The situation in Afghanistan remains one of the most pressing issues in international discussions on global stability and security.

The «soft power» concept was initially defined on scientific and theoretical levels by the American political scientist, Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, based on the United States foreign policy to maintain its positive image in the world and to promote the best features of American culture and its social achievements. The concept has demonstrated its effectiveness in theoretical and practical terms initiating much discussion around this topic, but also gave impetus to the natural process of transformation the original, which was already a classic, the understanding of «soft power».

In conditions of energy globalization and unstable situation in the world energy market, as well as the ongoing global economic crisis, leading nations of the world are forced to revise their approaches in providing energy security which becomes a basic element of their national security system. Along with measures such as diversification of sources of energy resources imports and exports, energy saving, development of alternative energy, updated the question regarding the strategic reserves of energy resources.

The crisis, of course, remains the number one problem of global proportions, which has pushed to second place, even severe problems, such as events in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Energy resources supply for the needs of Chinese economy and population is already out of the own potential of China. Transformation from state with 1/4 of world population and 1/10 of world GDP to average developed country and the second economic superpower in the world has the global significance and basically in respect to energy demands.

Afghanistan: Time for “Soft Power”

International roundtable “Prospects for the Central Asian oil and gas sector in relation to the current global challenges”, May 17, 2011, Tashkent.