Kazakhstan and UK exchange experience in using soft power

LONDON, 6 May 2020 – The British-Kazakh Society (BKS) hosted a webinar devoted to the experience and prospects of using soft power in Kazakh-British relations.

Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK, Paul Brummell, Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (former British Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2005 to 2009), Rowan Kennedy, Director of the British Council Kazakhstan, and Rupert Goodman, Chairman of the BKS, joined the discussion as key speakers.

Joseph Nye, a renowned American political scientist, coined the term “soft power” in the late 1980s, defining it as the ability of a country to influence the behaviour of others through persuasion and cooperation, rather than coercion. According to his theory, soft power is based on three pillars: values, culture, and foreign policy.

Ambassador Idrissov stressed in his speech that the main and ultimate goal of soft power is delivering and promoting global public good and building international trust.

He highlighted that despite its young age and little experience in this field, Kazakhstan was included in the Global Soft Power Index 2020 (58th out of top 60) at the recent first Soft Power Summit in London. The index was compiled by Brand Finance for the first time this year and is a ranking of the most successful countries in this field among more than 100 countries of the world, which is certainly a success for our country.

Speaking about soft power spheres where Kazakhstan made significant progress, the Kazakh diplomat highlighted the country’s active and recognised anti-nuclear position and its consistent efforts in peacekeeping to ensure global and regional peace and stability (e.g. Nagorno-Karabakh, the Iranian nuclear programme, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Turkey, Syria), all of which resulted in building trust among the international community.

To confirm this, Ambassador Idrissov noted that Kazakhstan was the first post-Soviet country to chair the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the first Central Asian state to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE was based on the four “T” principle, standing for Trust, Traditions, Transparency and Tolerance. According to Ambassador Idrissov, the current crisis, confrontation and lack of trust, the spread of the culture of fake news and propaganda instead of positive soft power, mean that all governments need to be guided by these principles in their actions more than ever before.

“Another big area is placing Kazakhstan on the map as an active and reliable new actor, globally and regionally. We are a new society; therefore, we want to project an image of a fast-growing society moving towards building a modern, self-sustained, forward-looking nation,” he said.

Among Kazakhstan’s successful soft power instruments, the Ambassador listed the Astana International Financial Centre, the EXPO 2017 International Specialised Exhibition, the Bolashak international scholarship, as well as such world-famous cultural ambassadors of Kazakhstan as Dimash Kudaibergen, Gennady Golovkin, Marat Bisengaliev and Timur Bekmambetov.

He also drew attention to the Rukhani Zhangyru and Seven Faces of the Great Steppe national programmes which carry a core message of Kazakhstan’s historical roots and aim at bringing to the world the merit and contribution of nomads to the global civilisation, especially their philosophy and culture of “a balance between a human being and nature” which is relevant in light of today’s environmental crisis.

Mr. Brummell spoke in detail about the soft power tools which the UK successfully uses to interact with the rest of the world, promoting British interests and values.

“Soft power is central to the work of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I head a department which is devoted to the theme. Among other things, we sponsor the British Council, we deliver Chevening and Marshall scholarships and we fund the BBC World Service World 2020 Programme,” he said.

He also stressed that the UK’s efforts to effectively use soft power include development assistance. This is defined by some experts as a hard power tool, but the UK has always regarded it as soft power as it supports the UK’s image as a state that acts not only in its own interests, but also in the interests of the common good.

Mr. Kennedy elaborated on the activities of the British Council in promoting friendly relations between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom. He highlighted education, including testing and teaching English, training teachers, and developing social and creative skills among Kazakh population.

“All of our programming aims to bring the UK’s cultural resources to bear to support Kazakhstan’s own development goals, primarily set out in Strategy 2050,” Mr. Kennedy stressed.