Abstract
The article is devoted to the current topic of international relations -the roleand place of soft and hard power.The concept of «soft power» is considered in the context oftheories of international relations.The authors describe the concept of the emergence of «softpower», the principles of the liberal theory of international relations, and also describe theconnection with the theory of neorealism. In this article, the authors analyze the theory of J.Nye,thefounderoftheconceptof«softpower»,theauthorsdescribethemechanismofactionof «soft power».A feature of this article is the understanding by the authors of the role of thisconcept,whichaffectstheimageofthestateabroadandthestrategyfortheimplementationof national interests through reliance on cooperation and the use of soft power tools throughculture,education,humanitarianaid,andthepopularizationofideologyandlifestyle.