Abstract
The article analyzes the perspectives of Russia’s soft power in the Balkans. The Russian Federation has longstanding historical, political, cultural and economic ties to the Balkan region. Therefore, being free of a one-sided ideological approach that hampered the usage of soft power by the USSR during the Cold War era, Russia stands at the crossroads as to how best to use it’s great potential for peaceful diplomacy and influence in the Western Balkans. The article will provide an analysis of the achievements of the Russian Federation in regards to extending it’s influence in the Western Balkans, but also the downsides of it’s foreign policy. The analysis will encompass several Western Balkan states and their ties to Russia in terms of soft power: Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article raises the question: whether Russia can withstand the struggle for influence over the Balkans with it’s greatest rivals in the region - the United States and the EU? The author concludes that it depends largely on the various approaches and methods used by Russian diplomacy and the level of funding of various projects that can be used to extend Russia’s cultural influence in the Balkan peninsula.
Highlights
In order to properly present the research and analysis in the article, it is necessary to provide the theoretical structure on which this work is based upon
The introduction will consist of three parts: 1. the theoretical part, 2. the defining part, 3. the general analysis of the problem
While his later works deal mostly with the problems of how to better implement and use soft power as a means of reaching some state’s political or economic goals, his earlier works provide the theoretical framework of said term
Summary
The Perspectives of Russia’s Soft Power in the Western Balkans Region. В статье анализируются перспективы мягкой силы России на Балканах. Будучи свободной от одностороннего идеологического подхода, который препятствовал использованию мягкой силы СССР в эпоху холодной войны, Россия стоит перед выбором относительно того, как наилучшим образом использовать свой огромный потенциал для мирной дипломатии и влияния на Западных Балканах.
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