Russian soft power in Ukraine: A structural perspective
Open Access
- 4 October 2017
- journal article
- Published by University of California Press in Communist and Post-Communist Studies
- Vol. 50 (4), 277-287
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2017.09.001
Abstract
In this article, I adopt a structural approach to Russian soft power, switching focus from the supposed agent of power (Russia), towards the subjects of power (Ukrainians). I outline the applicability of this approach to empirical studies into soft power, demonstrating how soft power can be examined from bottom-up, discursively-focused perspectives. The empirical analysis then traces how Ukrainians (do not) link their self-identities to discursive understanding of “Russia”. Reviewing recent insights into the relationship between soft power and affect, I argue that Ukrainians’ cultural, historical and linguistic ties with Russia often lack necessary emotional force to generate meaningful soft power.Keywords
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