golden headdress for her first solo single last September.
