Issue ? 50. June 2015

'Soft Power' of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: Myths and Reality

Ph.D., Consul General of the Russian Federation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Counsellor Minister.
E-mail: consrio@yandex.ru

The article deals with the characteristic features of the “soft power” formation in the foreign policy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV) since President Hugo Chávez have taken power in 1999 — based on rich hydrocarbon resources, Bolivarian integration ideology and construction of the “socialism of the XXI century”. Analyzing the strong and weak points of “soft” diplomacy of the BRV, during Chávez’s presidency and after his death and his successor Nicolás Maduro assuming power, the author comes to the conclusion about the ambiguous process of establishing of the country’s own institutional “soft power” design which is considerably different from traditional, classic (western and alternative) standards and formats, which predetermines the need for a thorough research and analysis of this phenomenon from various viewpoints, including the context of Russian foreign policy interests.

Keywords

Venezuela, “soft power”, president Chávez, energy policy, Bolivarian integration, ALBA, “socialism of the XXI century”, diplomacy, informational-propagandistic, anti-Americanism, independence, solidarity, opposition.