Comparative Analysis of American and Russian Types of Soft Power in the Arab Region On the Example of the Kingdom of Morocco

Ismailov Samir An independent researcher. Lecturer of the IB discipline 'Global Politics'. Master of Political Science 53 Yuzhnoye Shosse str., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 192241 sam23ismailov@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Introduction:

Throughout history, relations between Western countries and the Arab world have been difficult. The problems of recognizing a Palestinian state, American military interventions in the Arab region, and the different ideals and values that are being promoted in the West and in the Arab world are all just a small step into the complex relations between the two regions.

The concept of soft power suggests that force in international relations does not necessarily represent a coercive nature. The concept of soft power promotes the idea that a state can achieve its foreign policy goals through attractiveness rather than coercion. Joseph Nye, an American political scientist who introduced the concept of soft power into political science, emphasized that soft power is based on the idea of attracting and persuading, not forcing ^{[1, 95]}.

The concept of soft power, which was originally developed by Joseph Nye, obviously suffers from the liberal-Western angle of analysis, since Nye himself did not consider non-Western values as attractive. In his opinion, only liberal values such as democracy, freedom of speech, and individual freedoms can produce soft power ^{[2, 6-9]}.

On the other hand, soft power can and should be considered as a socially constructed concept, since according to the theory of cultural relativity, each country has its own culture with ideals, norms and values that have evolved over the centuries ^{[3, 79-80]}. It is for this reason that it is difficult to accept the idea that exclusively liberal values can be attractive, since many other cultures do not share Western ideals.

As a comparison, we can cite the Russian model of soft power, which focuses on the values of family and social harmony, traditional relations, and protection of the feelings of believers.^[4]

Thus, it can be seen that each state imbues its soft power with values that have been shaped throughout its history.

So, based on the information analyzed above, it will be interesting to study how American values, which form the soft power of countries not only the United States, but also the global West as a whole, are perceived in the Arab world in comparison with Russian values. To conduct a comparative analysis, the country from the Arab world is the Kingdom of Morocco, where the survey for this article was conducted.

The scientific novelty of the article is due to two factors: firstly, the concept of soft power has not yet been studied in political science from the point of view of constructivist theory. Secondly, there are not many studies in the Russian literature devoted to the analysis of various models of soft power in the Arab world in general and in the Kingdom of Morocco in particular.

As the purpose of the study, we will have to analyze why American soft power values in the Arab world are ineffective in comparison with Russian ideals and norms.

To achieve the main purpose of the article, a number of interviews with free answers to open questions were conducted with 25 respondents from Morocco. The respondents were selected according to the following criteria: a) people between the ages of 18 and 65; b) they live in Morocco; c) both men and women must be represented. The research mainly used the methods of standardized individual interviews to obtain information and basic information. Then control interviews were also conducted to clarify the information. The set of interviews that were conducted to collect and analyze information was conducted between October 2023 and June 2024. Then the comparative analysis method was used to examine the data and summarize the results.

The main part:

First of all, the interview participants from Morocco were asked to compare the influence of American and Russian cultures in their country. The respondents stated that the American influence in Morocco is felt much more than the Russian one. However, they also emphasized that through economic and cultural relations, the United States seeks to change Arab culture, society, and people, making them secular and more "Western people." According to the people interviewed, Western politicians do this because they believe that Westerners are superior to Arabs, and therefore they are convinced that they can tell them how to live when it is absolutely wrong and unacceptable. This explanation given by the respondents highlights the concept of American ethnocentrism, which, according to the respondents, is imposed on people from Morocco ^{[5, 428-430]}.

The concept of Orientalism, introduced into political science by researcher Edward Said ^{[6, 197]}, also plays a special role in this perception. Said developed the concept of Orientalism as a concept that constructs the "East" as opposed to the "West." For example, Oriental people can be characterized by Western media as exotic, emotional, retarded, hedonistic, irrational, etc. This contrasts with the more positive attributes usually associated with the West, such as rationality, masculinity, civility, and modernity.

Continuing the topic, the majority of the Moroccans surveyed gave an example of American films that emphasize the superiority of American culture over Arab culture. Many Moroccan respondents emphasized that Arabs are often portrayed as uneducated barbarians in Western films. On top of that, many respondents stressed that they sometimes get upset when they see American films about U.S. military interventions in the Arab region, where American soldiers are portrayed as victims. This disappointment is palpable, so it is wrong to underestimate how Western, especially American films, reinforce anti-Western feelings in the Arab region in general and in Moroccan society in particular. It can also be noted that in his article, Moroccan author Driss Ridouani ^{[7, 4-12]} also argues and provides examples of how the Arab people are portrayed in a negative light in Western films and media, which makes Arabs feel inferior compared to Western people and culture.

At the same time, the majority of respondents stated that they do not feel any cultural imposition or ethnocentrism on the part of Russia. Moreover, the Moroccans surveyed tend to agree with the anti-colonial rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the Russian President promotes the idea of widespread American neocolonialism in the world and the need to combat it.^[8]

Regarding the political legitimacy of their Government, Moroccan respondents agreed that the political legitimacy of Moroccan political power is linked to economic and social development, not democracy and civil liberties. The general opinion was that the first necessity for people is to have the right and opportunities for a high—quality socio-economic life. They also stressed that they strongly dislike the promotion of democracy that Western countries, in particular the United States, are trying to impose on them, including through military interventions, since for many Arab peoples it is a tradition to have a king, just as it is haram not to respect or openly criticize the king.

