Russian Soft Power in Eastern Ukraine, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia

Everyone is familiar with war, threats, and other hard power strategies that countries pursue to get what they want. Hard power strategies are obvious when bullets and missiles are fired, but it is far more difficult to understand how countries garner support without using weapons. Military power is of course important in maintaining and advancing a country’s global political position but is not the only way a country can hold influence. This paper will look at a different kind of foreign policy strategy, the use of soft power in frozen conflict zones. Specifically, this paper will identify, analyze, and evaluate the use of Russian soft power in the breakaway regions of Ukraine and Georgia: Donbass (or Eastern Ukraine), Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. This senior thesis will argue that Russian soft power has been effective in achieving its strategic goals by actively opposing another nation’s soft power.Melanie and Phillippe Radley Scholarship FundNo embargoAcademic Major: International StudiesAcademic Major: Russia