**Abstract**

The chapter deals with migration challenges, a burning topic crucial for both the EU and the world. Hereby, public diplomacy tools are of huge interest as a factor influencing social and cultural space sustainability, especially, of cross-border territories. This chapter deals with complex studies of the Finnish case particularly migrants' inclusion analysis into local cultural and political environments as well as public diplomacy impact evaluation of an important "soft power" tool where migrants' role is rather high. The research method of migrants as a "soft power" is based upon interviews, which result in respondents' typology development; political information channels were defined; and the influence of education and social inclusion upon political communication was characterized. The resulting characteristics of migrants' political communication might be of high interest in terms of migration policy regulation and understanding the issue of migration quotas and help to predict structural changes in society and also to provide the basis for making decisions on the effective use of public diplomacy tools. At the same time, we believe that via public diplomacy tools it is necessary to rely on not only separate national cultural aspects but also the whole civilizational image-the so-called nation's gestalt.

**Keywords:** public diplomacy, cooperation, Finland, Karelia, Russian diaspora, social and cultural space

## **1. Introduction**

Public diplomacy role has been growing in recent decades. Undoubtedly, public diplomacy strengthens sociocultural cooperation, good neighborliness and an atmosphere of security and serves as a tool of "soft power" that increases region/ country attractiveness, language, culture and lifestyle. Means of "soft power" were interpreted by J. Nye [1, 2] as a process of achieving strategic interests by a state via positive attitude development in other states' society and its goals achieving through attractiveness. Active communication influences international life nature since it is determined by both beliefs and expectations that people have and that are established by social rather than material structures [3].

"Soft power" is presented with media, by educational organizations (operating in a framework of international cultural and educational programs), as well as by nongovernmental organizations engaged in public diplomacy in a form of various communications.

Soft power tools are also witnessed in Russian communications. It has become an integral component of modern international politics in Russia as a comprehensive toolkit for solving foreign policy issues based on civil society demands, information and communication, humanitarian and other alternative classical diplomacy methods and technologies [4]. Moreover, Russia has enormous potential for public diplomacy development. It's most important pillar is presented with a so-called Russian world when millions of people abroad feel a strong need to keep in touch with Russia, Russian language and its culture [5].
