Orient II 2026 – Focus: Soft Power in the MENA Region

Dear ORIENT readers,

While the world may be embroiled in conflicts through the means of Hard Power at this moment, Soft Power never ceases to exercise its influence. In this edition of ORIENT, we have gathered an array of perspectives of how countries in the MENA region utilise Soft Power, are affected by Soft Power strategies of others, and where those concepts intersect. In Lakshmi Priya’s article “GCC Soft Power Projection through Cultural Diplomacy”, Priya analyses the shift countries in the GCC have undertaken from being influenced by Soft Power to being influencers of it. Anass Gouyez Ben Allal takes Morocco as an example in understanding how a nation should approach managing the difficult relationship between the United States and China in his article “How should Morocco respond amid the U.S.-China rivalry?” A difficult balancing act, however if managed correctly, also an opportunity to find a niche for both great powers. Fatma Aslı Kelkitli’s article “The Public Diplomacy Sources of Türkiye in the Middle East and North Africa Region” examines Türkiye’s strategies for advancing the interest of not only itself but of other MENA nations through means of Public Diplomacy. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Shafa Kalila Aryanti give us an understanding of the relationship between Indonesia and North African nations in their article “The Soft Power elements in Indonesia-North Africa relations.” Zahid Shabab Ahmed points us toward the use of religion as a tool of Soft Power by Saudi Arabia in Pakistan in his Article “Saudi Arabia’s Soft Power in Pakistan: The Role of Religious Diplomacy.” Melodena Stephens takes a more holistic view of soft power in her article “Soft Power in the MENA Region”. Lastly, Luigi Narbone contributes with “Russia’s Influence Strategies in North Africa: Hybrid Warfare and Soft Power Approaches in Libya and Algeria”.While to an untrained eye, Soft Power may appear as weak or passive, those who pay attention understand the immense effects that come from wielding Soft Power astutely, and the difficulties of that come with utilising it haphazardly or without care.

Dr. Andreas Reinicke
Director of the German Orient-Institute