Episode
Russian Soft Power in Africa, Asia & the Middle East - Vladimir Liparteliani | Ep. 9 (2026)
- Podcast
- The IR thinker
- Published
- Apr 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3650
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.irthinker.com/russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani
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Summary
How does a country under heavy sanctions continue to win influence across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia? In this episode, Vladimir Liparteliani unpacks the full machinery of Russian soft power — from RT and Sputnik to educational diplomacy, cultural outreach, and religious projection. Vladimir Liparteliani is an associate fellow at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University. As a scholar of international relations, he focuses on soft power and international power competition in the post-Soviet space. Selected Publications: Soft Power Competition Between Russia and the West: Contesting Georgian National Identity, 1991–2024 The Art of Subtle Influence: Russian Soft Power and Georgia’s Conservative Turn Content 00:00 — Introduction 01:37 — Conceptualising Russian Soft Power: Beyond Nye’s Classical Framework 05:58 — Russian Scholarly Perspectives on Soft Power 07:10 — Soft Power, Strategic Communication, and Influence Operations in Russian Foreign Policy 08:42 — Strategic Ambiguity: The ‘Blurriness’ of Russian Soft Power 09:23 — Great Power Identity and the Logic of Russian Soft Power 11:53 — Soviet Legacies and Their Influence on Contemporary Russian Soft Power 14:21 — International Broadcasting as Soft Power: RT and Sputnik 18:22 — Narratives and Messaging in RT and Sputnik Content 20:52 — Global Accessibility and Restrictions on RT and Sputnik 23:02 — Educational Diplomacy in Russian Foreign Policy 26:22 — Education as a Soft Power Instrument 28:41 — The Experience of International Students in Russia 30:22 — Cultural Diplomacy and the Projection of Russian Culture 34:13 — Global Reception and Participation in Russian Cultural Initiatives 36:54 — The Russian Orthodox Church and Religious Soft Power 41:15 — Narrative Effectiveness and Audience Rece…