國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
of the official tools for foreign policy implementation. Henceforth the phenomenon received academic scrutiny and reentered the new version of the Concept in 2013.21 The term is relatively new in Russian official rhetoric; thus, the chapter concentrates on its distinguishing features and national understanding of the concept, which was coined by the western schools of IR.
Chapter 3 “The Contemporary International Image of the Russian Federation” deals with two levels of the country’s perception.
First, it analyses the vision of the state presented by the mass media of the United States of America, the European Union, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan)22. The choice of the target countries could be explained as follows: the mentioned countries are the representatives of different parts of the world, their population comprise the lion share of the Earth population, not least, they are actively forming global agenda in multiple spheres of cooperation.
In addition, the territories were chosen due to the ability of the author to speak the native languages of the mass media sources. The time framework of the research is determined by the year 2016.
Second, the chapter introduces the results of the survey conducted by the author of the study among the professors, students and alumni of the National Chengchi University. The aim of the survey is to identify the current attitude towards Russia among international audience living in Taiwan. The questionnaire touches upon the distinct taxons of the state’s image (foreign policy, domestic economy conditions, culture and interpersonal relations etc.), as well as the sources of such opinion, like personal experience, influence of media etc.
The author conducted the survey in the form of a questionnaire offered to 682 people, who represent the USA, Europe, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan and other countries all over the globe.
Chapter 4 “The Main Issues of Image-Building in Russia” is dedicated to the definition of the cornerstone issues which deprive the Russian Federation from the successful construction of transparent and acceptable image among the international general public. Moreover, the study attempts to analyze causes for the named roadblocks emergence and offers the ways for solution of the existing problems and misunderstanding.
The limitations of the mass media analyses are represented by the set of territories, which resources are examined: the USA, the EU (Germany, France, and Great Britain), China, and Taiwan.
21 Kontseptsiya vneshney politiki Rossiyskoy Federatsii (The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation). (2013, February 12). Retrieved November 22, 2016, from http://www.scrf.gov.ru/documents/2/25.html
22 CNN, BBC, Deitsche Welle, 人民網，TVBS 新聞網 etc.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The limitations of the sociological survey lie within the linguistic limit (conducted in two languages, English and Chinese) and conduction area, since all the respondents were to have affiliation with National Chengchi University.
With the help of the research approaches and tools described above, the author of the paper would like to contribute to her homeland country adjustment to the competitive international and geopolitical realities and to the abolition of nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments among nations.
1.7 The Main Research Questions to Defense
1. Discussions concerning public diplomacy appeared in Russian academia in 2000s, and after a range of consultations finally entered official discourse in 2008, like it was mentioned in the section “Scope and Limit” of the particular Introduction. As long as the public diplomacy is a new tool for the state’s dialogue with the general public of foreign countries, it mostly serves as a governmental tool, and the greater part of initiatives, projects and events are planned by official entities, while non-governmental actors play secondary role in creating the policy. Thereupon, one need to understand the concepts or Russia’s traditional diplomacy and how Russia distinguishes its position in the world, so that to specify the main features of the country’s public diplomacy.
Thus, the question to defense is what are the main distinguishing features of Russia’s PD, and what are its pros and cons?
2. Since the foundation of the Russian Federation its international image experienced an apogee of amity from Western countries and their allies in the beginning of 1990s, while after the 2014 Ukrainian crisis, Russia-West relations hit the bottom, which immediately projected onto public opinion towards the country. Analyzing the history of international agenda, one may notice that the weaker is the Russian position on the global arena, the better is the Western attitude. In other words, when Russian authorities wield little power to translate national interests into interstate framework, they get the opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation with the West.
However, when the Russian Federation starts “raising from its knees”23, its government’s positions or explanations are hardly heard.
Meanwhile, Asian counterparts, like China and India, do not oppose the dynamics of Russia’s domestic development and state-to-state cooperation24. Being the members of BRICS, they are interested in maintaining relations with the goal-oriented and consistent partner.
23 In President Putin's point of view. Cited from Opalev, S. (2014, June 11). Kurs nashel priznaniye (The Policy Acknowledged). RBK Newspaper. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from
http://www.rbc.ru/newspaper/2014/06/11/56be7e389a7947299f72cf35
24 During the voting process for the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 adopted on March 27, 2014, entitled "Territorial integrity of Ukraine" China and India abstained from giving any assessment to the actions of the Russian Federation on the Crimean Peninsula.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
In the aftermath of the telecommunication ‘revolution’, which led to the quick and cheap access to all kinds of information via television or the Internet granted the media with the new function – to create information background for the course of a state’s foreign policy. In extreme cases, such support may be transformed into information warfare25. Contemporary mass media is a significant actor, a legitimate tool for the implementation of foreign policy and exercise of national interests of a country. For that reason, the contemporary image of the Russian Federation in international media constitutes academic interest, because it reflects the political intentions of international community of states towards Russia and its contribution to the world order.
