Information on the thesis

From the perspective of modern political discourse, the given research provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends in forming information security in a transformational society, including the institutional dimension of such process and the role of the state and non-governmental institutions in ensuring information security of Ukraine. The problem of information security is considered in three defining directions: in the light of the transformation of the Ukrainian society as a whole and its political system; in the context of globalization of the modern world; in the strategic vision – as a prospect for the development of political institutions, relations and processes that ensure democratic change and security of Ukraine in general.

Historiographical and theoretical-methodological features of the study of the information security issues under political transformation are revealed through the coordination of key concepts, conceptual approaches, legal definitions, retrospectives, etc. It is emphasized that the level of information security determines the state of development of other components of national security of Ukraine, and the corresponding destructive informational influences are manifested in virtually all spheres of society.

The dissertation analyzes the legal framework of Ukraine and international standards for the functioning of information security institutions. At the same time, it is emphasized that the effective information policy of state bodies is often measured not only by international standards and rules, but also by the ability to protect specific national interests, accept current challenges and overcome acute threats. Geopolitical confrontations are viewed as those that are mostly conducted not in the field of the main opponents but in the space of vulnerable societies and unstable states.

The chosen problematics of the research are of a global character and belong to subject-object dimensions. In the system of risks facing Ukraine in the context of the global nature of information security, the main threat is that of losing its information sovereignty, and hence the associated national identity and state sovereignty, i.e., the key features of state independence and legal personality. Among the key issues is the further search for an adequate balance between global impacts, which are based on the intensification of information movement in the global information environment, and the needs of individuals and social groups, including states that are not leading actors in influencing global civilizational tendencies and processes. Therefore, in the information security system in general, a significant role is given to the information security of the nation, in particular the following structural components: protection of unique national and cultural values, historical traditions, historical memory, language, unique subcultures and more.

Among the author’s proposals and recommendations of most importance are those related to the existing infrastructure of Ukrainian governmental institutions of information security, which should be built on the principle of checks and balances, in which state institutions should be under public control, open to communication, transparent in their decisions and reporting and understandable to international partners. At the same time, it is emphasized that the government faces a number of relatively new tasks with the development of social networks (e.g., structuring virtual communities in domestic social networks; comprehending their impact and opportunities; finding and developing adequate responses to real and potential threats hidden in the virtual civic space; developing available mechanisms of state regulation of this social phenomenon; following democratic patterns and traditions in the relevant field). The information and security activities of political parties in Ukraine are quite contradictory.

It is argued that civil society and the media play a significant role in the modern information security system. The thesis is that the most vulnerable environment for aggressive information operations is formed of ordinary people who are apathetic to politics, passive in social affairs, nihilistic, closed to the extent of minimal knowledge and narrow worldviews is consistently substantiated. The defining information threat to national security is the manipulation of public consciousness, i.e., creating a destabilizing impact on the information structure of the country and its information resources and society as a whole.

Strategic guidelines for counteracting external and internal information and destabilizing influences in a hybrid war are studied herein through: 1) introduction of best security practices that successfully protect the modern information space and are based on three defining principles (hierarchy, state coordination and interaction); 2) increasing the role of political education and enlightenment (i.e., the substantive basis for the development of individuals, civil society, the state of immunity to many threats associated with information and manipulative influences); 3) further development of information security culture (such level of human and social development which is characterized by the importance of life safety in the system of personal and social values, safe behavior in everyday life in dangerous and emergency situations, the level of protection from threats and dangers in all spheres of life), etc.

The provided theoretical analysis of the trends in the process of information security in a transformational society is of practical importance, and it highlights the need to attract and develop various tools to establish democratic consciousness and ideology, intellectualization, informatization and pragmatization of the political field, providing comprehensive political and legal education. Institutional understanding of the formation of the information and security agenda may be of interest to statesmen, public activists, party leaders, political experts, advisers and analysts. The research materials may be useful for programs in civic and political education, information hygiene, in teaching political science and also in determining the guidelines for the development of the state of humanitarian policy.

Keywords: information security, political institutions, political transformation, political modernization, information strategy, information sovereignty, globalization.