Actual problems of international relations. Release 138.

2019

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AS A TOOL OF SHAPING THE PERCEPTION

OF UKRAINE IN THE WEST AMID THE AGGRAVATION OF
RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA

Pipchenko N.
Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor at the Department of International
Information, Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. E-mail:
nataliyapo@gmail.com.
Dovbenko M.
Master of International Communications, Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National
University of Kyiv. E-mail: mariiadovbenko@gmail.com.

nataliyapo@gmail.com.

: mariiadovbenko@gmail.com.

Abstract. The article is devoted to the analysis of Ukraine public diplomacy in terms
of aggravation of relations with Russia. Public diplomacy is researched as an instrument for
shaping the perception of Ukraine in the West that is exposed to constant threats of
information influence by the Russian Federation.
The paper analyses the role of public diplomacy in shaping the favorable image of the
state in the mass consciousness and ensuring national interests in the international arena.
The peculiarities of the development of public diplomacy of Ukraine at the institutional and
practical levels being intensified since 2014 after the beginning of Russian aggression against
Ukraine, are determined. Conceptual documents and specially created institutions for
shaping a positive perception of Ukraine abroad and disrupting negative influence of Russian
propaganda are examined. As a result, the main directions of Ukraine's public diplomacy are
the development ties with the public and media; realization of image, cultural and
informational projects abroad; cooperation of governmental bodies for supporting foreign-
policy interests.

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Through the content analysis of the Western media space on the coverage of Ukraine
and the expert assessment of public diplomacy of Ukraine, the peculiarities of the influence of
Ukrainian public diplomacy on shaping its perception in the West were identified and a set of
recommendations was developed to improve Ukraine's perceptions in the face of aggravation
of relations with Russia. These include developing West and Russian directions of public
diplomacy, intensifying media coverage of Ukraine, changing narratives about Ukraine as
well as engaging civil activists and artists for promotion the national interests abroad.
Key words: Ukraine, Russia, the West, public diplomacy, information aggression,
propaganda, perception.

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The current problem. The new hybrid world order is drastically transforming the
relations among the states highlighting the information dimension of existence. Thus,
information and communication in the forms of public diplomacy, strategic communications
or propaganda are becoming the main asset and weapon in the hands of the states. The
defining role of communication tools in the international arena became increasingly evident
since the launch of Russian information aggression in 2014 which operationally directed
against Ukraine but strategically against the whole Western world. Ukraine found itself in the
spotlight of Russian propaganda aimed at undermining its territorial integrity, independence
and image of the state in the international arena. Such situation requires from Ukraine to take
efficient communication countermeasures to restore its international reputation and to curb the
negative impact of Russian information influence.
The aim of the article is to analyse the use of public diplomacy by Ukraine in shaping
the perception of the country abroad amid expansive propaganda of the Russian Federation
and to develop a set of recommendations for strengthening efforts of Ukraine to eliminate the
negative impact of Russian information aggression and to improve its perception in the
Western world.
Analysis of the latest publications. The communication as an integral part of the state
policy has been researched since the beginning of the
issue was paid by J. Ellul [Ellul, 1973: 61], Cull N., E. Gullion [Cull, 2006], J. Nye [Nye,
2008: 97], L. Lapham, M. McLuhan [McLuhan, Lapham, 1994: 264]. The shift to focus on
phenomenon of public diplomacy as a foreign communication technology was made due to

since World War II with extremely negative connotation, thus, required a substitute. In 1965
an American diplomat E.
influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of foreign policies. It
encompasses dimensions of international relations beyond traditional diplomacy . . .
[including] the cultivation by governments of public opinion in other countries; the interaction
of private groups and interests in one country with those of another . . . (and) the transnational
5]. Subsequently, the phenomenon of public diplomacy
became a household name in the U.S. and the concept was emulated by other Western

J. Nye [Nye, Owen, 1996: 21]. Since the phenomenon of public diplomacy is relatively
modern, it is being actively researched by scholars nowadays from different angles as an
instrument of interaction [Zaharna, 2010: 233], shaping public opinion [Ross, 2003: 25] or as
an integral part of strategic communications [Department of Defence, 2009].
Among the Ukrainian scholars, the significant contribution to the study of public
diplomacy was made by O. Zernetska [Zernetska, 1999: 177], O. Kondratenko [Kondratenko,
2017: 196], I. Khyzhnyak [Khyzhnyak, 2018: 217], O. Kuchmii [Kuchmii, 2016: 157],
E. Makarenko [Makarenko, 2016: 55], E. Tykhomyrova [Tykhomyrova, 2004: 114] and others
which focus their research on the role of public diplomacy in the system of foreign-policy
communication.
The important research results. The strengthening of Russian information and
military aggression against Ukraine in 2014 put into question the position of our country in
the international arena. The policy of Ukraine was hardly articulated to international
community due to the lack of consistent and pro-active communications of the state. Though
the official statements of Ukraine were communicated by default, they were perceived poorly

