CC BY
0SOFT POWER OF DIPLOMACY: AS A PERSPECTIVE OF THE
REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
1Samiev I.K., 2Sadullaeva M.Kh.
University of World Economy and Diplomacy, The 1st year student of "International Relations"
Faculty
2University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Lecturer of "Uzbek and Russian languages"
Department https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12111062
Abstract. In the given article the importance of soft power in the foreign policy of countries is analyzed. The practice of such influential countries as the USA and Great Britain is discussed. A model for the development of soft power in the Republic of Uzbekistan is described. A number of proposals have been put forward to increase Uzbekistan's "soft power" at the global level.
Keywords: soft power, Nobel index, potential, the role of the national language, civil power, digital diplomacy, values and norms, remote technologies.
INTRODUCTION:
Due to the period of globalization, the system of international relations has changed dramatically. New stories have appeared on the big stage that can have a strong impact on the continuity of world history. The new composition of international organizations faced completely new problems and difficulties that they had not encountered before. In the struggle for world domination, new dimensions of power and new sources of power also emerged. One aspect has remained unchanged - the goal of all international entities remains power, influence and pressure on the world stage. The multifaceted nature of the globalization process has reduced the ability of states to use traditional power mechanisms and led to a change in the model of global competition. In the new era, economic success, ideological authority and cultural attractiveness of the state, in other words, "soft power" have become more important factors of influence than the presence of military power and nuclear weapons.
"Soft power" is a form of foreign policy strategy that involves the ability to achieve desired results on the basis of voluntary participation, sympathy and attraction. According to American political scientist Joseph Nye, who coined this term, the language and culture of a state are "soft power" and play a key role in international relations, directly or indirectly influencing world politics and business relations.
US practice:
In modern reality, the United States occupies a leading position in such indicators as military power, scientific and technical potential, economic and creative resources. In addition, the United States is currently the information capital of the world and a mechanism for the development of all kinds of social networks. Each state has its own culture, history and traditions, that is, each state has its own "soft power" resources, the effectiveness of which depends, first of all, on its foreign policy goals, target audience and historical experience in the international arena. According to J. Nye's article "Soft Power and American Foreign Policy," problems with soft power arise when we do not live up to our ideals. According to the concept of J. Nye, a resource such as foreign policy can be effective if the foreign policy of the state is legitimate, that is, if it is approved by other subjects of international relations through established international institutions. Besides
that, one of the criteria for the effectiveness of "soft power" can be the "Nobel Index" - that is, the number of Nobel Prize laureates in a certain country. According to this indicator, the United States is a leader in chemistry, physics and economics. However, J. Nye calls the most important parameter for assessing the effectiveness of "soft power" its "positive perception" by a wide audience in foreign countries. In his opinion, every subject of international law should closely monitor public opinion polls conducted in partner countries, since they can give an objective picture of the perception of the foreign policy activities of the state.
National manifestations of "soft power" can be called as follows:
- the dominant power of the USA (dominant power of the USA);
- the attractive power of Europe;
- the wise power of China;
- complex power of India;
- The mysterious power of the East.
Judging by the above ratings, it seems advisable to study the experience of countries with the largest soft power resources, that is, the United States, Great Britain and China. Although the People's Republic of China is not a leader in these rankings, studying its experience can be useful since China is an eastern country.
The role of national language in the case of Great Britain:
Many countries consider the important role of language in foreign policy. O. Spengler argued that "the unity of any culture is based on the unity of language and symbols." In fact, today the role of the national language plays an important role in shaping the foreign policy image of the state. As a result, two clear trends have emerged: the first is the preservation and support of the languages of small nations, and the second is the development and competition between the so-called "world languages." Each country makes great efforts to develop and spread its language in the world. In this sense, the UK and the USA are not exceptions, but, on the contrary, are the "engines" (the main driving forces) of such a movement. Language is the most important means of attracting states into the orbit of their influence; It can be noted that the success of a country on the world political stage largely depends on the country's ability to promote its language abroad and improve its status. At the moment, the UK is an example of the successful manifestation of soft power policy. Britain's display of soft power is institutionalized at committee level. In mid-2013, the UK House of Lords established a committee on soft power and influence over the country. The Committee on Soft Power and Country Influence is the world's leading source of independent analysis that advances the vision of building a prosperous and secure world for all countries. In turn, the institute is an independent organization that supports the study of international issues and tries not to express its opinions.
