Soft Power and Thailand’s Cultural Selling Points
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Abstract
This academic article aims to study “Soft Power” in Thai culture, focusing on the 5F+2 aspects: F1-Food, F2-Film, F3-Fashion, F4-Fighting (traditional Thai martial arts), F5-Festival, as well as two additional topics: "Performing Arts" and " Legends, Beliefs, and Cultural Heritage." The objective is to present strategies for developing and enhancing Thailand's soft power potential. The methodology involved gathering and analyzing data through documentary analysis of soft power-related news obtained from credible online sources between the years 2023 and 2024. The findings suggest that to leverage soft power as a selling point of Thai culture and to increase its economic value, mechanisms for developing strategies at both systemic and industrial levels, as well as for individuals, are essential. Proactive foreign policies and consistent efforts to integrate hard power and soft power are necessary to create smart power. This requires cooperation among the government, private sector, and civil society aligned with the same direction to promote and experience sustainable economic growth in Thailand.
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