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Russian "soft power" impact on relations with the US and the EU Влияние "мягкой силы" России на отношения с США и ЕС
Э.В. Иванов
Северо-Западный институт управления - филиал РАНХиГС
г.Санкт-Петербург, РФ E-mail: mr.ernie@mail.ru
E. V. Ivanov
The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
Saint-Petersburg, Russia E-mail: mr.ernie@mail.ru
Научный руководитель
Д.Г.Попов
канд. фил. наук, доцент, г. Санкт-Петербург, РФ
Scientific adviser
D. G. Popov
kand. phil. Sciences, associate Professor, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Аннотация.
В настоящее время идеологическая убедительность, экономический успех и культурная привлекательность стали более важными, чем обладание ядерным оружием и военной мощью. Очень сложно измерить влияние "мягкой силы". Это связано с нематериальными ресурсами и умением использовать их умело. В статье рассматривается роль инструментов "мягкой силы"также, затрагиваются аспекты гуманитарной политики и общественной дипломатии.
Annotation.
Nowadays ideological persuasiveness, economic success and cultural appeal have become more important than possession of nuclear weapon and military power. It is very difficult to measure the "soft powef' impact. It is associated with intangible resources and the ability to use them skillfully in order to gain allies. In this article the role of "soft power" tools in political institutions is considered. In addition, the aspects of humanitarian policy and public diplomacy are touched upon in this article.
Keywords: "soft power", mass media, world policy, international relations.
Ключевые слова: "мягкая сила", СМИ, мировая политика, международные отношения.
The "soft power" concept, introduced into scientific circulation by Joseph Nye,was the answer to international system changes at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. "Soft power" has become an important foreign policy tool capable to ensure world domination. According to experts, it has become the main concept of modern international relations and firmly entered the foreign policy practice of many states. The leadership of the Russian Federation recognizes the necessity of updating the toolkit of external politics. At the present time, in order to build a new system of "soft influence", the "soft power"model is being discussed at the highest political level [1]. Over the years, Russian "soft power" model has acquired its own outlines: foreign experts and politicians began to speak more seriously about it. Scientific community estimates Russian "soft power" in different ways: some experts criticize this model, while other analysts recognize the significant progress of Russian "soft power". It is important to con duct the objective analysis and identify weaknesses and strengths o fRussian model. Thus, the topic is rather urgent. The purpose of the article is to study the "soft power" impact on international relations. In accordance with the goal, it is necessary to solve such tasks as: considering the category of "soft power" in international relations theory and revealing the differences of "soft power" tools in different states' activities.
Over past decades, different countries have implemented the "soft power" potential in different ways, which allows us to speak about the existence of several strategies. According to J. Nye, traditional (American) strategy of using the "soft power" is
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based on the following principles [2].
Its first "pillar" is the attractiveness of American way of life and cultural tradition. Opinion polls show that almost 80% of respondents from 43 countries admire the US achievements in the field of technology and science (high culture), while about 60% of them are fond of American television and music. This is confirmed by the US leading positions in television products volume, the number of immigrantsand foreign students as well as the number of Americans among Nobel laureates in the field of chemistry, physics and economics.
The second"pillar"is political ideology, to which half of the respondents are partially or completely sympathetic. Public diplomacyis the most effective way of building the capacity of American "soft power".
An important role in its implementation belongs to the control over information flows and information resources. J. Nye identifies the following three dimensions of public diplomatic activity:
1) daily directional coverage of external political American actions.
2) "strategic communication", which means a focused discussion of the most important political topics.
3) development of direct contacts with foreign audiences with the help of scientific fellowship programs and the system of exchanges, which allows foreigners to get acquainted with the US [3].
Speaking about the "soft power" nature, J. Nye draws attention to the importance of American educational centers that are very attractive for students from different countries. A large number of American universities' graduates belonging to elites of their native countries, form an important resource of benevolence toward America beyond its borders. In addition, according to J. Nye, the US mass culture can also make a significant contribution to the "soft power" formation in the United States through the"messages of freedom, democracy and emancipation" that one way or another make an imprinton the residents of different states and representatives of different cultural traditions [4].
