Public diplomacy: terminological, ontological, and applied research results

Abstract

Abstract. The article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of public diplomacy. Over time, the term ‘public diplomacy’ has undergone a semantic transformation, shifting from a mere designation of diplomatic style to encompassing the way of conducting relevant activities. It has also experienced a cognitive transformation, transitioning from life-experiential cognition to a scientific one. Within the problematic field of research, public diplomacy can be defined by the concept’s fundamental social and historical circumstances, content, or individual features. The empirical findings only present a terminological identification and propose it as a scientific hypothesis, lacking a complete and universally recognised scientific system. The multifaceted nature of the phenomenon and ambiguous interpretation of its possible application in practice require further research to identify the concept’s content and specify its institutional elements. The study aims to define the complex concept of public diplomacy by analysing its historical and logical features, encompassing the transformation of the term, and determining the fundamental socio-historical circumstances that led to its emergence. It also seeks to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between these circumstances and public diplomacy, explore its essential features, assess the cause-and-effect link between public diplomacy and its specific forms identified in scientific literature, and evaluate their alignment with the concept’s scope. Additionally, the study aims to determine the institutional elements of public diplomacy and estimate its significance as a resource of the state’s foreign policy power in Ukraine. The study employs general scientific methodological tools, including comparative analysis, categorical analysis, complex analysis, hypothetical and deductive methods, cause-and-effect analysis, generalisation, and systematisation. Keywords: state, soft foreign policy power, diplomacy, traditional diplomacy, public diplomacy.