The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical and methodological analysis of the concept of soft power as a specific form of power and an instrument of public administration in the context of the transformation of the contemporary political environment. It is argued that soft power is not exclusively a product of Western political-theoretical discourse but has deep historical and philosophical roots, including Eastern strategic traditions as well as developments in twentieth-century social and political theory, particularly in the works of M. Foucault, A. Gramsci, and P. Bourdieu. The methodological framework of the research includes historical-political and comparative-theoretical analysis, conceptual comparison of different interpretations of power, as well as normative-documentary analysis of strategic acts of the Russian Federation adopted between 2013 and 2023. A systemic approach makes it possible to examine soft power as a multi-level managerial resource operating through discursive, cultural, and symbolic mechanisms of consensus formation. Special attention is paid to the evolution of the conceptual and normative articulation of soft power in Russian political and administrative practice. It is substantiated that the shift in official discourse in 2022–2023 from the term soft power to the categories of "humanitarian policy" and "humanitarian cooperation" does not indicate a rejection of the corresponding mechanisms of influence, but rather reflects their conceptual reinterpretation and institutional adaptation within a sovereign value-ideological framework. It is shown that humanitarian policy reproduces the key substantive elements of soft power – value-based and cultural influence, educational cooperation, and the formation of a positive image of the state integrating them into the system of public governance. The study concludes that it is useful to analyze soft power not only as a foreign policy instrument, but also as a form of power and a strategic managerial resource that ensures state stability, legitimacy, and competitiveness in conditions of global value competition. Theoretical and methodological foundations are developed for further research into humanitarian policy as a sovereign form of soft power implementation.
