Political contexts of the "soft power", cultural and educational diplomacy of the european countries through channels of local-global interactions

Abstract

The use of "soft power" as the set of extensive organizational and project tools by the conventional bodies of the European Union and leading European countries (Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain) for informal promotion of their national interests and common European values in third countries, including Russia, is being examined. Existence of the EU as itself in the comprehensive configuration and with the current ideological principles serves not so much as an example and a role model but as an object of aspiration of both the political elites of non-EU countries and their ordinary population. Despite the notorious disagreements among some of its members on certain political issues EU demonstrates solidarity in adherence to the principles, norms and rules developed over decades for socio-economic and cultural-humanitarian integration. Considered national language programs, cultural and educational initiatives have a common feature that the studied foreign language fully reflects the life of its “native” land. Moreover, textbooks and teaching aids in most cases contain value orientations of the people or value agenda of the whole country. All of them are designed to train foreigners in a variety of majors: as a result, most exchange students participate therein for their capabilities expansion, personal capital increasement and possible further employment in the country of study, based on the expected high level of income and everyday life. Conclusion is drawn about the disproportion of the significant resources directed by individual European states and the central EU bodies to promote common European cultural and political values, and the relatively modest efforts of the Russian government to expand the “global” Russian world towards the “local” areas which historically and civilizationally gravitate to Russia.