ОСОБЛИВОСТІ СКАНДИНАВСЬКОЇ МОДЕЛІ ГРОМАДСЬКОЇ ДИПЛОМАТІЇ КОРОЛІВСТВА ШВЕЦІЇ

Abstract

The article is devoted to the studying of the functioning of features of public diplomacy of the Kingdom of Sweden. The author covered the evolution of Swedish public diplomacy as a bright example of «niche» public diplomacy. It has been proved that the initial goal of county’s public diplomacy was to get rid of the negative consequences of the neutrality policy during World War II, and during the 1950s and 1980s – to make the Sweden more visible in the international arena by promoting its national features and interests. The institutional and legal principles and tools for the implementation of public diplomacy are also revealed. In particular, it has been established that the main country’s public diplomacy institutions are: the Swedish Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish Arts Council, Natioanal Heritage Fund, Team Sweden, Nordic Council of Ministers. Today, Sweden successfully implements its public diplomacy through cooperation with Eastern European countries, among which special attention is paid to the development of relations with European Union, as well as countries in South Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. The priority areas of country’s public diplomacy are environmental protection, gender equality, education, combating sexual violence and others. Also, a set of theoretical and empirical methods have been used during the study of the topic. Thanks to the use of the historical method, it was possible to investigate the origins, causes and preconditions of the public diplomacy’s institution development. Due to the systematic method, public diplomacy was considered as a set of appropriate tools and mechanisms responsible for improving the image, visibility and attractiveness of the Scandinavian state in the eyes of the world community. With the help of swat analyze it was possible to summarize the advantages and disadvantages, as well as challenges and potential threats of the Swedish public diplomacy. The study object is the public diplomacy as an element of Swedish foreign policy. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the functioning of public diplomacy in the Kingdom of Sweden. The aim of the study is to analyze the features and prospects of the public diplomacy model of the Kingdom of Sweden. During the research it has been founded that the strengths of Swedish public diplomacy are: convenient geographical location, membership in international organizations (UN, Nordic Council, EU), democratic style in decision making, international corporations that promote products and services associated with Swedish quality and standards (IKEA, Flippa K, H&M, Spotify, Ericsson, COS); great cultural heritage (music, cinema, literature, design, fashion, cuisine); active academic mobility and cooperation, intensive implementation of Internet technologies Web 2.0; attractive tourist infrastructure. Instead, one of the shortcomings are: the weak migration policy, which has led to the large influx of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, that affects the economic and social climate in the country and further more the blurring of national identity; lack of clear long-term strategy for the development of foreign affairs.