Making soft power work: theory and practice in Australia’s international education policy

Policy makers around the world are increasingly concerned with the challenge of cultivating and capitalising on soft power. Yet government efforts to increase others’ feelings of attraction toward their countries face conceptual and practical challenges. This article examines Australia’s attempt to operationalize soft power in Asia through its international education strategy. Drawing on interviews with key officials, we show how the design of Australia’s international education policy was consciously informed by multiple dimensions of soft power. Yet the nature of soft power means that whether the policy will achieve its soft power objectives is up to Asia, not Australia.