{"podcast":{"title":"The IR thinker","slug":"the-ir-thinker-6691770","podcast_index_feed_id":6691770,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/irthinker","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/cover/1700230788592-f97a89c769205262be6d5629fc306022.jpeg","author":"Martin Zubko","episode_count":122,"summary":"The IR thinker features in-depth interviews with leading experts in international relations. The IR thinker is an independent, non-partisan and non-aligned platform. It hosts a wide range of perspectives on international relations but does not endorse any political party, government or ideological position. Since its first episode in 2023, The IR thinker has produced more than 100 episodes as a pro bono initiative established by Martin Zubko, an international relations scholar and lecturer. Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770"},"episode":{"title":"Russian Soft Power in Africa, Asia & the Middle East - Vladimir Liparteliani | Ep. 9 (2026)","slug":"russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-the-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani-ep-9-2026","published_at":"2026-04-21T08:44:06+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-the-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani-ep-9-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770","url":"https://www.irthinker.com/russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914/e/69e738d7d2febdbec9bdec40/media.mp3","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…","meta_description":"How does a country under heavy sanctions continue to win influence across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia? In this episode, Vladimir Liparteliani unpack…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3650,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ir-thinker-6691770/episodes/russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-the-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani-ep-9-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/russian-soft-power-in-africa-asia-the-middle-east-vladimir-liparteliani-ep-9-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}