Organised by the Amidex “Democratic Alliance in the Indo-Pacific (DAIP)” project /LERMA (UR853), Aix-Marseille University, this study days aims to explore global strategies and diplomatic practices that prioritise soft power in the Indo-Pacific region. Amidst the ongoing competition between world powers to shape the international order according to their respective strategic preferences, this forum will examine how states utilise soft power resources to exert influence, establish international legitimacy, and foster regional and global partnerships. In particular, it will focus on the strengthening cohesion among democratic nations within the Indo-Pacific region and their shared efforts to shape an international order that aligns with democratic values.

Programme

• 9:30: Opening remarks
• 9:45: Keynote speaker: James Curran (University of Sydney)
• 10:30: Matthew Graves (Aix-Marseille University), « Soft Power and ‘The Rupture in the World Order’: Middle Power Perspectives » 

11:15: Coffee break

• 11:30 Priyam Tripathy (Aix-Marseille University), « India’s Soft Power in the Indo-Pacific: Environment, Diplomacy and Challenges »

12:15: Lunch break

14:00: Keynote speaker: Ambassador Christophe Penot

• 14:45: Jiyu Choi (Aix-Marseille University), « Reconfiguring EU Soft Power in the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Partnerships with South Korea and Japan »
• 15:05: Jessica Gosling (SOAS, University of London), « Declaring and Doing: The Gap Between Institutional Intent and Practitioner Enactment in UK–South Korea Soft Power »

15:25: Q&A 16:00: Coffee/Tea break 

• 16:15: Oliver Turner (University of Edinburgh), « Narrating US soft power in the Asia Pacific »
• 16:35: Isabelle Vagnoux (Aix-Marseille University), « US public diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific » 
• 17:00: Q&A
• 17:20: Closing remarks