[ICTs-and-Society] Daya Thussu: First book-length study of India’s Soft Power

[Christian Fuchs]

Communicating India’s Soft Power: Buddha to Bollywood

By Daya Kishan Thussu

Global Public Diplomacy Series, Palgrave/Macmillan, New York, 230 Pages, 
October 2013

ISBN: 9781137027887, Order online at www.palgrave.com
<http://www.palgrave.com/>

Book Description

In recent years, India has emerged as a major economic and political
power: on the basis of purchasing-power parity, it was the world’s third
largest economy in 2012. Yet the country’s cultural influence outside
India has not been adequately analysed in academic discourses. As the
world’s largest democracy with a vibrant and pluralist media system,
India offers an excellent case study of the power of culture and
communication in the age of mediated international relations. This book, 
a pioneering attempt, from an international communication/media
perspective, is aimed to fill the existing gap in scholarship in this
area. The discussion of India’s rising soft power is located within a
historical context, thus problematizing the notion of Soft Power itself.
The book is aimed at university courses on global media/international
relations/area studies - among others.

About the Author

Daya Kishan Thussu is Professor of International Communication and the
Co-Director of the India Media Centre at the University of Westminster
in London. With a PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi, he is the founder and Managing Editor of the Sage 
journal /Global Media and Communication/. Among his key publications 
are: /Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives/(Sage, 2012); 
/Internationalizing Media Studies/(Routledge, 2009); /News as
Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment/ (Sage, 2007); /Media on
the Move: Global Flow and Contra-Flow/ (Routledge, 2007); /International 
Communication - Continuity and Change/, thirdedition (Bloomsbury 
Academic, forthcoming); and /Electronic Empires - Global Media and Local 
Resistance/ (Arnold, 1998).

Contents

Introduction

1   De-Americanizing Soft Power

2   Historical Context of India’s Soft Power

3   India Abroad: the Diasporic Dividend

4   Software for Soft Power

5   Culture as Soft Power – Bollywood and Beyond

6   Branding India – a Public-Private Partnership

Conclusion

References

Endorsements

‘Those acquainted with Daya Thussu as the editor of the respected
journal/Global Media and Communication/and his earlier publications will 
not be surprised by this excellent, comprehensive yet brief survey of 
the scope and limits of India’s Soft Power and the country’s changing
status in global public culture and media. This book will remain a
powerful aid to scholars and researchers seeking clues to the many
undercurrents in India’s definition of its global presence and the
projection of that self-definition through its public diplomacy.’
Professor Ashis Nandy, Senior Honorary Fellow, Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies, New Delhi

‘Daya Thussu elegantly places India’s Soft Power in its historical and
cultural framework, deftly managing the geopolitical and technological
context. His analysis is innovative and persuasive,  as is fitting in
telling a grand tale of a grand Indian narrative’.  Professor Monroe
Price, Director, Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg
School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania,///USA

‘Daya Thussu’'s///Communicating India's Soft Power: Buddha to
Bollywood/rescues the concept of soft power from American hands and
applies it insightfully to India, and the concept is made richer and
more useful as a result.  With its dynamic and prosperous diaspora, the
growing global popularity of its spiritual beliefs and practice, its
reach as a global economic and technological powerhouse, and even its
cherished cuisine, India’s growing soft power potential is evident.  Yet
Thussu also takes a hard look at the impediments that stand in the way
of India taking full advantage of its soft power appeal. This book is a
must-read for anyone interested in broadening their understanding of the 
role of soft power in foreign affairs.’  Professor Steven Livingston, 
Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs, George 
Washington University, USA

‘A balanced, learned and historically informed analysis of India’s
global presence and the soft power that accompanies it. The book
contains many important insights and should be of value to decision
makers and general public alike.’  Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Emeritus
Professor, University of Westminster, UK