Soft power' in German politology and public service

Abstract

There is a strong opinion that the ‘soft power' is actively used in the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany. In other words, one would expect this notion to be analyzed in detail in the works of the German politologists, and the concept of the author of this notion (Joseph Nye) to get substantial theoretical development. However, contrary to the tradition formed in the Russian political science to refer imperatively to the founder of this concept, there is a lack of interest to the concept of ‘soft power' of Joseph Nye in the works of the German scientists resulting in rare mention, absence of the Germanization of the term, as well as negative attitude. In the Federal Republic of Germany, which actively uses the tools of the ‘soft power' in its foreign policy, political scientists have developed their own concept. Having analyzed the publications of the German researchers, the author states that the German conception of the ‘civilian power' is largely based on the writings of the classical German philosophers, which makes it focused on the moral component of the policy. That is, in the opinion of the author, one of the reasons that the concept of ‘civilian power' did not and could not become the basis for the development of foreign policy concepts in other countries. Whereby the German foreign policy can be described in terms of ‘soft power', which indicates that for this concept there may exist philosophical foundations different from the used by Joseph Nye. The concept ‘civilian power' comprises specific self - consciousness and setting of the foreign politic objectives, choice of the strategy and implementation tools. The incitement for the development of this concept was the fear for the revival of the military power of Germany, emerged outside the Federal Republic of Germany after unification of the country in 1990