Editing Soft power (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
{{main|Anglosphere|Anglophones|Pax Britannica}}

Since the 1814–1914 century of ''[[Pax Britannica]]'' the [[foreign relations of the United Kingdom]] has held a significant soft power component.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sondhaus |first1=Lawrence |title=Soft power, hard power, and the Pax Americana|date=2009 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-0415545334 |pages=204–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujlMly6WVxIC&pg=PA208 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Winks |first1=Robin W. |title=World civilization : a brief history |date=1993 |publisher=[[Collegiate Press]] |location=San Diego, CA |isbn=9780939693283 |page=406 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mY7McxJl7jYC&pg=PA406 |quote=By 1914 common law, trail by jury, the King James Authorized Version of the Bible, the English language, and the British navy had been spread around the globe. |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1914 |chapter=Pax Britannica |volume=2 |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |year=2007 |first=Carl P. |last=Watts |editor-first=Carl C. |editor-last=Hodge |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/2013776 |page=3 |quote=it left many legacies, including widespread use of the English language, belief in Protestant religion, economic globalization, modern precepts of law and order, and representative democracy. |access-date=2018-04-05 |archive-date=2022-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215224750/https://www.academia.edu/2013776 |url-status=live}}</ref>

British influence can be observed in the legal and political systems of many of its [[List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom|former colonies]], and the [[Culture of the United Kingdom|UK's culture]] remains globally influential, particularly in [[English-speaking world|language]], [[literature]], [[Music of the United Kingdom|music]] and [[Sport in the United Kingdom|sport]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The cultural superpower: British cultural projection abroad|journal=Journal of the British Politics Society, Norway|date=Winter 2011|volume=6|issue=1|url=http://www.britishpoliticssociety.no/British%20Politics%20Review%2001_2011.pdf|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=16 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916155419/http://www.britishpoliticssociety.no/British%20Politics%20Review%2001_2011.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> English is the most widely spoken [[Germanic language]] as well as the [[List of languages by total number of speakers|world's most widely spoken language]] and the [[list of languages by native speakers|third-most spoken native language]]. It is a [[official languages of the United Nations|co-official language of the United Nations]], the [[languages of the European Union|European Union]], and many other international and regional organisations. It has also become the ''de facto'' language of [[diplomacy]], [[science]], [[international trade]], [[tourism]], [[aviation]], [[entertainment]] and the [[Languages used on the Internet|internet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|title=How the English Language Conquered the World|last=Chua|first=Amy|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301222132/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/books/review/the-rise-of-english-rosemary-salomone.html|archive-date=1 March 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>