On December 6, 2016, guest speaker, Marie Curie Fellow and PRIMO Early Stage Researcher at Middle East Technical University, addressed a PeaceTalk: Young Scholar Series seminar at Bilkent University and made a presentation entitled “The Importance of Being Soft: Russian Soft Power Identity Narratives”.
In her presentation Ambrosetti touched upon one of the most problematic issues faced by soft power scholars, namely, whether Nye’s neoliberal concept of soft power is Western-centric, as she explored the complexity of applying the concept to non-Western, illiberal countries or to rising powers. To that end, taking Russia as a case study and based on a triangular relationship between soft power, identity, and discourse, she explained Russia’s soft power through its three main identity narratives: the multilateralist, the conservative power, and the elder brother. She concluded by giving details on how these narratives have very different effects depending on where they are employed, whether in the West or in the neighborhood.