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and dominated by Russian assertive communications. As a result, the public diplomacy

surfaced as an efficient tool and strategy on the agenda of Ukrainian Government.

The key strategic papers in this regard are the Doctrine of Information Security of Ukraine
approved in 2016 and the Concept of Ukraine's popularization in the world and promotion of
Ukraine's interests in the global information space approved in 2016 [1 3]. The development
of public diplomacy of Ukraine is determined as a priority of state information policy directed
to shaping positive international image [1]. The set of communication and information

Ukraine's popularization in the world and promotion of Ukraine's interests in the global
information space [2]. In order to insure the practical realization of public diplomacy the Plan
of Action on Implementing Concept of Popularization of Ukraine in the World was developed
and came into force in 2017. It includes the following activities [3]:
Developing unified standard of elements for the promotion of Ukraine, in other
words brand development;
Conducting comprehensive campaigns of popularization of Ukraine in certain regions
of the world;
Increasing the level of Ukraine's presence in international events and on information
platforms in the academic, cultural and public domains;
Fulfilling projects of cultural diplomacy and strategies for popularizing Ukraine's
potential in the world;
Strengthening tourist potential of Ukraine;
Distributing information about export opportunities of Ukraine.
The institutional role in the realization of the above public diplomacy activities belongs
to different state bodies, namely the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education
and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. Such
intergovernmental approach in public diplomacy requires efficient coordination mechanisms.
For this purpose, the Interdepartmental Commission on Ukraine's Popularization in the World
was established, coordinating the efforts of the above ministries and involving non-
governmental representatives.
The specific institutional role in public diplomacy belongs to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Ukraine. The structural unit known as the Division of Public Diplomacy was set up
in the Ministry to prioritize public diplomacy in the policy of foreign communications of
Ukraine. The scope of work of the Division of Public Diplomacy includes [Kuleba, 2015]:
Developing relations with the public, public associations and media of other countries
and Ukraine;
Realizing image, cultural and informational projects of Ukraine abroad;
Coordinating measures of other governmental bodies in these spheres.
The specialized institution known as the Ukrainian Institute is established within the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure cultural promotion of state abroad. The format of this
institution is based on the international prototypes such as the British Council, the Goethe-
Institut and the French Institute. The central bureau of the Ukrainian Institute is to carry out
planning and strategic coordination of the cultural and image presentation of Ukraine in the
world while the branches of the Ukrainian Institute in the most prioritized for Ukraine
countries are to take activities in such public events. The central bureau of the Ukrainian
Institute has been fully operating since the end of 2018 with the ambition to realize a number
of activities in 2019 planned in its strategy of work [Vyshnytska, 2018].
The newly established Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine in 2014 aimed at
countering Russian information influence hit the track of public diplomacy with the special
competence on foreign broadcasting. The Ministry fully supervises the two state foreign
broadcasting channels, the international broadcasting multimedia platform UA/TV and
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national information agency Ukrinform. Besides this specific competence, the Ministry of
Information Policy takes a number of information activities to popularize Ukraine in the
world. The other sectoral ministries involved in public diplomacy have specific tasks assigned
to them.
Under increasing information impact of the Russian Federation legal and institutional
development of public diplomacy of Ukraine takes place concurrently with the practical
implementation of public diplomacy activities, including national branding development,
international broadcasting, movies promotion, hosting of international events and conducting
strategic communication campaigns.

in nation brand building. The unified visual and vision framework of presenting our country is
to strengthen its identity in the perception of the international community. All the Ukrainian
governmental bodies and institutions are obliged to use the unified brand platform in the
communications while all non-governmental bodies and Ukrainian citizens are welcome to
promote it by all possible means in accordance with developed brand book [Bidenko, 2018].
Ukraine initiated the launch of international broadcasting system in order to counter
expansive propaganda by Russia Today. Primarily, the private initiative of 1+1 media holding
called Ukraine Today served for this purpose but subsequently the state took a leading role in
developing international broadcasting in the form of public multimedia platform UA/TV.
Multimedia platform UA/TV is available via satellite in Europe, North America and Asia, via
cable operators in 15 countries of the world, via the Internet as YouTube channel and website.
The overview of Internet traffic of platform demonstrates extremely low number of total visits
per month in comparison to Russia Today with 89% share of visits from Ukraine (pic.1).

