“Soft power“ as a factor of Russian power

Abstract

Developing the state?s ability to project ?soft power? is becoming a specialty of all major players in the international arena. it is an integrative part of foreign policy with long-term goals and with its cultural, ideological, political or humanitarian resources it offers an attraction to the country towards which it is directed. There is a theoretical agreement between American and Russian authors about the potential contents of ?soft power?. The concept of ?soft power? given by Professor Nye (Joseph Nye) was also accepted by Russian academics. However, in the practice of ?soft power?, Russia is below the level of the USA, China and the European Union, except in the sphere of humanitarian action. Although humanitarian cooperation is implemented in a very broad scope, for the purposes of this work, a narrower interpretation will be applied, which implies immediate humanitarian aid, humanitarian operations and actions carried out in situations of natural and man-made disasters, humanitarian crises and armed conflicts. its uniqueness lies primarily in the specificity of Russia?s national security system and the existence of the powerful Ministry for Emergency Situations and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural and Man-made Disasters, which offers a wide range capabilities for the needs of international humanitarian cooperation. in the paper, the Serbian-Russian humanitarian center will be shown in particular, as a good example of humanitarian cooperation, but also a projection of the ?soft power? of Russia.