THE STRUCTURE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AS A BASIS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT OF UKRAINE DURING THE WAR

Authors

  • Bohdan Yuskiv Rivne State Humanities University
  • Nataliia Karpchuk Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University
  • Oksana Pelekh Rivne State Humanities University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29038/2524-2679-2023-02-92-118

Keywords:

strategic communications, communication management, reflexive thematic analysis, media reports, generalized components and subcomponents, war, Ukraine

Abstract

Strategic communications ares one of the manifestations of state power and a tool to achieve national interests in politics and security. Modern conflicts have the form of hybrid actions in the field of information use based on the media and the Internet. The task of strategic communications is to influ- ence public opinion, change cultural values, and adjust the political system by «reprogramming» the political culture. The above offensive actions can significantly affect the defence and security of the state by influencing the public’s consciousness. This article focuses

on the issue of strategic communications of Ukraine during the Russian- Ukrainian war, which began on February 24, 2022. The authors consider strategic communications as a system consisting of invariant and variable components that can be projected in media reports. The authors proceed from the fact that, on the one hand, the media are an instrument of strate- gic communications, and on the other, strategic communications are trans- formed, reflected in media reports. The purpose of the study is to reveal the structure of strategic communications as the basis of communication man- agement, which is characteristic of the period of armed conflict. Reports of the Insider Ukraine Telegram channel during the first 100 days of the war were analyzed. Based on a reflexive thematic analysis, using a one-way dispersion analysis, it has been found that the strategic communications of Ukraine during the war period consist of the following invariant compo- nents: interactive communications of Ukraine, operational communications of Ukraine, extraoperational communications of Ukraine, operational and extraoperational communications concerning the RF. These generalized components have their sub-components, the intensity or total absence of which in media reports can be related to specific events of the war peri- od. This study contributes to the understanding of the structure of strategic communications in general and during the war in particular. The analysis of Internet communications should be considered as a part of strategic com- munications management, included in the process of strategic planning of the country’s defence and security.

References

Zerfass, Ansgar, Verčič, Dejan, Nothhaft, Howard and Werder, Kelly Page (2018). Strategic Communication: Defining the Field and its Contribution to Research and Practice, International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12:4, p. 487–505.

Cornish, Paul, Lindley-French, Julian and Yorke, Claire. (2011). Strategic commu- nications and national strategy, Chatham House Report, September, URL: https://www.cha- thamhouse.org/sites/default/files/r0911stratcomms.pdf

García, Juan Pablo Villar, Quirós, Carlota Tarín and Soria, Julio Blázquez (2021). Strategic communications as a key factor in countering hybrid threats, European Par- liamentary Research Service, URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ STUD/2021/656323/EPRS_STU(2021)656323_EN.pdf

V Akademiyi SBU prezentuvaly monohrafiyu pro stratehichni komunikatsiyi v umo- vakh hibrydnoyi viyny [A monograph on strategic communications in the conditions of hybrid warfare was presented at the SSU Academy], Ukrinform, October 23 (2021), URL: https:// www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-antifake/3337964-v-akademii-sbu-prezentuvali-monografiu-pro- strategicni-komunikacii-v-umovah-gibridnoi-vijni.html

Feiner, Lauren (2022). Ukraine is winning the information war against Russia, CNBC, March 1, URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/01/ukraine-is-winning-the-informa- tion-war-against-russia.html

Korsunskiy, S. (2022). Informatsiyna skladova viyny: yak Rosiya namahayetʹsya po- slabyty pidtrymku Zakhodu [The information component of war: how Russia is trying to weaken support of the West], Radio Svoboda, April 20. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda. org/a/informatsiyna-viyna-rosiyskyy-vplyv/31811302.html

Maguire, Moira and Delahunt, Brid. (2017). Doing a Thematic Analysis: A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide for Learning and Teaching Scholars, AISHE-J, vol. 9, № 3, p. 3351– 33514, URL: https://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/335

