Drama in Light of the Concept of Soft Power: A Case Study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Many nations in Asia and the West have shown a great deal of interest in drama as a vital source of soft power. Nonetheless, it seems that Arab writers are underrepresented in the field of theater when it comes to the utilization of the concept of soft power to exert influence. To put things in perspective, the researcher used a qualitative case study methodology to conduct an in-depth exploration of Saudi soft power. Additionally, the available research in Arabic and English provided the data for this study. The study's findings demonstrate that performance arts—theatre, films, and television drama—are regarded as worldwide soft power sources. Several nations, including the United States, China, South Korea, and Turkey, place a high value on using drama in their soft power strategies.  However, the analysis reveals that the Arab countries have not made considerable use of drama as a soft power. There are two primary reasons for this neglect. First, the belief held by senior religious scholars that theater poses a threat to the social order. Second, the concept of soft power was adopted from Josef Nay's writings, which restricted its application solely to the political sphere. Furthermore, the research indicates that because of the extreme views of religious scholars, Saudi Arabia did not view theatre as a soft power in the previous few decades. Nevertheless, the Saudi 2030 Vision upholds and promotes the standing of art in Saudi Arabia, which entails highlighting the role of drama and its potential to advance national interests in the global arena.

Keywords: Soft power, hard power, dramatic arts, Saudi drama, Kingdom’s Vision