COUNTERBALANCING EU AND RUSSIAN SOFT POWER PRACTICES IN GEORGIA
COUNTERBALANCING EU AND RUSSIAN SOFT POWER PRACTICES IN GEORGIA

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the counterbalance of EU and Russian soft powers in Georgia through identifying the main strategies, frameworks, tools and the domains of operation. The analysis is done on macro and micro levels by exploring the counterbalance within political, economic, cultural and educational spheres and simultaneously scrutinizing the fluctuations of public attitudes towards the EU and Russia in Georgia. Via the detached conceptualization of Soft Power, the study illustrates foreign interest frameworks and consequences of the soft power practices on the two levels of analysis. Cultural domain appears to be the most vulnerable vis-à-vis Russian soft power presence, paving the way to the political influence further illustrated by the alterations in public attitudes.Whereas for the EU, economics and education are the spheres where soft power is best revealed and public attitudes are affected respectively too. Georgian political establishment has been stable in providing legitimization and legal frameworks for the EU presence through the mentioned fields. The influential power of Russian cyber and media tools and anti-Western myths that counterbalance EU soft power on a micro level are closely examined throughout the study.

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