The impact of digital tools on conflict communications in the "power-society" system: the experience of Russian regions

Enikeeva Ekaterina ORCID: 0000-0001-5887-5086 Assistant, Department of Social and Political Sciences, The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications 193232, Russia, Saint Petersburg, 22 Bolshevikov Ave., room 1, room 331/1 enikeeva_em@mail.ru

Kulnazarova Anastasiya ORCID: 0000-0003-3858-995X PhD in Politics Associate Professor, Department of Social and Political Sciences, The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications 193232, Russia, Saint Petersburg region, Saint Petersburg, 22 Bolshevikov Ave., room 1, room 335/1 av-spn@ya.ru

Introduction

Digital changes in society, initiated by the approval of the Digital Economy of the Russian Federation program in 2017, have a direct impact on the transformation of the communication environment. Digital technologies are used almost everywhere today - in economics, public administration, and social life, which entails significant substantive and structural changes in these areas, so serious that it is advisable to use the concept of

“digital transformation" (DT).

Digital transformation should be understood as changes in the management of an object (enterprise, organization, locality, state) that are systemic in nature and entail modification of strategies, models, operations, products, marketing approach and goals according to the possibilities provided by digital technologies.

It would not be an exaggeration to call digital transformation one of the global trends in the modern world. Projects aimed at digitalizing various aspects of the life of the state and society are supported at all levels – international, state, and local.

The government is interested in digitalization, because thanks to digital tools, people can receive public services faster and cheaper, while the quality of these services increases significantly. Thus, AI (artificial intelligence) makes the work of staff more accurate, allows them to receive the necessary services more quickly, while the number of people required to perform a particular task decreases. Due to the interoperability and adaptation to the Internet of Things technologies, the systems successfully work together. Accordingly, significant savings in time, money, and human resources are achieved. This suggests that due to digitalization, governments have ample opportunities to extract economic and social benefits ^[1].

However, it is worth noting that the transfer of dialogue to a digital environment has led to an increase in conflict sites. Modern researchers (Chumikov A.N., Grachev M.N.) note strong quantitative and qualitative changes in the media segment and, as a result, the mediatization of public life as a consequence of digital transformation ^{[2, 3]}. This process includes the transformation of the socio-political sphere in close intertwining with the media field. According to M.N. Grachev, mediatization provokes conflict situations and leads to an increase in the degree of conflict in the socio-political sphere.

The study of the use of digital tools in the framework of conflict communications in the political sphere allows us to analyze the interaction between society and government in modern conditions, as well as to identify the features of this interaction.

Digital tools in the political sphere

The process of digitalization gets its practical embodiment through the introduction of separate digital tools that solve certain tasks.

Let's list the main types of digital tools used in the fields of public administration and political life ^[4].

1. Social networks. This digital resource has been actively used in political life since 2014. It was then that the Russian government approved the Open State project, one of the components of which was to ensure sufficient information openness of ministries and departments through the creation and regular maintenance of accounts on social networks. Federal Law No. 270-FZ of July 14, 2022 establishes that all government agencies must have their official page on social networks such as Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte. Through social media, participants in the political struggle actively influence people, especially if elections are approaching.

2. Video conferencing services (for example, TrueConf VCS). Thanks to these services, many structures have received the opportunity for remote interaction and remote work. Successfully tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, videoconferencing services have firmly entered the daily lives of most businesses and organizations. Additional convenience is the availability of live streaming of conference data and the ability to record a hangout.

3. Government portals and websites. This is a kind of reliable source for communicating political decisions to the electorate. Today, many government portals have a feedback function or a "virtual reception". This allows citizens to ask a question or submit a complaint online. The most striking example in this area is the Unified Portal of Public Services Gosuslugi. The portal allows a variety of government agencies to use a single database of users, and citizens, respectively, to receive the services of these structures remotely. Even voting on "Public Services" can be done online.

4. Video hosting services. Politicians usually post their videos on these resources with specific goals of influencing different types of audience.

5. The system of Regional Management Centers (SDGs). Within the framework of this system, complaints from residents of the region are constantly monitored, regardless of the area in which the violation that the citizen is complaining about takes place. The following tools are used for this purpose.

