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الملخص EN

The concept of soft power continues to receive significant attention from researchers, relevant actors in the international community, and small and rising powers alike.

this paper discusses the nature of soft power, how it works, how it can be employed, its effectiveness, and its limits.

it critically engages with the existing literature on soft power and argues that soft power does not exist by itself, but rather is made.

accordingly, soft power is not just a strategy as is the case with smart power, nor it can be purchased in its raw form, as is the case with hard power, and it is not of unilateral negative nature, as is the case with sharp power.

the paper asserts the need to distinguish between sources of soft power and its tools.

it contends that soft power resources can be mobilized and directed towards the target using soft power tools.

the paper aims to contribute to discussion of what soft power is and how it works ; thus, it offers a theoretical framework on the working mechanism of soft power that takes into account using soft power against non-democratic systems : autocracy, totalitarian, or theocracy.