In search of soft power: mapping the expert community with a bibliometric network analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soft power is one of the most influential concepts in the discipline of international relations, yet it is highly criticized for ambiguity and analytical weakness. Thus, through thoughtful literature reviews, scholars continue with clarifying and mapping the theory within a broader political power research programme. It is in this scholarly context that this article offers tools from a bibliometric network analysis that could be useful in understanding scholarly approaches to soft power. The constructed network of authors with edges representing connections set on keywords allows us to demonstrate the place of the soft power expert community and the proximity of corresponding research interests.