The EU and UK “Soft Power” and Public Diplomacy in the Central Asia’s Countries

Introduction. Several major international actors have demonstrated interest in the Central Asian region at different times: the USA, Russia, the EU, Turkey, Great Britain, and also China. It is worth noting that before the UK left the European Union in 2020, it was possible to talk about the EU’s public diplomacy as the main actor, despite the fact that London took some steps to expand its own influence in the region. Brexit has led to the activation of autonomous British “soft power” in the Central Asian region. The changing geopolitical situation that arose after the events of February 2022, as well as the security threats that arose as a result of the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan in 2021, have created new challenges in the region, which at the same time have become opportunities for the Central Asian countries to become regional political players in their own right. For the United Kingdom, as well as for the European Union, today, in the context of the sanctions policy towards the Russian Federation, the priority remains the search for new and improvement of existing transport routes bypassing the Russian Federation. 2022 and 2023 were characterized by the intensification of contacts between the heads of state of Central Asia and the leaders of the EU and Great Britain. Building a high-level dialogue reflects the growing geostrategic importance of Central Asia against the backdrop of serious global transformations and world events. For this reason, the study, analysis and differentiation of the instruments of “soft power” and public diplomacy of the European Union and the United Kingdom in Central Asia seems very relevant. Within the framework of this article, a comparative analysis of the programs and projects of public diplomacy and “soft power” of the EU and Great Britain in the Central Asian region was also carried out, taking into account the country criterion. The results of the study include a reasoned definition of the most priority instruments of “soft power” of the two abovementioned actors.