Peculiarities of cultural part of New Great Game in the Caspian region in terms of games

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Abstract

The Caspian region having cross-boundary specifics is now a center of attraction for various countries and powers that are interested in hydrocarbon reserves of the region, its geopolitical location and political impact on the Caspian countries that include former Soviet states in order to achieve their own geopolitical goals. Under these circumstances, the Russian Federation needs to choose the dominant strategy of action in the region that will enable to activate the relations between Russia and the Caspian states in various spheres including cultural and humanitarian cooperation. A cultural diplomacy can and must become such a strategy in a New Great Game for the Caspian region. Its effective component includes support of the compatriots, offer of educational programs at Russian universities and other educational institutions, promotion of the Russian language and literature. In the future all this will allow to achieve better results in the spread of the Russian soft power in the countries of “the Caspian four”, provided that this geopolitical
resource is conceptualized, and active, not discreet steps, are made. To define effective strategy for soft power implementation in the Caspian region the game theory and the so-called Prisoner’s dilemma can be used. The latter has long been used for assessment and forecast the effectiveness of the international cooperation.