Volodymyr Kaluha
Doctor of Philosophy, Full Professor, Department of International Relations and Social Sciences, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine; ORCID: 0000-0003-4744-826X
Yuliia Kostiuk
First-year Master’s Student, Faculty of Humanities and Pedagogy, University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine
DOI:
Abstract. The article examines the concept of soft power as a multifaceted factor influencing contemporary global politics, especially under conditions of existential threats such as war. It explores the causal links between societal demands that, in times of crisis, become drivers of political processes, and analyses the main tools of soft power application in this context, notably informational means of manipulative rationalisation of irrational causality. The authors reconsider theoretical approaches to non-coercive levers of influence, including Clausewitz’s trinity and Adam Smith’s invisible hand, drawing analogies between the role of chance and the interplay of military, economic, and soft power. The concept of soft power is compared with three related categories: hard power as its antithetical, coercive counterpart; sticky power as the author’s original term describing an influence that penetrates the ‘cracks’ of human nature by exploiting weaknesses perceived as personal strengths, thus capturing the subject from within, often without resistance or awareness; and command power (or smart power) as a hybrid that combines hard and soft elements to achieve strategic objectives. The study emphasises the dual nature of soft power as both an instrument of influence and a means of recognising the significance of the human and subjective factors in global transformations. It argues that understanding soft power beyond moral dichotomies allows for an alternative view of contemporary phenomena, free from imposed assessments, and highlights its function in shaping attitudes, decisions, and behaviours through information warfare and manipulation. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of soft power within the broader framework of geopolitical shifts.
Keywords: soft power, world politics, manipulation, war.
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