Respondent
Theme
Public Diplomacy as a Factor of Democratization of the Political System of Ukraine.
Defence Date
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.