The research problem of this publication is one of the key issues of theory and practice of the contemporary international relations, that is, the impact of a given subject on its surroundings in order to change it in accordance with its own preferences. The analysis has been made based on the example of the European Union which exploits the resources of soft power understood as the system of values, cultural identity and political activities undertaken towards the Eastern Partnership states. Simultaneously, a controversial issue of political and cultural effectiveness of the European Union has been discussed - identified as its soft power in the activities involving the eastern neighbourhood in the post-Soviet region.
The main assumption constituting the general thesis of the publication is the view that soft power is of key importance in the policy of the European Union in relation to the indicated region. This finds its reflection not only at the stage of conceptualization of an approach to the sensitive neighbourhood, but also in its implementation. The introduction of such a policy, also resulting from the lack of well-functioning hard power background, mainly manifests in the use of non-power and non-compulsory instruments.
The research problem recognized in this way is multi-dimensional. Firstly, it focuses on the dynamics of power in the contemporary international relationships, and more specifically, on the growth of its soft components. Secondly, it concerns the hybrid subject: the European Union as a normative, civil or peaceful power studied in the period when it has to struggle with the difficulties of its present and future functioning. Thirdly, the problem touches the post- Soviet area facing the complex intra-national processes determined by the changeable geopolitical influences resulting in the status of the international order, especially in its European space.
The three-layer approach to the research problem has been adapted. Soft power is thus analyzed as: 1) the concept of acting (the layer of thought), 2) the type of political practice (empirical layer), 3) the subject of research. Soft power is interpreted as not only as a sphere of reality with its implementation in the scope of the European Union but also as a research instrument. Thus, the paper separates the elements being close to each other. The term of soft power has been used as an idea combining the whole of the research work, a sort of theoretical skeleton and conceptualization of the European Union policy towards the Eastern Partnership states.
On the other hand, soft power is recognized as the method of conduct and implementation of foreign policy by the European Union in practice. The European Union, as an exceptional organization, in the realm of international relationships bases majority of its activities on the soft instruments such as: spread of values and rules of the international law, leadership in the area of knowledge and communication, conduct of multilateral diplomacy, developmental and humanitarian aid, developing political and economic cooperation, etc. Thus, the approach of soft power becomes a part of the mainstream of the search of the European Union uniqueness in the international space. It has the biggest and the most general term capacity among other theories (civil, normative and transformational power). Due to this, it constitutes a unique common denominator for the whole group of related research approaches to the phenomenon of the European Union as it accurately includes characteristic features of its foreign policy.
Moreover, soft power in this paper is treated as a separate subject of research, which for a long time has been a subject of analysis by numerous theoreticians of international relationships. The term of soft power is not a new phenomenon, however, lately it has been more and more frequently applied to explain processes in theory and practice. It is strictly connected with trans-national and liberal stream in the theory of international relationships. Currently, researchers pay more attention to the resources of soft power and “soft” behavior of state subjects as well as specific subjects such as non-governmental and international organizations (the European Union) in international relationships.
The basic aim of this monograph is the analysis of soft power of a unique subject, that is the European Union in its policy towards the states of the Eastern Partnership. The detailed aims involve: identification of priorities, potential and resources, as well as spatial range and instruments. In the empirical dimension – the exercise and effects of soft power in the policy of the European Union with special attention paid to effectiveness and limitations of its use. The prospects determining the directions of the evolution of soft power in the EU policy in the discussed region are the complementation of aims formulated in this way.
The core constitutes theoretical determinations concerning the subject matter of soft power in international relationships. The term of soft power has been defined in order to achieve this. The parameters of soft power have been also further clarified: its sources, administrators, resources and forms and methods of its use. It shall be noted that the evolution of power is strictly correlated with the changes in the international environment, which in a way creates the background for the implementation of power. In order to clarify the parameters of soft power and the full picture of its use, the reasons generating its evolution have been analyzed.
Furthermore, the book also identifies the potential of the European Union as a unique hybrid structure using soft power. The attempt has been made to answer a question what kind of power the European Union remains when taking into considerations the changes that have taken place in the area of international relationships and processes of the European integration in both theoretical and practical aspect. Finally, in the context of the use of soft power, the analysis has been made concerning the attributes, or resources of attractiveness of soft power of the European Union as a specific actor, and particularly the manifestations of its implementation in the foreign policy. According to J. S. Nye’s classification, they involve: European values and culture and foreign policy implemented on the basis of these values and principles.
In this publication, the analysis of the specifics of the subject of soft power use by the European Union has been also made concerning the geopolitical area of six states embraced by the initiative of the Eastern Partnership. The starting point was to determine the policy of the European Union towards the region involving the aims, assumptions and reasons of the EU interest in this part of Europe. The use of soft power is undoubtedly one of these elements. The priority here was not mere study concerning the indicated area but rather what is characteristic for this area from the perspective of soft power preferred by the European Union. The analysis of instruments and forms of the use of soft power of the European Union towards the states of the Eastern Partnership has led to the evaluation of effectiveness, that is the ability to adapt to the EU influence by the states – addresses. The intention behind this idea was to identify the factors determining the efficiency of the EU soft power – as “the power of patterns” in the region. The factors which weaken the EU soft power have also received some attention in the book. They mainly involve those which stem from the external environment – especially the policy of Russia while the second group consists of internal factors resulting from overlapping crises undermining the attractiveness of the European integration. The final analysis concerns the prospects of further directions of evaluation, potential trends and tendencies conditioning the future soft power of the European Union in the region.