Editing Soft power (section)

=== Middle East ===
The Middle East has been an area in which soft power has been employed by both regional and outside actors. Small states, such as [[Qatar]], frequently employ soft-power strategies, including the use of [[Al Jazeera Media Network|al-Jazeera]] and the hosting of sports events, in their foreign policymaking.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brannagan |first1=Paul Michael |last2=Giulianotti |first2=Richard |date=2018 |title=The soft power–soft disempowerment nexus: the case of Qatar |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy125 |journal=International Affairs |volume=94 |issue=5 |pages=1139–1157 |doi=10.1093/ia/iiy125 |issn=0020-5850}}</ref> Outside powers, such as the United States or China, also employ soft power in terms of expanding their influence across the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rugh |first=William A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iH3DEAAAQBAJ&dq=soft+power+middle+east&pg=PR7 |title=American Encounters with Arabs: The Soft Power of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East |date=2005-11-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-05524-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tella |first=Oluwaseun |date=2016-11-05 |title=Wielding soft power in strategic regions: an analysis of China's power of attraction in Africa and the Middle East |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bafr/8/2/article-p133_5.xml |journal=Africa Review |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=133–144 |doi=10.1080/09744053.2016.1186868 |issn=0974-4061}}</ref> Competition amongst states of the Middle East often involves the use of soft power, as in the case of [[Egypt]]ian-[[Israel]]i rivalry over Africa,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Siniver |first1=Asaf |last2=Tsourapas |first2=Gerasimos |date=2023-01-20 |title=Middle Powers and Soft-Power Rivalry: Egyptian–Israeli Competition in Africa |journal=Foreign Policy Analysis |volume=19 |issue=2 |doi=10.1093/fpa/orac041 |issn=1743-8586|doi-access=free }}</ref> or [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]]-[[Iran]]ian relations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mabon |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9aLDwAAQBAJ&q=Saudi+Arabia+and+Iran+The+struggle+to+shape+the+Middle+East |title=Saudi Arabia and Iran: Power and Rivalry in the Middle East |date=2015-10-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-907-1 |language=en}}</ref>