Soft Power in French Foreign Policy

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How can a country reinforce its position in the world community? What determines national potential of power? What is the "golden ticket" to the elitist club of the most powerful states which set the world's agenda? The exact answer to these questions does not exist, because there are no written rules or instructions "how to get the power and authority worldwide". However, as far back as in XIXth century, everybody could answer the question "how to become a superpower". And the response would be evident: to beat another superpower. In those times the place of the state in the world highly depended on its military force. Last few decades have seen dramatic changes in the structure of international relations and the balance of power. One of the most significant factors underlying these alterations was an intensification of globalisation processes. Growing interconnectedness and interdependence became determinant in policy-making. That factor assured relative world stability: there was no "big" war since World War II. Thus, military power has become a state passive, which, however, does not reduce its importance. At the same time, during XXth century the influence of an economic component of power was rising. Moreover, in the second part of XXth century countries started attaching more significance to their image and reputation. All these components differ by their methods of implementation and the way they influence other countries. That idea was suggested by American political scientist J. Nye who divided the concept of power into two types: "hard" power and "soft" power. According to this classification military and economic elements are included into "hard" power, since they both involve compelling aspect: with "hard" power s... ... middle of paper ... ...culturelle [Book]. - Paris : La Documentation française, 1996. 18. Roche F. La diplomatie culturelle dans les relations bilatérales [Online] // Sens Public. Revue Web. - http://www.sens-public.org/spip.php?article235&lang=fr. 19. Rubinsky Y.I. Speak French [Online] // Russian International Affairs Council. - April 2013. - http://russiancouncil.ru/inner/?id_4=1647#top. 20. Shishkin, D.P., Zhuravleva, N.N. Main Approaches to Determine Cultural Component of the Country Image [Book Section] // Image of the Country/Region: modern approach. New Ideas in Theory and Practice of Communication / авт. книги Gavra D.P.. - Saint-Petersburg : Roza Mira, 2009. 21. Védrine H. La réorganisation du réseau culturel français en Allemagne [Online] // Documents. Revue du Dialoque Franco-Allemagne. - http://www.dokumente-documents.info/uploads/tx_ewsdokumente/doc_dossier_2001_2.pdf.

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