‘Soft Power’ vs Power of Law: Introductory Essay
In this theoretical-analytical essay a prominent Russian scholar, the former director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the corresponding-member of the RAS, Anatoly A. Gromyko examines some pivotal issues of the contemporary world politics. The essay focuses primarily on the use of military force in international relations. The author emphasizes that a strong determination of certain countries to customize the international system according to their own needs and to create a unipolar world, brings in the triumph of the rule of force over the rule of law, creates a threat of local conflicts and even of full-scale wars. The author stresses that these destructive tendencies should be countered with new methods of global governance, aimed at ensuring broad, common goods, instead of dominant powers and transnational corporations’ vested interests. In this context the author pays special attention to the United Nations and to a practical application of innovative doctrines and concepts of international relations, the concept of ‘soft power’, in particular. The author proposes an original interpretation of ‘soft power’ as a special type of power, based on intellectual and cultural heritage of previous generations, moral values, and respect for national identity and traditions of all nations. The essay calls not to reduce the whole variety of international interactions only to military and economic collisions and emphasizes the role of such intangible factors as patriotism and the self-devotion of people. From the author’s point of view, the future not only of international relations but of the entire human civilization depends on the solution of the global governance dilemmas.