Soft Power in Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

This article examines how Uzbekistan converts cultural, educational and diplomatic resources into soft-power effects in Central Asia. The research problem arises from a frequent conceptual substitution: foreign-policy initiatives are often classified as soft power without evidence that foreign audiences perceive them as attractive or legitimate. The study combines conceptual analysis, qualitative document analysis and a structured process-tracing framework. It reviews official strategies and presidential initiatives adopted since 2017 and assesses four channels: cultural heritage, education and societal ties, regional agenda-setting, and institutional communication. The article distinguishes resources, instruments, reception and policy outcomes and proposes indicators for each stage. The findings show that Uzbekistan’s strongest advantage is the alignment between a cooperative regional narrative and practical changes in relations with neighboring states. Shared heritage and geographic centrality expand access to regional audiences, but they do not independently produce influence. Educational networks and inclusive regional diplomacy offer more durable mechanisms because they create repeated interaction and reciprocal benefits. The principal constraints are fragmented coordination, limited audience research, tensions between image and domestic practice, and the risk that leadership claims may be read as hierarchy. Uzbekistan’s soft power is therefore most credible when it supports regional public goods and complements economic and diplomatic capacity rather than replacing them.

Keywords: soft power; Uzbekistan; Central Asia; foreign policy; public diplomacy.