Soft power is a concept developed by
Joseph Nye of
Harvard University to describe the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce, use force or give money as a means of
persuasion. Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defining feature of soft power is that it is noncoercive; the currency of soft power is culture, political values, and foreign policies. Recently, the term has also been used in changing and influencing social and public opinion through relatively less transparent channels and lobbying through powerful political and non-political organizations. In 2012, Nye explained that with soft power, "the best
propaganda is not propaganda", further explaining that during the
Information Age, "credibility is the scarcest resource."