Concept of Public Diplomacy  in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse

Semen Ahromenko

doi:10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369

VAK Russia

5.5.2

CONCEPT OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN RUSSIAN AND WESTERN SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse

АА Аа

Published in Bulletin of Kemerovo State University. Series: Political, Sociological and Economic sciences · Pages 357–369 · Rubric: Society: Cultural and Political Development

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369 · EDN: ZERMZC

Received: 04.04.2025 Accepted: 02.06.2025 Published: 02.10.2025

Authors

Semen Ahromenko

Tomsk State Pedagogical University Tomsk

ABSTRACT

The term public diplomacy remains ambiguous in academic discourse. Its heterogeneous interpretations have to be systematized to enhance the analysis of its practices. This article offers such a classification of definitions based on different methodological approaches (systemic vs. practice-oriented) and schools (conservative, liberal, intermediate) in Russian and foreign research traditions. The review involved 43 publications (2003–2023). Their qualitative and quantitative content analysis focused on five definitional components (essence, subject, object, purpose, tasks) and three secondary characteristics (geography, approach, school). Quantitatively, 71.8% of the authors used non-systemic terms (instrument, process, etc.), while only 28.2% appealed to systemic ones (policy, set of measures, etc.). The research revealed some significant discrepancies: Russian researchers mostly adopted the systemic approach (42.0%) and the conservative school (65.0%), whereas foreign scholars favored the practice-oriented approach (92.0%) and the intermediate school (39.1%). The conceptual landscape of public diplomacy needs a universal theoretical framework for all contextual differences to expand the empirical base and confirm the trends identified in this research. The findings provide a foundation for critical literature analysis and constructive dialogue on various methodologies applied to Russia’s public diplomacy.

KEYWORDS

public diplomacy, terminology, theoretical conceptualization, research methodology, civil diplomacy, propaganda, soft power, academic discourse

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GOST

Ahromenko S. A. Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse // . 2025. pp. 357-369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369. EDN: ZERMZC. (Date of access 20.08.2026).

MLA

Semen Ahromenko. "Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse." (2025): 357-369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369. EDN: ZERMZC.

APA

Ahromenko S. A. (2025). Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse. , 357-369. https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369 EDN: ZERMZC.

Chicago

Semen Ahromenko. "Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse." , no. (2025): 357-369. https://doi.org/10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369. EDN: ZERMZC.

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{{cite journal | author = Ahromenko S. A. | title = Concept of Public Diplomacy in Russian and Western Scientific Discourse | journal = | year = 2025 | pages = 357-369 | doi = 10.21603/2500-3372-2025-10-3-357-369 }} EDN: ZERMZC

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