Respondent

Sukhorolska Iryna Yurijivna

Theme

Public Diplomacy as a Factor of Democratization of the Political System of Ukraine.

Defence Date

01.04.2016

Annotation

The thesis for the scholarly degree of Candidate of Political Science in speciality 23.00.02
– Political Institutions and Processes. – Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, 2016.
The thesis is devoted to the study of correlation between public diplomacy and the policy
of  democratization.  It  is  stated  that  in  order  to  be  effective,  country’s  public  diplomacy
strategy  should  be  based  on  ideas  and  values  corresponding  to  its  political  culture  and
traditions  and  sufficiently  attractive  to  foreign  audiences.  In  this  regard,  using  the  idea  of
democracy is beneficial for states and international organizations of the West and contributes
to their soft-power leadership in the world. The advantages of public diplomacy, compared
with traditional means of democracy promotion, namely non-interference in the sovereignty
and internal affairs of other states, relying on transparent and nonconfrontational measures,
cooperation  with  a  wide  range  of  target  audiences,  encouraging  the  involvement  of  more
citizens  and  organizations  of  transition  countries  into  democratization  processes,  efficacy
even during periods of political crisis, when democracy transition is under greatest threat, are
considered.
Special  attention  is  paid  to  the  mechanisms  of  influence  of  public  diplomacy  on
democratization  of  political  systems  in  transition  through  appropriate  measures  aimed  at
establishing  or  transforming  political  institutions,  strengthening  democratic  norms,  values,
and  civic  culture,  promotion  of  interaction  between  citizens  and  their  government  etc.
Foreign efforts for setting up democratic institutions are often focused on the development of
civil society. In this context, public diplomacy could help to overcome the shortcomings of
the traditional model of funding of local NGOs by western donors which causes the problem
of alienation between NGOs seeking support from abroad and broad masses of people. In the
world of 21st century powerful civil society institutions should not be considered as passive
audiences  of public diplomacy conducted by governments but as its active participants. In
such a case, NGOs are not only the recipients of foreign aid but become independent actors
representing interests  and will  of the citizens. As for the impact on the regulatory system,
public diplomacy has great potential to promote democratic and human rights norms. Despite
this,  the  Western  powers  do  not  benefit  from  these  opportunities  and  prefer  to  rely  on
strategies  of  cooperation  and  influence  on  the  governments  of  the  countries  in  transition.
Public  diplomacy  can  also  be  effective  in  transforming  culture  and  ideology  of  post-
communist  countries.  This  is  particularly  important  since  the  immaturity  of  civic  political
culture can be considered as a key obstacle to democratic reforms in the former Soviet Union.
Therefore, the main characteristics of smart strategies of influence on the population of the
countries in transition within public diplomacy are identified in the thesis.
As  a  result,  recommendations  for  the  improvement  of  public  diplomacy  of  Western
powers  concerning  consolidation  of  democracy  in  Ukraine  are  given.  In  particular,  the
importance of the density of ties between the country in transition and the democratic world
as well as the culture-specific sophisticated approach in communication with Ukrainians and
an adequate response to anti-democratic propaganda and manipulation are considered. The
expediency of developing for Ukraine its own strategy of public diplomacy which should be
based  on  democratic  values  and  ideas  is  substantiated.  This  approach  can  increase  the
attractiveness of Ukraine’s messages to the Western publics and strengthen its soft power in
the  region.  Besides,  it  will  also  contribute  to  the  democratization  of  Ukraine  through  the
establishment of democratic ideals in the minds of Ukrainian people and preventing political
elites  from  making  undemocratic  decisions.  It  is  stated  that  Ukrainian  public  diplomacy
should  concentrate  on  overcoming  the  Soviet  legacy,  identifying  and  uncovering  anti-
democratic  myths  and  breaking  anti-democratic  stereotypes,  establishing  effective
collaboration  with  Western  media  companies,  creating  high-quality  content  in  cooperation
with civil society and business. The distinctive methods of new public diplomacy and their
application  for  democracy  promotion  in  Ukraine,  including  relationship  and  network
building,  involving  a  wide  range  of  domestic  and  foreign  non-governmental  agencies,
combining  different  technologies  and  instruments,  using  smart  individual  approach,
reinforcing the viral trends based on triggering events are also touched upon.
Keywords:  democracy,  democratization,  democratic  transition,  democracy  promotion,
public diplomacy, soft power, political system of Ukraine.

Contact Information

Phone: +38 097 742 34 82Email: sukhorolska@gmail.com

Dissertation File

Autosummary File