At the same time Americans are not so naive to rely only on "soft power". J. Nye doesn't make a secret of it: "Of course "soft power" can't solve all the problems. Even if the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il likes to watch Hollywood movies this will hardly affect on his nuclear weapons program [5]. Also the tools of "soft power" weren't effective enough to convince the government of the Taliban to refuse support the Al-Qaeda in the 1990s. To stop this alliance it was necessary to apply a brute military force. However it is much easier to achieve such tasks as promoting the development of human rights and democracy by the means of "soft power".
Only the great world powers can designate international relations vector of development in the global world and use "soft power" to promote their national interests more effectively [6].
At present there are four main tools of "soft power" which are used all over the world:
1. Foreign policy (public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, etc.)
2. Mass media.
2. Network structures, institutions.
3. The Internet and social networks.
4. Religion.
The resources of effective "soft power" include the country's development strategy, the identification power of its value orientations and ideology, the attractive force of its development model and social system, its ability to pursue development strategies and the main line, the creative strength of the nation, the strength of interaction in international affairs and the charm of the cultural tradition.
Political Values and Institutions
It should be emphasized that under conditions of multilateral world the key criteria are the territorial integrity of the state, state sovereignty, creating conditions for successful solving of internal problems, the consolidation of society, and, therefore, the emergence of possibility for conducting active foreign policy andusing "soft power" potentialas the main means of ensuring international and national security [7]. Within this context, security is a conditionprovided by the state's foreign and domestic policies that are socially oriented at ensuring the security of society and the individual against identified non-military challenges and risks that directly threaten social and individual interests, values and needs, as well as the country stability in general.
There are several options for treating the "soft power" in Russian political practice. The simplest strategy is "soft power" as counterpropaganda well known from the Soviet era. Vladimir Putin expressed the opinion that Russian policy is incomprehensible to the West because it is not convincingly explained. In 2012 at a meeting with Russian diplomats the president said: "Well, we must admit Russian image abroad is not formed by us so it is often distorted ... Our country's position in international affairs is reflected only on one side [8]. And we are blamed for badly explaining our position. "Russia desires to expand promotion opportunities of Russian vision of world events in the international arena primarily through the creation and generous funding of information channels. A successful example is the Russian television channel RT, broadcasting in three languages (English, Arabic and Spanish). It was originally intended to improve Russia's image but quickly turned into promotion of an alternative view on world affairs [9]. Recent public opinion polls in the US show sharp deterioration in Russia's image in 2014 due to its reaction to the Ukrainian Maidan. According to the latest PewResearchCenter poll, the number of Americans having the unfavorable view of Russia increased from 43% in 2013 to 72% in the first half of 2017. This is the highest level of distrust towards Russia since the collapse of the USSR. Investing in large image projects like the most expensive in the history Olympic Games in Sochi or the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky haven't provided favorable perception of Russia abroad. Due to the Ukrainian events,the sanctions were imposed on Russia by Western countries. Russian foreign policy inspires fears of closest neighbors and partners in the Eurasian Union, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The Ukrainian crisis can be probably considered as a systemic and indicative failure of Russian "softpower". According to the Ukrainian expert Oleg Gritsaenko: "It was decided to leave the sphere where the "enemy" repeatedly proved to be stronger and try to solve the "Ukrainian problem" by the traditional way of military and paramilitary operations where Russia has a rich h istorical experience and feels much more confident". Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to believe that there is no Russian "soft power"
today. It continues to rely on traditional factors but in the light of the Ukrainian crisis it has revealed new and unexpected aspects.
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"Softpower" is determined by the comparison. For example Russia is the second country who receives migrants after the US: attracted by low unemployment (especially in Moscow) and the possibility of better earnings most of the migrants come from the CIS countries. According to the World Bank, remittances from Russia account for 48% of Tajikistan's GDP and 31% of Kyrgyzstan's GDP [10].
