scholarly journals Conceptualizing the strategies of representing the image of Russia: History and Evolution (communicative aspects)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
E. V. Kolokoltseva
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Considerable Effect ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Winter Olympics ◽  
International Image ◽  
The One ◽  
Fundamental Values

The paper addresses the issue of the genesis and the evolution of the conceptual formation of the official attitudes toward the principles governing the representation of the Russian Federation and their scientific covering. It appearance in key foreign policy documents and its significance is analyzed with the view to two major conceptual schemes: the international image and the objective perception. Both concepts were examined with comparative research methods. The problems of tracing the current transformations in the official rhetoric to the transformations that are now taking shape in promoting Russia are the factors why this issue is relevant. The particular aspects of the research included the key documents of official bodies endowed with powers to shape foreign policy that were published in the period between 2000 and 2019. The activities of the key institutions and content providers in what concerns international positioning were outlines. Holding and covering mega-events, such as the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, also served the image needs and, in this respect, was examined in the paper. The concept and method of soft power is introduced for analysis, as it is increasingly efficient and useful in both these respects. The paper concludes with stating that the practice of positive positioning of Russia abroad was substituted in favour of the one of engendering objective perception. The main concern for that consisted in foreign pressure and negative information campaigns, so the decision was a counter measure. In this context, the shift between the two concepts of international promotion is revealed in official documents, having a considerable effect on the communicative potential in terms of acting in accordance with the fundamental values and real attitudes inherent in the Russian culture. Esse quam videri is now not only the national principle, but also the foreign image.

scholarly journals From ‘Soft’ to ‘Hard’ to ‘Moderate’: Islam in the Dilemmas of Post-2011 Saudi Foreign Policy

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Stella Athanasoulia
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Central Position ◽  
International Image ◽  
The Status ◽  
Vision 2030 ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
International Behavior ◽  
Modern Image

Due to its specific history, Saudi Arabia’s domestic and international politics are inextricably linked together. In the shaping and implementation of the kingdom’s essentially defensive international behavior, Islam has kept a central position as a legitimizing factor and as a tool of ‘soft power’ foreign policy. This paper firstly aims to explore the position that religion holds in the Saudi perceptions of stability in the post-2011 era, where safeguarding the status quo remained the priority, while the new administration responded to external pressure by shifting towards a ‘hard power’ foreign policy with questionable results. Furthermore, the paper explores the links between foreign policy choices and the promotion of a new, modern image for the kingdom whereas the regime has appropriated for itself the notion of ‘moderate Islam’ in order to restore its international image and attract investments for the ‘Vision 2030’ reform program. Finally, it proposes a discussion of the position of Islam in the future direction of the country, amidst an increasing authoritarian rule.

scholarly journals Economic and Political Aspects of the Serbia — EAEU Free Trade Area

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-131
Author(s):  
A. V. Toropygin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
The One

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Serbia — EAEU relations development through the prism of the Agreement on the Free Trade Area (FTA) — between the integration association and the separate economy / country. The purpose of this study is to identify the prospects of the FTA taking into account Serbia’s desire to integrate into the European Union. The author come to the conclusion that intensive interaction, primarily between Serbia and Russia through the FTA between Serbia and the EAEU, is explained, on the one hand, by Serbia’s multi-vector foreign policy, and, on the other hand, by Russia’s attentive attitude to the course of the conflict over Kosovo. Russia has economic interests in this region, as well as the region is people-related value for Russia within which it has used and will intensively utilize of soft power mechanisms.

scholarly journals Digitalization of U. S. Public Diplomacy

2020 ◽  
pp. 432-443
Author(s):  
Natalia A. Tsvetkova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Russian Foreign Policy ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Digital Diplomacy

The methods of qualitative and quantitate analysis are applied in the research in order to discuss new shifts in U. S. public diplomacy. The author concludes that the digital diplomacy, bots, and artificial intellect constitute a new imperative for the U. S. public diplomacy. In addition, the author confirms her previous findings that such notions as “soft power” and “public diplomacy” have been substituted by the “strategic communication” in official documents that implies the priority in the development of propaganda and information campaigns in both traditional and digital public diplomacy. The findings can contribute to the Russian foreign policy.

scholarly journals Soft Power and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: Learning from Experiences of Past Mega-Sporting Event Hosts

تجسير ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-193
Author(s):  
Mehran Haghirian ◽  
Paulino Robles-Gil
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Winter Olympics ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
London 2012 ◽  
The Status ◽  
Continuous Presence ◽  
Soccer Fields

