THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOREIGN EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING UZBEKISTAN'S "SOFT POWER" DIPLOMACY: THE CASES OF FRANCE AND JAPAN

This article examines the significance of foreign experience for the development of Uzbekistan’s soft power diplomacy through a comparative study of France and Japan. The purpose is to identify institutional and policy mechanisms that can be adapted to Uzbekistan rather than mechanically copied. The study applies a qualitative comparative case-study design and document analysis of scholarly literature, government strategies, diplomatic reports, and cultural-institution materials. The findings show that France derives influence from a dense and durable overseas cultural network that connects language promotion, education, artistic exchange, creative industries, and diplomatic coordination. Japan demonstrates a complementary model in which public diplomacy combines cultural exchange, Japanese-language education, popular culture, tourism, creative industries, youth networks, and data-driven policy evaluation. Uzbekistan already possesses substantial soft power resources in its Silk Road heritage, living traditions, cuisine, music, crafts, tourism assets, and reform-oriented international engagement. The most transferable lesson is therefore a hybrid approach: stronger interagency coordination, locally responsive cultural platforms abroad, expanded educational and alumni networks, public-private creative-industry partnerships, multilingual digital storytelling, and measurable audience-based evaluation. Such a strategy would help convert cultural resources into long-term international trust and cooperation.