It is also necessary to mention the traditional attractiveness of Russian culture: regardless of the political situation,Russian ballet, theater and literature will always arouse the admiration of the Western public and will remain an integral part of the cultural heritage of Europe.
Finally, the personality of President Putin is attractive to many people in the EU and the USA. Who can bring down markets and exchanges by only one statement? A leader who is able to protect the country's national interests easily attains the symp athies of strong hand supporters.
These factors fit into the context of economic, trade, energy interdependence between Russia, the USA and Europe. Business circles of Western countries, fearedof the reverse effect of sanctions, are in favor of maintaining relations with Russia at the same level. In addition, each of the European countries has its own specific dependence on Russian investments, finance and gas pipelines. Russian "soft power" is unique but real [11].
The transformation of modern international relations towards the formation of a polycentric world increases the importance of external non-traditional political instruments including the "soft power". According to J. Nye,Russian "soft power" is applicable mainly in the post-Soviet space and BRICS countries. In relations with the USA and the EU it acquires Russian specificity and becomes a sort of lobbyism. However, despite the different approaches to "soft power" instruments, used by countries mentioned above, they are similar in nature. Soft power has always been a key element of leadership.The power to attract - to get others to want what you want, to frame the issues, to set the agenda - has its roots in thousands of years of human experience. Skillful leaders have always understood that attractiveness stems from credibility and legitimacy. Power has never flowed solely from the barrel of a gun; even the most brutal dictators have relied on attraction as well as fear. Leaders have to make crucial choices about the types of power that they use[12, 13]. Woe be to followers of those leaders who ignore or devalue the "soft power" significance.
References:
1. Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, New York, NY 2004, 314 p.
2. AndisKudors, "Russian World" - Russia's Soft Power Approach to Compatriots Policy. Russian Analytical Digest,2010. no 6. P 34-37.
3. Kovaleva, D. Kontseptiia The concept of soft power as a tool of study in contemporary political science Yearbook 13: 1, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences URL: http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n7kontsept-soft-power-kak-predmet-izucheniya-sovremennoypoliticheskoy-nauki-i-teoreticheskaya-osnova-vneshnepoliticheskih-strategiy
4. Sherr, J. Hard Diplomacy and Soft Coercion: Russia's Influence Abroad. London: Chatham House.2013. 217 p.
5. Studneva, E. 2011. MFA and Public Chamber discussed the 'soft power' resource, 13 November. URL:http://interaffairs.ru/read.php?item=8129
6. Alexander Bogomolov, OleksandrLytvynenko, A Ghost in the Mirror: Russian Soft Power in Ukraine (Chatham House, Briefing Paper), London, January 2012, p. 12.
7. Bogomolov, Lytvynenko, A Ghost in the Mirror: Russian Soft Power in Ukraine, 2014. 89p.
8. Tsygankov, A..Russophobia: Anti-Russian lobby and American foreign policy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.2009, 110 p.
9. Zavadski, K. 2015. Putin's propaganda TV lies about its popularity. Daily Beast, 17 September. URL:http://archive.mid.ru//bdomp/nsosndoc.nsf/e2f289bea62097f9c325787a0034c255/fd3aa5ccb0c5f96b442579ec004ec849
10. Chernenko.E. 2012 Russia's Reputation on the World Stage May Be at an Unfair Disadvantage.Kommersant. URL: http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/09/05/ russias_reputation_on_the_world_stage_may_be_at_an_ unfair_disadvanta_17967.html
11. Dolinskiy A.2013. Russian Soft Power 2.0, Russia Direct. URL: http://www.russia-direct.org/russian-media/ september-quarterly-russian-soft-power-20
12. Nye J. Soft Power. Foreign Policy.New York: Basic Books1990. P. 153-171.
13. Nye J. Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power. New York: Basic Books. 1990. 276 p.