The experiences of past hosts to mega sporting events like the Olympics, or FIFA World Cup games show that there are numerous ways in which countries can be both empowered or disempowered through their pursuit of soft power. Through a selective literature review, this paper uses the relevant soft power experiences of six countries who have hosted either the World Cup or Olympic Games from 2008. The cases include China (Beijing 2008 Olympics), South Africa (2010 World Cup), United Kingdom (London 2012 Olympics), Brazil (2014 World Cup and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics), Russia (Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, and 2018 World Cup), and Japan (Tokyo 2020 Olympics). The paper then considers Qatar’s 2022 World Cup with an angle on applying and adapting the experiences of past hosts to understand the soft empowerment or disempowerment that Qatar will likely face as a result of hosting the games. The numerous international concerns over the situation with migrant workers in Qatar, and the Islamic and cultural norms that are alien to Western audiences, will continue to challenge Qatar’s image management and branding measures. Nevertheless, the commitment to holding the most eco-friendly event, continuous presence on international soccer fields through sponsorships, ownerships, and winning championships, in addition to actively seeking to enhance and alleviate the status of the country on the global stage will help Doha in its soft empowerment endeavors in the period before and during the event. Its pledge and dedication to keeping a long-lasting legacy after December 2022 will also help the State in the post-event phase of soft empowerment.

scholarly journals Soft Power and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

تجسير ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-208
Author(s):  
Thomas Bonnie James
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
International Strategy ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Sports Diplomacy ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
Long Term Impact

A growing body of literature recognizes the significance of soft power in Qatar's foreign policy. There is, however, limited research on the long-term impact that occurs from the over-dependency on the soft power. The popular rhetoric in most literature expresses that Qatar uses its soft power, often in the form of sports diplomacy, to meet its foreign policy objectives. The review paper attempts to identify to what extent the 2022 World Cup can be understood from the soft power perspective, and the role it plays in Qatar's foreign policy formulation and implementation, as well as the significance of soft power in comprehending Qatar's mega investments in the sporting sector. The first section elaborates into sport diplomacy functions and its origins. The second section elaborates on Qatar's involvement with International Sports. The third and arguably the most important section deals with soft power and sports diplomacy. The paper offers an up-to-date review of current studies about Qatar's international strategy for sport, whether for investment and diversification of state revenues or political and policy diplomacy motifs.

In search of a dialogue: Digital di-plomacy of Sweden

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 162-181
Author(s):  
A. N. Marchukov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Constructive Dialogue ◽  
International Image ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The One ◽  
Digital Diplomacy

Digital diplomacy opens up new opportunities for both developed and devel-oping states to promote their international image, clarify their position on current issues, and realize long-term foreign policy aspirations, but it also brings com-pletely new challenges. The chief one among them is establishing a continuous constructive dialogue with the target audience in the virtual space. Facilitation for this dialogue is one of the key priorities of the digital diplomacy of Sweden. The author examines the activities of the key actors of Sweden’s digital diplomacy (the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of Sweden, the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Tourist Association (Svenska Turistföreningen), ‘Visit Sweden’) and identifi es their key features. Particularly, the author emphasizes the government’s readiness to implement innovative and creative methods to promote its media projects. The latter include such projects as ‘The Second House of Sweden’, ‘Curators of Sweden’, and ‘Swedish Number’, which were aimed at improving the quality of communication with the foreign audience. In doing so, the responsible minis-tries and agencies placed a heavy emphasis on promoting a dialogue via social networks between the Swedish offi  cials and representatives of the civil society on the one hand and foreign users on the other. The leading actors of Sweden’s digital diplomacy actively engaged the foreign audience in discussions on the most important issues on the foreign policy agenda of Sweden. This was most clearly demonstrated in media campaigns designed to eliminate discrimination against women and gender-based violence. The author concludes that Sweden has achieved a certain degree of success in establishing a dialogue with the foreign audience, yet this dialogue is not comprehensive enough and still depends on the initiative of individual politicians and diplomats.

