Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A Passage to (and from) India

Are India and China's soft power resources growing? One pundit argues that unified national vision is increasing the strength of both nations.

I know I've been throwing a lot of Stewart clips at you this week, but I can't help it! The man keeps talking about public diplomacy. This week, he interviews writer Anand Giridharadas, who discusses the Indian diaspora and changing cultural attitudes. Giridharadas argues that most Americans view India and China as economic threats, but the real challenge in confronting them relates to their national attitudes. In terms of international dominance, national unity and consensual vision are spreading through India and China in a manner that will challenge any nation with serious internal division:

"These countries pose a challenge of culture and spirit.... India and China, for all of the work that lies ahead for them, are starting to create cultures of hope and cultures of creation, where there's a consensus on saying 'How do we create something extraordinary?' And we need to be worried not about an economic threat but the threat of that spirit in about two and a half billion people."



The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Anand Giridharadas
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

No comments:

Post a Comment