Competing for hearts and minds in today’s multipolar world order

Professor Fabienne Bossuyt (co-PI), University of Gent, Belgium

Professor Natalia Chaban (co-PI), PD-PCF UC/ UC Department of Media and Communication

Dr Karolina Kluczewska (AI), University of Gent, Belgium

John Irgengioro (researcher), University of Gent, Belgium

This interdisciplinary multinational project aims to advance the conceptual and theoretical understanding of soft power in international relations by developing and introducing a comprehensive conceptual and theoretical framework that draws on the novel IR theory of strategic narratives and is as such well-equipped to capture the multi-dimensional nature of soft power in present-day international politics, and to study how and to what extent soft power plays out at the receiving end.  It also aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the effectiveness of China’s, Russia’s and the EU’s soft power in Central Asia, and of how the soft power competition between them plays out at the receiving end.This project is supported by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).  FWO “stimulates and financially supports fundamental scientific research, strategic basic research, clinical scientific research, the purchase of large-scale and medium-scale research infrastructure, and the management of large computing capacity in Flanders”.   Professor Chaban, a co-PI, hosted John Irgengioro at the PD-PCF in February-April 2023.

The PD-PCF leg of the project had several outputs:

A co-authored conference paper:

Irgengioro, J., Bossuyt, F., Chaban, N., Kluzcewska, K. (2023) "Soft power of China, Russia and the EU. Perceptions of students at Kazakhstani top universities", Conference EU in International Affairs (EUIA), Brussels, 4 May 2023.

Series of seminars across New Zealand:

On 8 March 2023, John Irgengioro presented a research seminar at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, to discuss our novel theorization of the soft power concept and detail the empirical findings of the project research on the soft power of Russia, China, and the EU amongst students of top universities of Kazakhstan from survey and focus groups

On 15 March 2023, John Irgengioro presented a research seminar at the Department of Political Science, University of Otago, New Zealand, to discuss his project fieldwork findings on the soft power of Russia, China, and the EU amongst students of top universities of Kazakhstan from survey and focus groups.

On 5 April 2023, John Irgengioro gave a seminar presentation in Auckland (New Zealand) as a guest speaker, at the event co-hosted by the NZ Asia Institute of University of Auckland, Centre for China Studies of the University of Auckland, and Massey University, New Zealand, to discuss his project  fieldwork findings on the soft power of Russia, China, and the EU amongst students of top universities of Kazakhstan from survey and focus groups. 

Roundtable:

On 24 March 2023, John Irgengioro participated as a discussant in a Roundtable co-organized by PD-PCF UC and the UC Department of Media and Communication, titled “Navigating the Uncertain World: Mapping Future Directions in Political Communication”.