Russia's Soft Power Ambitions. CEPS Policy Brief No. 115, October 2006

Few would think that Russia has ‘soft power’ ambitions, in the sense that the term has come to be associated with the EU’s attempts to achieve change in its wider neighbourhood by means of attraction and incentives rather than through coercion. As revealed in this Policy Brief by CEPS Research Fellow Nicu Popescu, however, the truth is that Russia has begun in earnest to invest in the infrastructure of a soft power. He finds that Russia’s approach to consolidating its political regime and strengthen its dominance among its neighbours is increasingly creative and pro-active