Pic. 1. Website traffic per month of international broadcasting platforms of Russia

(Russia Today) and Ukraine (UA/TV)
Source: prepared by authors based on data from website SimilarWeb, dated of September
2018

The analysis of content of UA/TV multimedia platform revealed the lack of a clear
understanding of the audience to which the content is directed, the way of coverage resembles
the Soviet style including usually only comments by officials, the selection of news is chaotic
and often contains information not interesting to foreign audience, the presence of political
bias in the coverage, unclear visual newsfeed (several running lines of news in different
languages which are often not related at all) [23].
Besides public international broadcasting a number of initiatives for civil society have
been successfully established and operated, including Hromadske International, Ukrainian
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Life and

relevant and targeted to key audiences.

Since 2014 Ukraine has given a fresh impulse to its movie industry. The number of
movies produced by Ukraine increased, they were more actively presented to international
audience and the Ukrainian film festivals were organized internationally. In this regard, the

box office and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in a number of world renowned cities).

The other public diplomacy activities worth mentioning are international events hosted
by Ukraine during the recent years. In 2017 Ukraine organized European Song Contest at a
very high level according to assessment by the European organizers. The hosting of
Eurovision strongly contributed to improving perception of Ukraine by foreigners. According
to results of survey prepared by JfK Ukraine, 47% of respondents stressed that Ukraine
surpassed their expectations, 51% of the guests said that Ukraine fully met their expectations
and 92% of respondents expressed their desire to visit Ukraine again [24]. In 2018 Ukraine
also hosted UEFA Champions League Final very professionally. The number of cultural and
entertainment events were organized for tourists in Kyiv though no special communication
campaigns or newsbreak were prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine or the
Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine.
The public diplomacy activities of Ukraine within the period of 2014 2018 includes
different communication campaigns launched by the governmental bodies together with civil
society organizations. The campaign #MyUkraineIs is one of the most prominent examples.
The idea of the campaign was to present Ukraine as a diamond cut by dignity, freedom and
creativity of Ukrainian people and was realized through modern interactive landing page,
campaign in social media and creative hand-outs [22].
The other communication campaign #LetMyPeopleGo was dedicated to political agenda
liberating Ukrainian prisoners of war and was presented through the campaign in social
media, national initiative of creating postcards etc. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

(#KyivNotKiev) by international media and airports in order to eliminate Russian based

transliteration [Dovbenko, 2018].
For the first time a huge long-term public diplomacy project was conducted abroad
The Year of Ukrainian Language in Germany which was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of
establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Germany. As a part of this project
the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany launched creative campaign in social media called
entertaining
animated format and to link them with German analogues, thus, contributing building a bridge
between two cultures [25]. The communication campaigns mentioned were actively
distributed by Ukrainian side, both at the governmental level and by Ukrainian citizens but
there was no outreach of international media.
Through the content analysis of the Western media space on the coverage of Ukraine
and the expert assessment of public diplomacy of Ukraine, the peculiarities of the influence of
Ukrainian public diplomacy on shaping its perception in the West were identified. In
particular, the analysis of international media on the coverage of Ukraine demonstrated that
the attention of international outlets to Ukraine was extremely high in 2014 and has been
decreasing subsequently (pic.2).

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Pic. 2. Dynamics of mentioning Ukraine in the Western media, 2014-2018

Source: prepared by authors based on data from programme Media Cloud

Such close attention of the Western media to Ukraine in 2014 results from a number of
newsbreaks about Ukraine in this period. The Western media outlets actively covered
shooting down Malaysia Airlines Boeing, Russian annexation of Crimea and intervention of
the Russian Federation in Eastern Ukraine. The other injects about Ukraine in the following
years included Minsk agreements on the truce in Eastern Ukraine, Manafort scandal
disclosing, among others, his connections with former Ukrainian president V. Yanukovych,
ssassination of Russian
journalist A. Babchenko in Ukraine, introduction of martial law in Ukraine (pic. 3).

