Russia's ranking in global soft power index falls amid war

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Russia's war on Ukraine has had a negative impact on its global reputation and soft power, according to the Global Soft Power Index 2023.

Soft power refers to a nation's ability to influence others through non-coercive means, such as culture, values, and foreign policy.

"While Russia’s familiarity and influence have gone up because of the impact that its decision to go to war has had on lives the world over, the nation’s Reputation has been severely damaged. Russia’s Reputation ranking in the study, one of the main determinants of soft power, has fallen from 23rd to an abysmal 105th resulting in a soft power score erosion of -1.3 points and causing it to drop out of the Index’s overall top 10 ranking, down to 13th," the study showed.

Ukraine has seen the “strongest soft power improvement” among all "121 nation brands," it said. The country’s place in the index jumps 14 ranks up to 37th from 51st the previous year due to increased familiarity and influence, according to the study.

The US, UK and Germany maintained their top three spots in the ranking.

China retained "future growth potential" although it dropped in the ranking from 4th in 2022 to 5th in 2023, overtaken by Japan, amid a "zero COVID" policy.

The United Arab Emirates entered the top 10 as the first nation from the Middle East, which is likely due to the country's successful hosting of EXPO 2020 and its anticipation of COP 28.

"While nations have turned to soft power to restore trade and tourism after a devastating health crisis, the world order has been disrupted by the hard power of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An event that would be hard to believe were it not for the intensity of the images we have been seeing for months and the consequences the conflict is having on politics and the economy alike," said David Haigh, the chairman and CEO of brand evaluation consultancy Brand Finance.

The Global Soft Power Index by Brand Finance is a survey-based annual research study on perceptions of nation brands, capturing the opinions of over 100,000 worldwide on 120 nation brands.