The respondents explicitly emphasized that God, the country and the king are their main values. The interests of society always come first for Moroccans, not the interests of individuals, as social harmony and faith in the family are their core values. According to the respondents, in Western countries, especially in the USA, there are other values in this regard (secularism of power and individualism). In contrast to the values of the United States, Moroccan respondents were very positive about Russian values. The majority of respondents stated that Russian values and culture are closer to them, since Russian society is also based on respect for religious feelings, morality, public interests and spiritual values.

Also, during the interviews, the topic of American educational institutions located in the Kingdom of Morocco was raised. The majority of Moroccan respondents criticized American schools (for example, George Washington Academy) primarily for not teaching such important subjects as Arabic and Islamic Studies, which are the cornerstones of Moroccan society. Respondents claimed that by not teaching these subjects, American schools are trying to turn Arab students into "Westerners" by imposing Western values and lifestyles on them. Most importantly, they stated that they are also convinced that these schools do not exist for educational purposes, since in this case "education in such schools would not be so expensive."

The interview participants could not say anything about Russian educational institutions, as there are none in the Kingdom of Morocco, which leads to the conclusion that the tools of Russian soft power in Morocco are poorly promoted.

Finally, the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was also raised. Of course, this topic relates more to the concept of hard power than soft power, but if the position that the country occupies in this conflict is attractive to the people of Morocco, it will be a powerful tool of soft power.

First of all, the Moroccan respondents stressed that the constant US support for the state of Israel irritates them. Using the example of Palestine, the survey participants explained that the United States does not intend to protect Arab countries, since this is not America's strategic interest. Emphasizing that American military bases are also located in Morocco, they do not feel that the American military will protect the Moroccan state and society. The respondents added that the Palestinian issue also makes them think that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. In support of this argument, one can refer to the work of Anna Hamm ^{[9, 1-3]}, where the author also studied this issue and conducted public opinion polls in Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and some others. The authors concluded that: a) the majority of Arabs no longer consider the United States to be a reliable partner after October 7, 2023; b) the majority of respondents said that Arab countries should rely more on Russia and China as political and economic partners.

The respondents further reflected on why their governments cooperate and follow Western leadership, even though there are cultural and ideological differences between the societies of these two countries. An interesting answer given by some respondents was that the United States distinguishes Arab countries according to the criterion of "good Arab countries" and "bad Arab countries" (quoted from some interviews conducted). The first are those who accept American leadership. The second is those who do not accept it. Respondents from Morocco stated that their country belongs to the first group. The second category includes countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The respondents explicitly stated that if their country did not follow the leadership of the United States, they risked experiencing an acute political and possibly military crisis in their country, as was the case with states from the second group of Arab countries.

The conclusion that can be drawn from the information gathered is that Morocco's relations, particularly with the United States, are not based on attractiveness or American soft power per se, but rather on a sense of fear that war may come to their country. This is especially acute in the Kingdom of Morocco, as the Moroccan State is experiencing constant tension with Algeria over the conflict over Western Sahara.

In the current survey, respondents also stressed that they are impressed by the Russian government's position on the Palestinian issue, since the Kremlin has repeatedly stated that the Palestinian territories should be liberated, just as Resolution No. 194 of the UN General Assembly should be implemented, and Palestine itself should be recognized as an independent state within the borders of the 1947 UN draft ^[10]. Thus, the issue of Palestine is also important in the negative perception of the United States and in the positive perception of Russia in Moroccan society.

Moreover, especially after the escalation in the Middle East, which began on October 7, 2023, the majority of respondents emphasized that they see Russia as a reliable partner with moral and spiritual values. That is why the majority of respondents from Morocco stated that they would like to expand their cultural, economic and political cooperation with Russia.

Conclusions:

Summarizing each argument, we come to the following conclusions, why the American values of soft power in the Arab world, using the example of Morocco, are not effective against the background of Russian ideals and values that shape Russia's soft power.:

1. Moroccans do not find the American type of soft power attractive with their values of culture, individualism, and secularism going against Arab values such as traditional relationships, the importance of social harmony, and the role of religion in society. At the same time, they find Russia to be a country with moral and spiritual values, where society, family and social harmony are the foundation of the state.

2. The Moroccans emphasize that the soft power that Washington implements through its educational institutions goes against the basic principles of Arab-Muslim society. For example, many American educational institutions in Morocco do not teach Islamic and Arabic studies, which is why Moroccan children are moving away from their own culture and becoming more "Western" people. In addition, the price of tuition in American schools costs a lot of money, and respondents stressed that if the goal was to educate the Moroccan population, education "would not be so expensive." Due to the lack of Russian soft power institutions in Morocco, we can conclude that Moscow is not yet using the opportunity to spread its soft power more effectively in the Kingdom of Morocco.

3. The Palestinian issue is of great importance to Moroccan society. They criticize the United States for its continued support of Israel and its failure to recognize the state of Palestine. This position causes irritation in Moroccan society and, therefore, cannot generate US soft power in Morocco. At the same time, the Kremlin's continued support for the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian state is a powerful source of Russian soft power in Moroccan society.

4. There is a certain fear in Moroccan society about Washington, as Moroccans fear a military conflict. For this reason, they believe, the Moroccan government prefers to cooperate with the United States rather than conflict with them, despite all cultural differences. However, more and more Moroccan people consider Western countries, especially the United States, to be an unreliable partner, especially after the escalation in the Middle East began on October 7, 2023. In contrast, more and more people in the Arab world, including Moroccans, see Russia as a more reliable and promising partner.