Professor L. Crother, author of the book Globalization and American Pop Culture, writes that “American products and popular culture are in high demand around the globe because they have a wide appeal and are very well marketed." He goes on to explain that Hollywood and its movie industry, but also fast food and media from the United States are present all over the world. American news channels are so powerful that the term "CNN effect" was coined. "The CNN effect" means that TV channels like CNN by focussing on this or that event help shape American foreign policy. American newspapers like The New York Times or The Washington Post are known internationally. American universities also attract a lot of students, many of them from abroad. In world university rankings, year after year, American universities like Harvard, Columbia, MIT or Stanford are among the best if not right at the top.
The BBC is also highly regarded all over the world. BBC World is watched by millions of people everywhere. The House of Lords published a report on "Soft Power and the UK's Influence Committee". The BBC and "in particular its World Service" are listed as number 1 in the list of Britain's national instruments of soft power.
Besides the BBC, the House of Lords mentions Britain's higher education establishments. Of course, universities like Cambridge, Oxford, LSE or Imperial contribute to the UK's soft power and its global impact. As Gary Rawnsley, a Professor of Public Diplomacy, explains in an article published on the London School of Economics website, "the UK's soft power [is] more than Shakespeare and the Royal Family". He underlines the importance of British influence after Brexit if the country wants to transform itself into "Global Britain", which is the government's perspective on the country's future after it leaves the E.U. To strengthen Britain's presence on the world stage after Brexit, the government also hopes to boost trade with the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is an association of 54 nations, which were mostly part of the British Empire. On its website, the Commonwealth states that it is "working towards shared goals of prosperity, democracy and peace".
The media and culture are not the only ways to measure a country's global influence. The USA remains the first economic and military power. Its economy produces around one quarter of the global wealth and the dollar remains an international currency. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the dollar "plays a central role in international trade and finance as both a store of value and a medium of exchange." According to the magazine Business Insider, the UK has the 5th largest GDP in the world. However since Brexit the pound has fallen and the British economy has been stagnating. On top of that, the British and the American economies were badly hit by the Covid19 pandemic.