In the global political processes of the 21st century, the UK's digital and cultural diplomacy, its attractiveness to international students, as well as global cooperation with other countries are highly valued. An important element in this regard is the BBC World Service, the world's largest broadcasting organization, currently funded by the FCDO (Commonwealth and Development Office) and ever-evolving instruments of soft power. The British Council is a non-departmental executive body created in 1934. The main objectives of the public body are to promote cultural ties between the population of Great Britain and other countries, popularize knowledge about Great Britain abroad, help foreigners learn English; cultural, scientific and technological aspects of mutual cooperation in the field of education between other countries; helping to spread education
in other ways. The British Council promotes projects such as training for schoolchildren and students, professional retraining of teachers, distance learning and testing in English. The British Council currently operates through representative offices in more than 100 countries. According to the British Council, 65 million people were connected directly and 731 million people were connected online at events organized by the organization last year. It should not be overlooked that the UK has one of the most prestigious organizations available to foreign citizens. Their role in developing soft power capacity has expanded significantly in recent years as UK universities have developed, attracting thousands of students, masters and researchers from many countries around the world in terms of quality. The UK ranks second in the world market among countries providing education to international students.
On the effectiveness of soft power instruments of the European Union in Uzbekistan over the last 5 years:
The EU has effectively used its appeal as a soft power player to spread its values and norms. The success of the EU's "soft power" depends on the resources, mechanisms and means of its implementation. But the factor of the country to which the "soft power" is directed also plays a decisive role. The European Union is not only a normative force in international relations due to its many individual characteristics, such as the idea of "unifying sovereignty", the importance of a transnational European Parliament and respect for human rights, but it is also seen as a "civil power" and "soft power". The goal of the European Union as a new single global "player" is to increase its presence in the Central Asian region. The adoption of the new EU strategy for Central Asia in 2019 was an important step towards achieving this goal.
The implementation of the new EU strategy is being implemented in parallel with the political and economic reforms and changes that are being implemented in Uzbekistan after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power. Since 2016, reforms such as liberalization of the economy, improvement of a favorable business and investment environment, reconstruction of the judicial system, improvement of working conditions, responsibility and efficiency of the state have brought a number of positive results. They increased the attractiveness of Uzbekistan on a global scale and the interest of foreign players in further expanding cooperation. In particular, bilateral cooperation between the European Union and Uzbekistan has strengthened significantly in economic and cultural terms") and want to focus on education. The European Union, being one of the largest markets in the world with more than 447 million consumers, is the largest export destination for Uzbekistan's national products and is today Uzbekistan's fourth most important trading partner. In 2019, total trade with the European Union amounted to 2.684 billion euros; however, in 2020 these figures decreased slightly and reached 2.4 billion euros. These trade relations have changed dramatically since the European Union approved Uzbekistan under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP+) on April 10, 2021, which provides preferential tariffs on goods imported from Uzbekistan. Consequently, under this program, Uzbekistan will benefit from exporting goods to the European Union and facilitating access to the world market. This will improve economic and trade relations between the two sides.
Kyrgyzstan is the first country in Central Asia included in the GSP+ (Generalized System of Preferences) system. However, if you look at the experience of Kyrgyzstan over the past five years, you will see that it has not benefited Kyrgyz exporters. Thus, in terms of annual export volume, Kyrgyzstan ranks last among the other 9 participants in the GSP+ system, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, Kyrgyzstan's exports mainly consist of gold, which is not included
in GSP+. Secondly, food products, as a rule, are not very expensive, and there is little interest in them. Another obstacle for Kyrgyz exporters is the high European standards for importing goods into the European Union. Thus, to gain maximum benefit from free exports to the European Union, Uzbekistan can learn valuable lessons from Kyrgyzstan and plan an action strategy to improve export potential in the European market.
