Some theoretical aspects of the public diplomacy

Abstract

The new geopolitical realities, information technologies’ rapid development are changing the international relations structure, and complicating the tasks of diplomacy. Today, it is not enough for the world community to take into consideration only its political, economic or demographic characteristics to form a perception of the country. Image becomes one of the most important aspects of the overall assessment of the state. This fact explains the important role of public diplomacy in international relations. Public diplomacy has now become an effective instrument of foreign policy and is widespread in the world. In the contemporary international relations, public diplomacy serves as a diplomatic mechanism, and is recognized by all states. It is also an additional opportunity to implement foreign policy objectives in the context of the international relations new system formation. The authors analyze the main theories and conceptual approaches in the study of public diplomacy: the «soft power concept, constructivism and strategic communication. The authors also note that these theories and concepts focused on the both the state activity and non-state actors under the public diplomacy. The proposed article will be interesting for specialists in the field of international relations, dealing with theoretical issues of world politics and diplomacy.
Key words: public diplomacy, international relations, theory, concept, soft power, constructivism, strategic communications, branding.