Digital Diplomacy as a Form of Implementing “Soft Power” in the Context of Internet Space Segmentation

The aim of this study is to examine the specific features of implementing “soft power” in the form of digital diplomacy at the current stage of communication technology development.The methodological basis of the research is the conceptual construct of “soft power” proposed by D. Nye. The study shows that at the present stage, the implementation of public diplomacy as a form of “soft power” is carried out primarily in the space of social networks. The network basis of digital diplomacy has significantly increased the potential of the influence of “soft power” tools due to the qualitative transformation of the architecture of political communication itself. However, today, the previously unified Internet space is undergoing segmentation along the boundaries of technological platforms, the fractures of which are dictated by political factors. Segmentation of the network environment significantly reduces the effectiveness of “soft power” in the framework of public diplomacy, and in some cases, by creating special restrictions, makes it impossible. The seemingly obvious option of overcoming cyber-Balkanization by returning to a single Internet space is utopian in modern realities. Moreover, a rigid connection between the state’s digital sovereignty and the possibilities of implementing digital diplomacy as a form of “soft power” appears to be the most realistic scenario.