| Summary: | Soft power is an ability developed by countries to make others do what otherwise they would not, using tools such as attraction, persuasion/influence and setting agendas according to their national goals. Developed and developing countries use different tools to build soft power capabilities in different ways. This thesis investigates how International Higher Education (IHE) produces soft power in Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs), focusing on three case studies: Brazil, Malaysia and Mexico. This is a multidisciplinary study where International Relations, Politics and Education fields of study collide to increase our understanding of soft power. This research argues that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), research centres, associations of universities and other non-governmental actors become agents of soft power using diplomacy mechanisms, challenging the traditional soft power understandings.
This research studies inbound student mobility, outbound student mobility, internationalisation of research and international mobility of programmes and providers under the soft power paradigm. A three-variant model that explains how and why IHE produces soft power shows a new approach for soft power in NICs, where soft power is a motivation to foster IHE, a consequence of IHE initiatives, or an extension of the country’s foreign policy.
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