Language and culture centers as instruments of soft policy of global actors
Soft policy is by far the most effective long-term tool for promoting the national interests of state actors, among whose mechanisms are actively used a network of centers / institutions / funds for the dissemination of language and culture abroad. Initiatives to create such centers strictly correspond to the desire of states to maintain and expand their influence in the world in certain historical conditions. At this stage, the China is seeking to expand the network of Confucius Institutes, similar to the Cervantes Institutes, Goethe Institutes, British Council, the Alliance of Francaise or the “Russian World”, which indicates Beijing’s global strategic interests.