SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY CONFLICTS

Abstract

The article explores the pivotal role of social media as a tool for managing global political processes and conflict resolution. The authors argue that social communications build a multi-level socio-political space that allows institutions to shape their activities in accordance with people’s demands and needs. By sharing political content and involving different social groups in its making, digital platforms are becoming an integrative part of global politics. Under conditions of conflicts, social media maintains a positive brand of the state, increasing its recognition on the global stage, strengthening interstate trust, and intercultural dialogue. Using social media, states are able to establish communication with international institutions and influence target audiences.

The methods and peculiarities of using social media at different stages of conflicts and in different geopolitical areas are analyzed. Based on the analysis of the features of the use of digital platforms in conflicts in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, it was determined that social communications showed the greatest effectiveness as a technology for mobilizing the population in support of democracy and the protection of human rights during the events of the Arab Spring. The authors reveal that under conditions of conflicts, social media is becoming a tool of social identification and consolidation, allowing people to establish ties on the basis of cultural and ethnic affiliation, revealing their needs and interests, while providing psychological support and reducing the negative impact of media on the consumer’s mental health.

The disinformation, fake news, and manipulative techniques are revealed as the real threats to conflict settlement. Under political confrontations, manipulation tactics are used to increase polarization in society, mistrust of state institutions, and discredit political institutions as a whole.