The "soft power" of the United States as an instrument of foreign policy in the European direction on the example of the French Republic (2016-2021).

Abstract

Subject of the study: the soft power of the United States in relation to the French Republic.The object of the study is the US-EU relations during the presidency of Donald Trump.For this study, the most relevant research methods are the retrospective method, which allows us to assess the changes that have occurred in D. Trump's foreign policy course towards Europe after his inauguration. Taking into account that the work focuses on the content of cultural, educational and other American programs implemented in Europe on the example of the French Republic, the method of content analysis was used. Among other things, a systematic approach was used in conducting research. The presidency of Donald Trump really had an ambiguous, in some aspects destructive effect on the development of a "soft-power" vector in American foreign policy. Despite the fact that, de jure, the US military departments called in the documentation for the leading role of the European Union in ensuring global security and maintaining NATO's activities, de facto, Trump's rhetoric undermined the traditionally friendly attitude of Europeans towards the United States. Since the perception of "attractiveness" is a key element of "soft-power" influence, the results of this study give grounds for the following conclusions. In the period from 2016 to 2021, American influence on Europe was weakened not only by provocative statements and actions regarding NATO funding, contradictions on trade and economic agreements and problems with the Paris Climate Agreement, but also by the elaboration of the cultural and educational vector of foreign policy. Thus, by 2021, the United States had a weakened influence on the French Republic, which allowed the French side to strengthen its influence on American students and strengthen its own position in the American intellectual and managerial environment. The novelty of the study: US foreign policy is studied from the position of soft-power influence on France in the context of intra-bloc interaction in NATO.