Social Media in International Relations

Social Media (SM) have nowadays become an essential aspect of our lives. Rapid development of telecommunication networks and its’ wide accessibility contributes heavily to the increase of internet users annually. At the same time alongside the tendency for extensive growth we can also outline rising complexity of internet resources that let people engage in all kinds of activities – from finances to shopping, from mere conversations to online education. And at the top of that process are the social networks a.k.a Social Media. Ultimately being designed as a unified space for people to communicate with each other despite their current location or nationality, it soon turned into a powerful instrument for advertising, commerce, education, social movements and even politics. It is only logical that with the growth of user base of such resources its’ original name was eventually replaced by the term «Social Media», outlining potential influence on people’s minds.

With that in mind there is no surprise that even governments and political parties seeks to find use for such a promising instrument. With the current events in the world politics and general tendency for confrontational escalation between most prominent global powers and the commonly used tactics of information wars, such a channel of distribution becomes highly valuable.   

The aim of this course is to analyze the potential use of Social Media in terms of world politics via several cases that include vast participation of students. After completing this course students are to grasp mechanisms present in the structure of various social media resources that are commonly used to spread information and influence opinions. Participants will also learn basics of Social Media Management, art of debate, copywriting, launching campaigns, aspects of targeting different social strata – all of which will allow them to use Social Media as a professional instrument in their further careers. Another important part of this course is the introduction of students to the concept of information wars, taking a closer look at its peculiarities and trends.