“The Soft Power” of Small Countries: Kosovo Challenges and Potentials based on the Experience of Switzerland and Slovenia

• Main Author: MA. Gjenis Haxhimehmeti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Felix-Verlag 2015-12-01
• Series: ILIRIA International Review
• Subjects: soft power; public diplomacy; Kosovo; Switzerland; Slovenia; international relations
• Online Access: http://iliriapublications.org/index.php/iir/article/view/23

In the period of globalization when a big number of actors are involved in international relations, there is a need for smaller countries to be focused in a specific field in order to be successful in their foreign politics. The soft power with its increased importance is attracting academic circuits and those directly involved in foreign politics of different countries. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness among compilers and executers of foreign politics in Kosovo on the capacities that Kosovo has to achieve a success in foreign politics by the soft power. The goal can be achieved by the use of many scientific methods like: analytical – interpretive method, hermeneutic one, comparative method all of them having a holist approach to the topic. To have a better and more understandable output the study is focused in concrete examples of Switzerland and Slovenia as a potential topic to be elaborated due to the fact that in the past the states of Western Balkan didn’t pay that much attention the use of soft power in foreign politics. Instead they used the forms of classical diplomacy that resulted with not that good image of the region. Achievements of Switzerland and Slovenia by using an efficient soft power, could be a good example for Kosovo. In this case, being a crucial need, Kosovo can benefit by applying the soft power in the foreign policy.