Ryan, Gery W. and Bernard, H. Russell (2000). Data Management and Analysis Methods, Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., p. 769–802, URL: http://qualquant. org/wp-content/uploads/text/2000%20Ryan_Bernard.denzin.pdf

Crosley, Jenna (2021). What (Exactly) Is Thematic Analysis? A Plain-Language Ex- planation & Definition (With Examples), GradCoach, April, URL: https://gradcoach.com/ what-is-thematic-analysis/

Lipkan, V. (2016). Ponyattya ta struktura stratehichnykh komunikatsiy na suchas- nomu etapi derzhavotvorennya [Concept and structure of strategic communications at the modern stage of state formation], Global Organisation of Allied Leadership, URL: https:// goal-int.org/ponyattya-ta-struktura-strategichnix-komunikacij-na-suchasnomu-etapi-der- zhavotvorennya/

Yuskiv, B., Karpchuk, N., Khomych, S. (2021). Media Reports as a Tool of Hybrid and Information Warfare (the Case of RT – Russia Today), Codrul Cosminolui, Issue 1, vol. 27, p. 235–258, URL: http://codrulcosminului.usv.ro/CC27/1/12.html

Bockstette, C. (2008). Jihadist Terrorist Use of Strategic Communication Man- agement Techniques. The George C. Marshall Centre for European Security Studies, No. 20, pp. 1–28, URL: https://www.marshallcenter.org/sites/default/files/files/2019-07/ PDF_PUB_OPS_20.pdf

Mitrović, M. (2019). Project Management of Strategic Communication in Digital Era. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, vol. 108, p. 76–82.

Michelsen, Nicholas and Frost, Mervyn Lowne. (2017). Strategic communications in international relations: Practical traps and ethical puzzles, Defence Strategic Communica- tions, vol. 2, p. 9–33, URL: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/strategic-com- munications-in-international-relations(36b55dee-049f-4d89-b3c7-46297d1f9def).html

Strategic Communication in EU-Russia Relations: Tensions, Challenges and Op- portunities, ed. Evgeny Pashentsev (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), p. 19–20, URL: https://www.academia.edu/40959010/Strategic_Communication_in_EU_Russia_Rela- tions_Strategic_Communication_in_EU_Russia_Relations_Tensions_Challenges_and_Op- portunities_Ed_Evgeny_Pashentsev_Cham_Palgrave_Macmillan_2020

Tatham, Steve (2008). Strategic Communications: A Primer, ARAG Special Se- ries 8/28, Shrivenham: Defence Academy of the UK, p. 7. URL: https://www.files.ethz.ch/ isn/94411/2008_Dec.pdf

US Department of Defense, Strategic Communication: Joint Integrating Concept (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 7 October 2009). URL: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/ pdfs/ADA510204.pdf

García, Juan Pablo Villar, Quirós, Carlota Tarín and Soria, Julio Blázquez. (2021). Strategic communications as a key factor in countering hybrid threats, European Par- liamentary Research Service. URL: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ STUD/2021/656323/EPRS_STU(2021)656323_EN.pdf

Stavridis, James G. (2007). Strategic Communication and National Security, JFQ,

issue 46, 3d quarter. URL: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA575204

Guerrero-Castro, Cristian E. (2013). Strategic Communication for Security & Na- tional Defense: Proposal for an Interdisciplinary Approach, The Quarterly Journal 12, № 2,

p. 27–51. URL: http://connections-qj.org/article/strategic-communication-security-nation- al-defense-proposal-interdisciplinary-approach

Pro rishennya Rady natsionalʹnoyi bezpeky i oborony Ukrayiny vid 29 hrudnya 2016 roku «Pro Doktrynu informatsiynoyi bezpeky Ukrayiny»: Ukaz Prezydenta Ukrayiny vid 25 lyutoho 2017 r. №47/2017 [On the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine as of December 29, 2016 «On the Information Security Doctrine of Ukraine»: Decree of the President of Ukraine as of February 25, 2017 No. 47/2017]. URL: https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/472017-21374

