COMMUNICATION OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES AND CITIZENS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A QUASI-DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTE

Abstract

The study is devoted to the problem of the functioning of channels of interaction between government officials and citizens through accounts on social networks as a political tool aimed at maintaining public confidence in the current authority. The relevance of the work is an attempt to characterize the role of social networks in establishing communication between power and society. The purpose of the study is to present a holistic picture of the features of social networks as a means of communication between government and society. It has been established that such communication channels have features characteristic of the democratic institute, including publicity, and direct expression of will, but not in full, since the discretion of a representative of public authority remains in responding to incoming appeals. It is determined that such channels can be a powerful tool for influencing public opinion. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the characterization of communication between government and society through social networks as a quasi-democratic political institution. The study analyzes the specifics of the use of social networks by government officials to establish communication with society, case-study in the research of their pages in social networks in the context of their public functions. The conclusion was formulated that the possibility of tracking the status of an appeal and the procedure of its consideration on the website of an authority becomes an effective communication channel characteristic of the institution of democracy.