South Africa’s Engagement in Sports Diplomacy: The Successful Hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreia Soares e Castro
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
African Continent ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Fifa World Cup ◽  
Mega Events ◽  
Sports Diplomacy ◽  
Policy Goals

Summary This article begins by recognizing the importance of sport in South African history, before turning to South Africa’s vision and strategy, as articulated around and beyond the successful hosting of mega-events, particularly the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup to be held on the African continent. The article suggests that mega-events are an important stage and priority of a broader and longer-term strategy of enhancing South Africa’s soft power, prestige and visibility. In this context, sport and mega-events are important foreign policy tools and have greatly benefited South Africa, the African continent and the international relations system. Using South Africa as a case study, this article explores the concept of sports diplomacy — that is, the use of sports as an instrument for furthering foreign policy goals, causes or interests — and argues that it is a significant and a rising source of soft power.

scholarly journals German "Soft power" Policies in the Muslim World

2015 ◽  
pp. 144-151
Author(s):  
L. R. Rustamova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
German Society ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Active Player ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
The One

In recent years, a number of foreign policy concepts declared the importance of using the instruments of "soft power" to promote the national interests of a country. Soft power is the ability through political values, culture and foreign policy to influence others by forming attractiveness [18]. Germany is generally recognized as the leader in the resources of "soft power." The article discusses what kind of resources are deployed by Germany to increase its "soft power" in the Muslim direction of foreign policy. The Muslim world has its own specifics, which complicate the use of instruments of "soft power." Countries with large Muslim population are difficult to influence, as they differ from Europe in the civilizational respect, have their own customs and traditions which they strictly follow because of the nature of Muslim religion. The author notes that in the Muslim direction of foreign policy the problem for Germany lies in the fact that the formation of its attractiveness resulted in a significant flow of immigration of Muslims in the country. A part of immigrant Muslims tries to live isolated from European society, professes radical currents ofIslam and participates in military conflicts abroad, participation in which in the role of active player is ruled out by Germany. Failure to integrate them into German society and the lack of progress in the formation of its positive image in the Muslim countries resulted, on the one hand, in the split of German society, on the other hand, in the threat of absorption by foreign civilization, as it is observed now in Germany the presence of "soft power" of Muslim countries, which use its former and current citizens to influence German political course. The article was written within the constructivist methodology, which consider the "soft power" as a way of construction of social reality with the use of tangible and intangible resources for the formation of an attractive image of Germany in world politics.

scholarly journals Public diplomacy mechanism of the Russian Federation: areas of focus in the context of analysis of foreign policy concepts of the Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Tat'yana Aleksandrovna Grishanina
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
State Level ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Development Trends ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The One

The subject of this research is the public diplomacy mechanism of the Russian Federation. The goal consists in consideration of the mechanism of functionality of public diplomacy of the Russian Federation based on the framework government documents, reports on the activity of the structures of public diplomacy of the Russian Federation, and expert analytical articles. The author examines the foreign policy concepts of the Russian Federation of 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2016, as well as reveals their structures and areas of focus. Analysis of the discourse of research on the public diplomacy of the Russian Federation allowed determining the gaps and the problematic areas that require further research. The article presents examples of the projects that were implemented in the indicated directions in accordance with the latter concept. In conclusion, the author outlines the development trends of public diplomacy mechanism of the Russian Federation. The mechanism of public diplomacy of the Russian Federation is an ambiguous phenomenon and still in the making. On the one hand, the understanding of “soft power” on the state level has evolved significantly in recent years. Moreover, the author traces the evolution of terminological field of public diplomacy in the official documents, as well as its objectives and development trends. On the other hand, the question of coordinating body within the mechanism of public diplomacy of the Russian Federation remains open and relevant. Attention of researchers is also focused on the actors and level of their engagement into the system, interaction between the elements within and outside the mechanism. At the same time, public diplomacy projects are implemented by the Russian Federation worldwide; they coordinate with the trends set by intergovernmental organizations, and appear to be quite effective with regards to provision of information support. The trend of digitization of international policy poses new challenges for the public diplomacy structures, which would require an evolution in understanding of the concept.

scholarly journals Sport and International Relations: Qatari Soft Power and Foreign Policy Making

تجسير ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-170
Author(s):  
Noof Al-Dosari
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Fifa World Cup ◽  
Sports Diplomacy ◽  
Sports Events ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Realist Analysis

Sport plays a significant role in politics and international relations. However, the relationship between soft power and hosting a sports mega-event such as the Olympic Games, or the FIFA world cup is unclear. Most literature that has examined the role of sport in Qatari soft power adheres to the Realist School of international relations theory. It has tended to emphasize the size of the country in understanding what motivates its engagement in sports diplomacy. This paper attempts to move beyond this realist analysis of soft power by drawing on the post-structuralist –interpretive approach and discourse theory. This perspective better accounts for how sports diplomacy is used in different cultural contexts. In arguing that Qatar represents particular cultural and historical traditions, and sports define the country’s distinct political identity, the paper looks at how Qatar has exercised soft power through sports diplomacy and hosting major international sports events. The paper will analyze formal state discourses surrounding Qatar’s decision to host FIFA World Cup 2022, and we discuss how this use of sports diplomacy is helping achieve several Qatari foreign policy goals.

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