The geography of public diplomacy of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war

Abstract

Public diplomacy, as a special form of foreign policy activity aimed at shaping foreign public opinion as a factor in changing the policy of another state, requires the study of the peculiarities of geopolitical and geocultural perceptions of the foreign public. Public diplomacy has become an important channel of international communication between Ukraine and the civilized world since the beginning of the full-scale Russian offensive on its territory. The role of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zel- enskyy in transforming public diplomacy into an effective technology of international politics is unprecedented. The uniqueness of V. Zelenskyy’s contribution to the development of public diplomacy as an international communication practice lies, first, in the incredible rise in the importance of the head of state as the main actor of such diplomacy, second, in its institutionalization and intensification as a tool for influencing global public opinion, third, in its tangible effectiveness and efficiency, and fourth, in the widespread use of digital online technologies for its implementation. The success of V.Zelenskyy’s public diplomacy is not just due to its geographically relevant content, but also to communication technologies based on geographic determinism. His public diplomacy is based on universal values, but adapted to the geocultural characteristics of the foreign public. The Ukrainian president sought to make the Ukrainian position understandable to geoculturally different audiences through a number of persuasive technologies. First of all, he used the technology of joining by appealing to values common to all geographical regions, such as life, security, freedom, children, and family. In addition, the Ukrainian national leader used the technology of engaged communication, which is empathetic, compassionate in nature and based on respect for the values, symbols, ideals, tragedies and losses that make up the geocultural background of the public’s worldview in each country. In conducting public diplomacy, the Ukrainian president outlined the geography of danger from the potential Russian threat,including the countries that were part of the USSR and the Soviet bloc. The Ukrainian national leader’s use of the technique of linking the geography of the Russian threat to the Soviet past is justified in the light of official and semi-official Russian propaganda. Exposing Russian disinformation has become one of the leading directions of V.Zelenskyy’s public diplomacy and the main information weapon against the aggressor. In proving the falsity of Russian propaganda, the Ukrainian national leader appeals to the facts, to the reasons for the distortion of the objective picture of reality and to the special geocultural experience of the foreign public, which is determined by significant historical events in a particular geographical area of the world.