«Soft power» strategies in conditions of global competition

Abstract

Background. In conditions of unprecedented aggravation of competition in the 21^st century for strategic markets for goods and services, the practice of introducing not only traditional open methods but also latent ones for promoting national goods and brands on foreign markets, including strategies of so-called «soft power», is becoming more widespread.
Analysis of recent research and publications. Despite the wide range of research on the issue of «soft power», the most of them are characterized by political and cultural dimension. Publications on the economic consequences of using «soft power»resources mostly focus on their individual elements and components.
The aim of this article is to assess the potential impact of «soft power»strategies onto strengthening the position of countries in global trade and economic competition and to evaluate some successful international regulatory practices based on «soft power»strategies as the part of a system of latent external expansion.
Materials and methods. The information base for the study were scientific publications of foreign and domestic scientists, data of analytical services and international rankings. The combinatorics of the institutional approach and the Case method were used to assess the results of the implementation of «soft power»strategies into the regulatory practice of individual states.
Results. The article identifies the channels of impact of «soft power»strategies onto strengthening the position of countries in the global trade and economic environment. Some successful international regulatory practices for the implementation of «soft power»strategies in the system of state regulation have been assessed.
Conclusion. The generalization of the results of the international rankings of the TOP-10 countries of the world testifies to the dominance of traditional leaders –countries from the group of the so-called Golden Billion. The use of Case method approaches to the latest strategic priorities of China, Japan and Turkey allows us to assess the focus of national rebranding programs on modernizing the economies of these countries and their external sector, achieving balance between import dependence and export orientation during the post-industrial challenges.