that encouragement through economic means, but also with a pronounced application of soft power. This paper has examined how PRC soft power is employed as an effective tool in international relations. The PRC has been very active in seeking to delegitimize Taiwan by luring away those few countries that still officially recognize it. The PRC has had a great deal of success in these efforts as there are only 23 countries left in the world that still maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The greatest concentrations of countries that do still recognize Taiwan are the countries of Central America. The PRC has used several strategies to further its goals, but soft power appears to be the preferred method of the Chinese Communist Party. Costa Rica has already switched its allegiance, and Mexico did so long ago. Panama and Nicaragua may be the next to go. In Central America, the Beijing Consensus is becoming a more attractive alternative to the Washington Consensus. It remains to be seen if it will remain as appealing if the Chinese Communist Party is unable to transfer from its current economic legitimacy to a normative legitimacy. However, at least for industrialization and eventual modernization, the Beijing Consensus can be a very effective soft power tool on multiple levels. Even though the PRC states that the most it wants to be is a regional hegemon, it seems determined to ascend to that position through a strategic use of soft power. References Arnson, Cynthia A. and Jeffrey Davidow. 2011 Latin America and the United States: the “China, new triangle.” Policy paper for Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Bandurski, David. 11/12/2009. China’s new communications worldview coming of age?” “Is accessed 5/4/2012 China Media Project.
that encouragement through economic means, but also with a pronounced application of soft power. This paper has examined how PRC soft power is employed as an effective tool in international relations. The PRC has been very active in seeking to delegitimize Taiwan by luring away those few countries that still officially recognize it. The PRC has had a great deal of success in these efforts as there are only 23 countries left in the world that still maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The greatest concentrations of countries that do still recognize Taiwan are the countries of Central America. The PRC has used several strategies to further its goals, but soft power appears to be the preferred method of the Chinese Communist Party. Costa Rica has already switched its allegiance, and Mexico did so long ago. Panama and Nicaragua may be the next to go. In Central America, the Beijing Consensus is becoming a more attractive alternative to the Washington Consensus. It remains to be seen if it will remain as appealing if the Chinese Communist Party is unable to transfer from its current economic legitimacy to a normative legitimacy. However, at least for industrialization and eventual modernization, the Beijing Consensus can be a very effective soft power tool on multiple levels. Even though the PRC states that the most it wants to be is a regional hegemon, it seems determined to ascend to that position through a strategic use of soft power. References Arnson, Cynthia A. and Jeffrey Davidow. 2011 “China, Latin America and the United States: the new triangle.” Policy paper for Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Bandurski, David. 11/12/2009. “Is China’s new communications worldview coming of age?” China Media Project. accessed 5/4/2012