What is soft power, what role does it play in world politics and how is it used by authoritarian states? Recently we asked some of our authors to discuss these questions
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What is soft power? And how is it used by Russia, China and Iran? Watch videos of Ilya Yablokov, Kingsley Edney and Edward Wastnidge discussing these questions
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While Confucius Institutes as more instruments of propaganda, nevertheless they present a specific version of China to global audiences.
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Conspiracy theories can become a legitimate tool of soft power. Here's how.
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Instead of analysing the (in)effectiveness of Russian soft power in world politics and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), it is important to look at the reasons behind Russian elites’ interest in soft power and how this interest has played out in Russia’s articulation and projection of soft power in the West.
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China’s focus on developing soft power is a key part of its plan to reduce international resistance to its rising power and create a more stable regional security environment, but domestic regime security is another important—and often overlooked—driver of China’s soft power strategy.
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Russia has claimed a special strategic interest in Ukraine, but how do Ukrainians feel about that? This
article in the
special issue on the ‘Soft Power of Hard States’ explores the reaction of the Ukrainian audience to Moscow’s efforts to exercise cultural leadership in the region.
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Both Beijing and Moscow have endorsed soft power but their understanding and adaptation of the concept differs significantly from that of the West.
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Is Russia's soft power strategy the same as that of other major international players? Alexander Sergunin and Leonid Karabeshkin explore this in their recent
Politics article.
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Was the decision to create the UN made in Russia? Is the Chinese President ‘shameless’?
Politics Special Issue on ‘The Soft Power of Hard States’ takes a critical look at how authoritarian states attempt to project their image on the world stage.
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