Pic. 3. Map of newsbreaks about Ukraine in the Western media, 2014-2018

Source: prepared by authors based on data from programme Media Cloud

The analysis of top topics related to Ukraine demonstrated that Ukraine was usually
covered in relation to war (29 357 media pieces) and corruption (5 914 media pieces). The
other topics such as reforms, investments, culture, sport and music are covered not so actively
but still the total mentioning amounted to 13 792 media pieces. The narrative shaped in the
Western media is outlined in the diagram (pic. 4).

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 38. 2019. .

Pic. 4. Narratives about Ukraine in the Western media, 2014-2018

Source: prepared by authors based on data from programme Media Cloud

The coverage of Ukraine in the Western media in 2014 2018 concerned mostly war in
the country caused by Russian aggression and some other events which had international
dimension. The information about positive changes in Ukraine and its cultural assets were in
the peripheral attention of the Western media.
The assessment of public diplomacy of Ukraine by Ukrainian and international experts
outlined the current state of public diplomacy and the vision of its improving for shaping
positive perception of Ukraine in the West.
The efficiency of public diplomacy of Ukraine is assessed slightly above middle value.
There is a full convergence in the assessment by Ukrainian and international experts of the
efficiency of public diplomacy in the part of improving the perception of Ukraine and in the
part of countering Russian propaganda which amounts to 2.8 points from 5 (pic. 5).

Pic. 5. Assessment of the efficiency of public diplomacy of Ukraine

Source: prepared by authors based on the results of the conducted survey under 5-points
scale among Ukrainian and international experts

It should be noted that 85% Ukrainian and 80% international experts believe that for the
improvement of perception of Ukraine in the West a specific communication strategy towards
strategic countries should be developed by the Ministry of Foreign Policy of Ukraine. Most
experts consider that Ukraine should work within public diplomacy in the Russian direction
as well (72% Ukrainian experts and 94% international experts). According to assessment of
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experts, the most positive impact on the perception of Ukraine belongs to the strengthening of
civil society (international experts) and conducting of reforms (Ukrainian experts) while the
most negative impact belongs to corruption.
Experts determined the key measures and topics of public diplomacy of Ukraine, the
key groups of target audience to which they should be directed and the most influential
subjects who should direct them. The key target audience should be media and journalists (3.8
and 4.2 points out of 5 by Ukrainian and international experts accordingly), followed by
political establishment (3.6 and 3.8 points accordingly) and international organizations (3.4
and 3.9 points accordingly). The main public diplomacy measures should include publications
about Ukraine in top world media (4.0 and 4.1 points by Ukrainian and international experts
accordingly), organization of cultural events (4.0 and 3.6 points accordingly) and participation
in the international events (3.8 and 4.1 points accordingly). The above events should primarily
cover the topics of conducting reforms (3.9 and 4.0 points by Ukrainian and international
experts accordingly) and fighting corruption (3.8 and 4.1 points accordingly). The public
diplomacy measures should be taken by the President and by civil activists and artists as they
have the strongest influence (4.1 points for President by Ukrainian and international experts,
3.3 and 3.9 points for activists and artists by Ukrainian and international experts accordingly)
in the change of perception of Ukraine.
The recommendations from experts for improving public diplomacy of Ukraine are as
follows:

in the

Europe);
Ensu

Information Security of the Secretariat of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine);

Ukraine);

Conclusions. In terms of expansive information aggression of the Russian Federation

undermining Ukrainian existence, our country had to take resilient countermeasures to defend
its national interests and to restore its stability and reputation in the international arena.
Taking into account democratic principles adhered to by Ukraine, our country decided to have
resort to the instrument of soft power public diplomacy. Ukraine developed a conceptual
and institutional framework of public diplomacy and took a bunch of practical activities to
improve its perception in the Western world. Though some advancements in presentation of
Ukraine have been made, the efficiency of public diplomacy in the part of improving

according to the assessment by Ukrainian and international experts. Therefore, some major
steps based on the recommendations from experts should be taken into account. These include
developing public diplomacy strategy (with two separate directions West and Russia),
stepping aside from Ukrainian centric approach to world oriented one, intensifying media
coverage of Ukraine, shifting narratives about Ukraine (depends on success in reforming
internally) and engaging subjects with credibility (such as civil activists and artists).
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 38. 2019. .

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