Bozhuk, L. (2022). Sutnistʹ yavyshcha «stratehichni komunikatsiyi». PR yak riznovyd stratehichnoho menedzhmentu [The essence of the «strategic communication» phenomenon. PR as a type of strategic management], Repository of the National Aviation University. URL: https://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/53949

Lipkan, V. (2016). Ponyattya ta struktura stratehichnykh komunikatsiy na suchas- nomu etapi derzhavotvorennya [Concept and structure of strategic communications at the modern stage of state formation], Global Organisation of Allied Leadership. URL: https:// goal-int.org/ponyattya-ta-struktura-strategichnix-komunikacij-na-suchasnomu-etapi-der- zhavotvorennya/

ВКП 10-00(49).01. Doktryna zi stratehichnykh komunikatsiy [Doctrine of strategic communications], (Kyiv, 2020).

Zolotukhin, D. (2022). Shcho konkretno (i chomu) ne mozhna povidomlyaty i poka- zuvaty v media pid chas viyny [What exactly (and why) cannot be reported and shown in the media during the war]. Detector Media, March 30. URL: https://detector.media/infospace/ article/197960/2022-03-30-shcho-konkretno-i-chomu-ne-mozhna-povidomlyaty-i-pokazu- vaty-v-media-pid-chas-viyny/

Mackenzie, Ruairi J. (2022). ANOVA, Technology Networks. Informatics. URL: https://www.technologynetworks.com/informatics/articles/one-way-vs-two-way-anova- definition-differences-assumptions-and-hypotheses-306553

Butler, Michael. (2022). Ukraine’s information war is winning hearts and minds in the West, The Conversation, May 12. URL: https://theconversation.com/ukraines-informa- tion-war-is-winning-hearts-and-minds-in-the-west-181892

Izvoshchikova, A. (2022). Rada vvela kryminalʹnu vidpovidalʹnistʹ za foto- ta vid- eozyomku peremishchenʹ ZSU [The Council introduced criminal liability for photo and video shooting of the Armed Forces], Suspilne. News, March 25. URL: https://suspilne. media/221239-rada-vvela-kriminalnu-vidpovidalnist-za-foto-ta-videozjomku-peremisen- zsu/

Korsunskiy, S. (2022). Informatsiyna skladova viyny: yak Rosiya namahayetʹsya poslabyty pidtrymku Zakhodu [The information component of war: how Russia is trying to weaken support of the West], Radio Svoboda, April 20. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda. org/a/informatsiyna-viyna-rosiyskyy-vplyv/31811302.html

Liskovych, M. (2022). Informatsiyno-psykholohichna viyna: Ukrayina yiyi tochno ne prhraye [Information and psychological warfare: Ukraine definitely does not lose it], Ukrinform, May 28. URL: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3494447-informacijnopsi- hologicna-vijna-ukraina-ii-tocno-ne-prograe.html

Nakaz Holovnokomanduvacha Zbroynykh Syl Ukrayiny № 73 vid 03.03.22 Pro orhanizatsiyu vzayemodiyi mizh Zbroynymy Sylamy Ukrayiny, inshymy skladovymy syl obo- rony ta predstavnykamy zasobiv masovoyi informatsiyi na chas diyi pravovoho [Order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine № 73 of 03.03.22 On the or- ganization of interaction between the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other components of the Defense Forces and representatives of the media during the legal regime of martial law], Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (2022). URL: https://www.mil.gov.ua/content/mou_orders/ nakaz_73_050322.pdf

Telegram reytynh. Top korysnykh ukrayinsʹkykh telehramm-kanaliv novyn ta dlya biznesu [Telegram rating. Top useful Ukrainian Telegram channels for news and business], Marketer, July 2 (2022). URL: https://marketer.ua/ua/telegram-rating-top-useful-ukrainian- telegram-channels/

Yuskiv, B., Karpchuk, N. (2021). Dominating Concepts of Russian Federation Propaganda Against Ukraine (Content and Collocation Analyses of Russia Today), Poli- tologija, Issue 2, vol. 102, p. 116–152. URL: https://www.journals.vu.lt/politologija/article/ view/24506

Published

2023-05-25