Information coverage of the foreign policies of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine in the second half of the 2010s: new resources and instruments

  • Vladislav V. Froltsov Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

Abstract

The article considers the main resources and instruments for information coverage of the foreign policies of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. They are used in the second half of the 2010s to promote national interests in the context of the active development of information and communication technologies and their more increasing use for the implementation of foreign policy tasks. The relevant approaches to realization of the digital diplomacy are identified and characterized, including an expansion of presence in the leading social networks, key features of broadcasting organization of the international satellite TV channels and use of the anonymous political Telegram channels for working with foreign audiences.

Author Biography

Vladislav V. Froltsov, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

doctor of science (history), docent; professor at the department of international relations, faculty of international relations

References

  1. Makarov O. Quality content is the best cure for fake news [Internet]. 2019 February 18 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://eng.belta.by/opinions/view/quality-content-is-the-best-cure-for-fake-news-5883/.
  2. Castells M. Communication power. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2011. 592 p.
  3. Dijk J van. The Network society. 2nd edition. London: Sage Publications; 2006. 301 p.
  4. Draft Belarus information security concept presented to head of state [Internet]. 2019 March 12 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://eng.belta.by/president/view/draft-belarus-information-security-concept-presented-to-head-of-state-119365-2019/.
  5. Froltsov VV. Politicheskie teorii mirovogo razvitiya [Political theories of global development]. Minsk: Belarusian State University; 2018. 200 p. Russian.
  6. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to questions at a meeting with students and faculty at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Moscow, September 3, 2018 [Internet]. 2018 September 3 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/3336393.
  7. Social media [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: http://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/social_accounts.
  8. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Social media [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://mfa.gov.ua/en/page/open/id/4601.
  9. Annual review of foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus and activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018 [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: http://mfa.gov.by/en/publications/reports/c6a9b8e77e5bf177.html.
  10. Social media [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: http://mfa.gov.by/en/social_media/.
  11. About RT [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://www.rt.com/about-us/.
  12. Kremlin boosts budget for TV Channel RT. The Moscow Times [Internet]. 2016 December 1 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2016/12/01/rt-channel-gets-additional-12-bln-rubles-a56375.
  13. Sputnik International. About us [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://sputniknews.com/docs/about/index.html.
  14. Nye JS. How sharp power threatens soft power. Foreign Affairs [Internet]. 2018 January 24 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-01-24/how-sharp-power-threatens-soft-power?cid=intfls&pgtype=hpg.
  15. Ninnis D. Making Russia great again. Fake news and the future of the Federation. Per Concordiam. Journal of European Security and Defense Issues. 2019;9:(2):24–31.
  16. Reid J. The scourge of fake news. Inoculating societies against propaganda. Per Concordiam. Journal of European Security and Defense Issues. 2019;9(2):40–47.
  17. UATV. About us [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://eng.uatv.ua/about/.
  18. Belarus 24. About us [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://belarus24.by/en/about/company/.
  19. About radio [Internet; cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: http://radiobelarus.by/en/content/about-radio.
  20. Once celebrated in Russia, the programmer Pavel Durov chooses exile. The New York Times [Internet]. 2014 December 2 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/technology/once-celebrated-in-russia-programmer-pavel-durov-chooses-exile.html.
  21. Former NATO secretary general’s statements on Belarus dismissed as nonsense [Internet]. 2019 February 21 [cited 2019 March 14]. Available from: https://eng.belta.by/politics/view/former-nato-secretary-generals-statements-on-belarus-dismissed-as-nonsense-118911-2019/.
Published
2019-07-01
Keywords: foreign policy information coverage, foreign public opinion, digital diplomacy, social networks, international satellite TV channels, anonymous political Telegram channels
How to Cite
Froltsov, V. V. (2019). Information coverage of the foreign policies of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine in the second half of the 2010s: new resources and instruments. Journal of the Belarusian State University. International Relations, 1, 3-10. Retrieved from https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/internationalRelations/article/view/1285
Section
History of International Relations and Foreign Policy