From Bytes to Bucks: Soft Power, Policy, Tech, and Culture

Three Wilson Center analysts examine the push and pull between state and society in the expression of cultural values in contemporary technologies, and what this tension implies for the international system:

1. Valerie Anishchenkova:  The importance of video games in modern global culture cannot be underestimated, especially in their increasing impact on personal and collective identities. What do Russian war-themed video games reveal about contemporary Russian nationalism? Who are friends and who are foes? Drawn directly from today’s geopolitical conflicts.

2. Irene S. Wu:  If a country’s “social network” reflects its soft power, how can we measure China and Russia’s soft power? Data visualization for Dr. Wu's presentation: “The Wu Rubric for Soft Power:  Measuring Russia and China’s Social Networks.”  

3. Rui Zhong:  American technology firms pursue collaborative opportunities and consumers within China, but may be doing so with deferred political costs. How do these corporate strategies handle complex information impacting the future of U.S.-China relations?  

Speakers

• Valerie Anishchenkova

  George F. Kennan Fellow

  Associate Professor of Arabic Studies, Director and PI of Flagship Culture Initiative, Core Faculty in Film Studies, University of Maryland, College Park

• Elizabeth Newbury

  Director & Program Associate for the Serious Games Initiative

• Izabella Tabarovsky

  Senior Program Associate, Manager for Regional Engagement

• Irene Wu

  Fellow

  Senior Analyst, International Bureau, Federal Communications Commission and Adjunct Professor, Communications, Culture and Technology Program, Georgetown University

• Rui Zhong

  Program Assistant