STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND RESEARCH TOOLS
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2415-881x.2025.96.129-144
Abstract
The article presents a comprehensive study of strategic communications as a theoretical and methodological category and as a practical tool of modern states’ information policy. The significance of strategic communications for ensuring national security, democratic governance, and societal resilience under hybrid threats is substantiated. It has been revealed that, in the Ukrainian context, the formation of the system of strategic communications takes place at the intersection of legal regulations, institutional practices, and international standards, which determines its integration into the Euro-Atlantic space.
It is established that the national legal framework (Laws of Ukraine On Information, On Media, Presidential Decrees on the Doctrine of Information Security, Cybersecurity Strategy, and the establishment of the Center for Countering Disinformation) provides the foundation for the development of strategic communications as an element of state information policy. It is demonstrated that aligning these documents with European regulations (European Democracy Action Plan, Digital Services Act, European Media Freedom Act) and NATO approaches (NATO Strategic Communications Policy, Military Committee Policy) creates the prerequisites for establishing a unified security and communication environment.
The methodological guidelines of the study are outlined, combining institutional, comparative-legal, structural-functional, and discourse analysis. This allowed for a systematic examination of both the conceptual foundations of strategic communications and the practical mechanisms of their functioning. It is generalized that strategic communications are simultaneously a means of communication management, a channel for building public trust, and a key instrument of countering disinformation and external influence, strengthening democratic resilience and Ukraine’s geopolitical agency.
Keywords
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