Сравнительная политика (Mar 2024)
Public Diplomacy Potential of the Border Regions to Reduce the Socio-Cultural Threats of the Western Borderlands of Russia
Abstract
The article discusses the public diplomacy potential to reduce the socio-cultural threats of the border regions located on the western borders of Russia. The key problem in the context of the deep transformation of the post-Soviet socio-cultural landscape is that at the level of cross-border interaction, public diplomacy acquires a special meaning and significant potential. The socio-cultural proximity of local and ethnic communities of the border region significantly increases the opportunities for public diplomacy in the format of cultural exchange. Acting as a tool for achieving the global goals of the state’s foreign policy, public diplomacy can be used in the practice of resolving international conflicts and threats. For the first time, the results of sociological diagnostics of the readiness of the border territories population to participate in the implementation of public diplomacy projects, awareness of the forms of public diplomacy and the possibilities of participation in such projects and major international programs implemented in the regions, as well as the effectiveness of non-profit organizations of border regions implementing projects in the field of public diplomacy are presented. The article explores the specification of the directions and forms of public diplomacy at the regional level in the cross-border interaction of the Eurasian Union, the importance of the development of twinning relations for border cities is noted, the importance of the practice of public diplomacy, both at the level of non-profit organizations and in the form of cross-border communication of the population to reduce various socio-cultural threats inherent in the border area is emphasized. The close attention is paid to the interaction of cultures and ethnic groups of border regions, once unified ethno-cultural communities separated by state borders. The authors touch upon the socio-cultural threats of the frontier space – an invisible spatial area within which the common ethno-cultural identity of the population extends beyond the state borders. In the final part of the article the conclusions are presented on the main results and recommendations that will not only increase the effectiveness of public diplomacy projects in the border regions, but also concentrate the activities of its main actors on reducing socio-cultural threats characteristic of the western borderlands of Russia.
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