However, one may have witnessed that poor state-to-state cooperation not always equals strained interpersonal relations, and many people, in spite of the diplomatic tensions between government officials, foster ties with foreign friends. In addition, the mentioned abundance of informational resources gives an opportunity for any person to compare different interpretations of a particular issue; the ‘blurring’ of borders permits one to travel to the country in question and to form one’s own critical judgement.
For the case of the study, it is vital to distinguish how do the attitudes of general public towards Russia differ from the ones of their governments and national mass media, for it would help to shape a deeper comprehension of problems in the Russian Federation image building and public diplomacy.
3. Under the perpetually changing conditions on the global arena, cultural diversity, and unequal geographical contiguity, no public diplomacy could be absolutely successful. Therefore, the task of a country establishment is to perceive the flaws in the foreign policy, which aggravate its successful comprehension by international general public. In the context of the Russian Federation, the roadblocks to mutual understanding with international partners are: stagnation of Russian economy and inability of the authorities to build up smart region policy, so that to stabilize the development of all territories within the country; unfamiliarity with Russian culture among the foreign public, which results in the formation of ‘the gloomy Russian’ (Vlasova, 2011) stereotype;
malfunctioning of Russia’s information and clarification tools, which could conciliate differences in foreign policy approaches among international partners.
Therefore, the question arises, what kind of measures could help Russia to make a breakthrough for a better understanding of her policy abroad and for an optimistic apprehension of her people, culture and lifestyle among foreign general public?
25 Information warfare (IW) is a concept involving the use and management of information and communication technology in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent. Information warfare may involve collection of tactical information, assurance that one's own information is valid, spreading of propaganda or disinformation to demoralize or manipulate the adversary and assuring the domestic public’s liability, undermining the quality of opposing force information and denial of information-collection opportunities to opposing forces. Information warfare is closely linked to psychological warfare.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
1.8 Chapter Arrangement
The paper is comprised of five chapters. The first chapter “Introduction” represents opening remarks for the whole study. It outlines the background and purpose of the research;
determines the significance of the topic and research objectives; describes the used methodology, empirical base, provides theoretical framework, based on five variables, such as public diplomacy, new public diplomacy, nation-branding, international image of a country, and people-to-people diplomacy to support the scientific basis of the paper.
Chapter 2 “The Historical Analysis and the Theoretical Background of Russia’s International Image” introduces the retrospective view on the development of the international perception of the Russian Federation during 23 years of statehood in the section entitled “Historical Review of the Attitude towards Russia from 1991 till 2015”. The next section “Characteristics of Russia’s Public Diplomacy: from Nascence till Present” develops the theoretical postulates mentioned in Chapter 1 by specifying the meaning of public diplomacy concept in the context of Russian foreign policy.
Chapter 3 “The Contemporary International Image of the Russian Federation” is focused on empirical research aimed at depicting up-to-date attitudes towards Russia. In accordance to the spheres of main data collection, the chapter is divided into two sections. The first section “Russia in International Mass Media: Cold War Rhetoric vs. Constructive Cooperation”
analyses the sentiment and selection of events used by international mass media to create the image of Russia’s foreign and domestic policy, the state elites, and people in general. The second section
“Public Attitude towards Russian Government and Russian People” provides insight into the shaped opinions about the country through analyzing the answers to the sociological survey conducted by the author of the thesis discussed.
Chapter 4 “The Main Issues of Image-Building in Russia” centers around the issue of improvement of Russia’s status on the international arena and reconstruction of amicable connections and cooperation with foreign partners. The section 4.1 “Prospects of Russian Public Diplomacy and Roadblocks to a Successful Comprehension of the Country” lists and elaborates on the sources of mutual misconception lying both in the actions of foreign counterparts and the policy of the Russian Federation. The section 4.2 “Possible Ways of Overcoming Misunderstanding and for Development of an Auspicious Image” offers the roadmap of amendments to Russia’s understanding and exercise of image-building process and public diplomacy, which, in the author’s opinion, could melt the ice between the state and the greater part of the global community.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Chapter 5 “Conclusion” addresses the research questions, summarizing the major