For the higher education system of Uzbekistan, 2017-2020 became a period of fundamental changes and important decisions to improve the quality of higher education. In 2019, President Sh. Mirziyoyev signed the decision "On approval of the Concept for the development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030," which defines the goals of reform and development of higher education based on national and world standards. This document is an important step in the improvement and development of the national education system. One of the goals of this concept is that at least 10 higher educational institutions of our country take the first 1000 places in the ranking of internationally recognized organizations (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings), and the National University of Uzbekistan and Samarkand State University are among the best "Top 500" "peace" will be included in the ranks of higher education institutions. It was decided to study and implement the experience of leading universities in the world, in particular, the European model. Today, the Erasmus+ program, in which 65 universities in Uzbekistan participate, has played a decisive role in the ongoing reforms and changes, the main options for cooperation with universities, and the application of European experience in the field of higher education. The European Union is using the Erasmus+ program to help Uzbekistan's universities modernize and achieve the higher education goals of the Bologna Process and the Turin Principles for Vocational Education and Training. The goal is to strengthen the competitive environment among universities, create high-quality teaching methods and mechanisms that help create a modern and highly standardized system. Today, there are 114 higher educational institutions in our country, of which 93 are domestic, 27 foreign and their branches (including in Russia, Great Britain, the USA, Singapore and India). In particular, over the past 3 years, 6 new higher educational institutions and 17 branches, as well as 14 branches of foreign higher educational institutions, have been created. Only two of them are universities from EU member states, for example, the Polytechnic University of Turin in Tashkent (Italy) and Collegium Humanum - Andijan branch of the Warsaw University of Management (Poland).
Soon after the adoption of the "Action Strategy" for five priority areas of development of Uzbekistan for 2017-2021. The document also examines priority areas in the field of foreign policy. Uzbekistan has significantly intensified its activities in the international arena, the most important of which is one of its regional vectors. Uzbekistan began to pay more attention to its neighbors. The second vector is a multilateral format of cooperation. Improving the cooperation system is important from a competitiveness point of view. Multilateral collaboration requires a range of skills. One country is a small power, but when several countries form a coalition, they can stand up to even the largest. The next feature of the updated foreign policy is the clear definition of tasks that meet the interests of Uzbekistan. There is a very important point in the development strategy: Uzbekistan must work to strengthen its image, attractiveness and reputation. This requires not only desire, but also professionalism. The instruments and mechanisms of "soft power" widely used in the country include traditional and parliamentary diplomacy, "digital diplomacy", regional and international platforms. Work is actively underway to develop and promote country and regional branding; Uzbek firms and companies are popular in many countries
around the world, increasing the prestige and recognition of the country in the international community.
CONCLUSION:
1. Legitimacy of power: if the foreign policy of a certain country looks legitimate in the eyes of the world community, the potential for "soft power" increases;
2. If public diplomacy develops, "soft power" will also increase. Development tools include radio and television broadcasting, exchange programs, development assistance and humanitarian assistance;
3. Implementation and improvement of professional and academic international exchange programs;
4. Development of a clear and coordinated action plan for the country's migration policy. Otherwise, the state will lose its "soft power" resource;
5. It is necessary to increase the number of special language centers, as well as introduce a system of teaching foreign languages in all higher educational institutions of our country;
6. Since 2013, the National Agency and Uzbekkino have annually held the "European Film Festival" in Tashkent in cooperation with the European Union. The unprecedented power of soft power is manifested in the cultural dimension. Among them, the most attractive are cinema and music. Consequently, these festivals can become an important foreign policy tool;
7. Creation of a simplified visa system for entrepreneurs, tourists and students of Uzbekistan;
8. Encourage EU member states to establish cooperative relations and open branches of their universities in Uzbekistan, as well as develop language training in the region;
9. Establish quotas for candidates from Central Asia, especially Uzbek youth and specialists, for internships in European institutions.
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