Russia's soft power ambitions

By Nicu Popescu - 02.11.2006 / 00:00 CET

The European Union thinks of itself as a ‘soft power', which in Joseph Nye's definition is the “ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion” and this power can “be cultivated through relations with allies, economic assistance and cultural exchanges”. But few would think that Russia has soft power ambitions as well. The truth is that Russia has started to invest in the infrastructure of a soft power. It is developing a new ideology of ‘sovereign democracy' and tools to ensure ideological dominance in its near abroad.

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