Stages of Transformation of the Communication Culture of Power and Society in the Digital Public Policy Era

Abstract

The authors of the article address the evolution of the culture of mass-elite communication in the context of digital development. The culture of communication here refers to the norms and values that govern the public interaction of authorities with citizens. Three stages (2010–2013, 2014–2017, and 2018 to present) are distinguished in the evolution for the demands of society and the state for public (online and off-line) behavior of representatives of regional political elite. The main part of the article explores the evolution of demands for speech and behavior of the regional elite on the part of the State and society, in view of the increasing pace of digitization of public space. In the first phase (2010–2013), scandals and communicative failures with the political elite were usually humorous, did not get on the current information agenda, and rarely elicited the official reaction from top officials of the state. In power discourse, the Internet was defined as a universal means of broadcasting the openness of the state, and social activists published examples of mass-elite communications that presented politicians in an unattractive light. At the second stage (2014–2018), there was an increase in public criticism of ethical errors committed by politicians and officials in public mass-elite communications, and an increase in digital activity of ordinary users of the Internet space. The humorous style characteristic of the first stage of mass-elite communication in digital public space goes back to the past. Demand for social justice is gaining ground in Russian society. Since 2014, the federal and regional authorities of the Russian Federation have taken certain steps to improve the ethical relationship between power and society. The third stage (since 2018) is characterized by public attention to the culture and ethics of communication of representatives of the political elite online, namely in social networks. The State has begun the process of formalizing the Internet activity of the power elite by including this indicator in the performance criteria and adopting a number of laws regulating Internet interaction.