The Americans invented it, the Japanese, the South Koreans, the British, the Icelanders, the Scandinavians, the Chinese took it back, with success. The ” soft power Is the art of creative diplomacy and the international influence of a national culture. All framed in a strategy of economic development or recovery.
The South Korean “miracle” that followed the severe financial crisis of 1997 in the Southeast Asian region is worth mentioning. Reduced to asking for assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which granted it exceptional assistance of $ 70 billion, South Korea relied on the soft power to ensure its revival. The strategy was to export the national culture by stimulating the creation, production and export of authentic South Korean creative content. First in the countries of Asia, then on the whole planet. Who has not succumbed to the frenzied airs of the K-pop ? The K-dramas, less common here, nevertheless played a decisive role in the explosion of South Korean cultural exports. Today, South Korea is the seventh largest exporter of cultural content, and the trade balance has turned resolutely to its advantage. By 2022, exports are estimated to reach $ 16 billion. They sucked just 30 years ago.
Although the soft power with South Korean sauce is dazzling, the case of Iceland is just as exceptional. After coming close to bankruptcy in 2008, the tiny country, which before the crisis had the highest standard of living in the world, has recovered at an unprecedented speed. Here again, the recipe for economic recovery benefited from ingredients from soft power. Iceland’s population is barely larger than those of Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke combined. Less than 370,000 inhabitants. This does not prevent Iceland from spreading its culture all over the world.
I like to quote the tour de force of the drama series Trapped. Offered on Netflix in an English version, the series was initially broadcast with great success on the BBC and France Televisions … despite the fact that it is imbued with the Icelandic brand throughout the world. creation and production. That is, the original idea is Icelandic, the scripts were written by Icelandic authors, the actors and actresses are Icelandic and their dialogues are spoken in the language of the country. However, Icelandic is anything but an international language. It is spoken very little outside the island. Each episode of the first season cost a million dollars. In Quebec, we have to go back to the heyday of Lance and count for a comparable budget. The maximum standard these days is rather around $ 500,000 to $ 600,000, which is explained by constraining demographics and competition from streaming platforms. It is not so simple. The decline in budgets for drama series and other television genres began long before the arrival of Netflix.
Is the soft power Quebec or Canadian fashion could reverse this trend and explode our culture on a world scale? I believe it. Quite simply because we have unparalleled creative capacity and strength. But this undertaking also requires a major paradigm shift in the programs to support the development of creative industries set up by governments. As evidenced by soft power successfully practiced, it is essential to align cultural influence with economic development and to offer artists and exporting companies financing models suited to their growth potential.
For the Government of Quebec and our Premier, this may be an opportunity to seize to stimulate national pride and at the same time generate booming economic activity in sectors of the future.