EU Public Diplomacy Effects on Ukrainian Attitudes towards the EU

Abstract: The European Union actively employs public diplomacy for enhancing visibility and promoting its positive image among the foreign audiences. There is an extensive academic debate concerning the normative and regulatory framework of the EU public diplomacy. While correct, the literature omits the observation of the influence it has on target societies. This thesis is devoted to the illumination of EU public diplomacy effects on the attitudes towards the EU among the mass public and opinion leaders of Ukraine, a state where the complicated circumstances of communication with government and political elites made public diplomacy the most reliable way to achieve foreign policy objectives. By constructing analogies between the real existing perceptions of the EU within the Ukrainian society with the official message concerning image of the EU created by the EU Delegation to Ukraine as the main diplomatic representative of the Union in the given country, the research reveals the main effects of the EU public diplomacy on Ukrainian attitudes towards the EU. The results of the research show that the EU Delegation to Ukraine successfully transfers to the Ukrainian society the vision of the EU as an attractive integration direction, reliable assistant, stable and wealthy union with strong commitment to democratic values.