Celebrity Diplomacy: The Evolution of Approaches to the Study of the Phenomenon

The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy, despite its growing importance in modern international rela-tions, remains understudied in the humanities. This article presents the evolution of scientific interest in this phenome-non, which, according to the authors, can be divided into several main stages. At the first stage, researchers were mainly limited to the national context and studied the role of celebrities in shaping public opinion through political campaigns and cultural propaganda. During the Cold War, experts began to think of celebrities as conductors of cultural diplomacy, capable of influencing the construction of the international image of states. At the present stage, there is a deepening analysis of the theory and practice of celebrity diplomacy. Experts are actively exploring the possibilities of transforming media popularity into political capital, and also studying specific cases when celebrities participate in shaping the inter-national agenda and show political activity in solving certain international problems.