A. The collection and analysis of citizens' appeals sent via social networks is carried out by the Incident Management program. It operates around the clock in real time. The program sorts the signals by the nature and area of the problem and transmits them to the profile structure. The latter, in turn, must provide a substantive response within 24 hours, starting from the moment the signal is registered in the system ^{[5, 6]}.

B. The synthesis of signals in order to visually demonstrate the overall picture of the mood in the region is carried out by the Prisma monitoring system. The system, among other things, records messages with signs of extremism, as well as users spreading fakes ^[7].

The most important ways to use digital tools include the following.

1. Prompt informing of citizens. It is generally recognized that today the Internet is one of the most operational sources of information about the activities of government agencies, government decisions, opinions and actions of political figures (an article on the official website of the administration of St. Petersburg "Under the control of the Smolny PBX: reliable videoconferencing during the pandemic"). So, on the official website of the Government of St. Petersburg, you can always find out the latest news about the work of the city administration, the governor, and the official life of the city. Here, citizens can submit applications to the city authorities through an electronic reception. Similar information is posted on the official pages of the city government in social networks.

2. The growth of citizens' interest in politics, encouraging citizens to participate in the political life of the country through, inter alia, participation in votes and referendums held in the country or region. An important tool for achieving these goals should be called the online voting mechanism through the DEG remote electronic voting service, which is authorized through the Gosuslugi portal ^[8].

3. Prompt response to citizens' complaints. De facto, this means an accelerated solution to social, housing and communal services, educational, etc. problems that people face in everyday life. Thanks to the SDGs, it became possible to provide timely feedback to the population on issues relevant to people ^[1]. So, in the Krasnodar Territory in 2020, about 300 appeals from citizens were received every day through the Incident Manager system. In 2.5 months, the relevant structures and specialists of the SDGs processed 7.5 thousand comments from social networks. The main number of complaints were related to domestic problems: the condition of roads, timely supply of water and electricity, illegal landfills, etc. ^[9].

4. The growth of information openness of government agencies through the popularization of live broadcasts with representatives of government agencies and departments. Thanks to digital tools, the number of meetings that can be held between representatives of the administrative apparatus, politicians and citizens is increasing, and the quality of dialogue between them is improving. For example, on the official website of the State Duma, you can find a round-the-clock broadcast of all Duma meetings. When the live broadcast from the meeting ends, you can view its recording. This gives everyone the opportunity to observe the work of the deputies. Live broadcasts with government officials are also held on social networks; at the same time, those present have the opportunity to ask their question in the chat.

5. Raising people's awareness of issues related to the exercise of citizens' rights and ensuring their safety. For example, in 2021-2022, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations posted video instructions on the TikTok network telling citizens what to do in case of an emergency. Through the use of this network, information was brought to the attention of such a social group as youth and adolescents.

6. Identification of prevailing sentiments in various groups of citizens. Thanks to the research and systematization of incoming messages and complaints, comments left on social networks, a picture of public opinion is emerging, its trends and dynamics are emerging. It becomes possible to focus the attention of the authorities on those issues that seem to people to be the most urgent and topical, and to respond in time to problems that cause social tension in society ^[1].

7. Prompt response to actual and potential information risks, the possibility of preventive work to prevent and predict them, recording messages and comments containing signs of extremism ^[4]. So, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the SDG tracked 2,425 fake coronavirus messages. After transmitting the relevant information to law enforcement agencies and Roskomnadzor, 37 criminal cases were initiated, 450 administrative protocols were drawn up (the article "The Russian Incident Management system will help control regional officials").

Research methods

To analyze how much and how digital tools affect communications during conflicts between the Russian authorities and society, seven official pages of the country's city and regional administrations on the VKontakte social network were studied. The study aimed to establish the dynamics of conflict escalation in the digital environment, to identify how the administration of the city region will behave in such communication, and to find the most effective ways and techniques to reduce conflict resolution.

The pages of the administrations of the Voronezh and Sverdlovsk regions, the cities of Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Ufa, Kazan, and St. Petersburg were randomly selected for consideration. At the first stage, from January 1 to January 10, 2023, the research methodology was tested using the example of the St. Petersburg Government website ^[10]. During this time, 22 conflict topics were selected. The second stage was held from October 1 to October 30, 2023, the period was extended due to less activity of citizens on social networks of Governments of other regions. During this period, the following conflict topics were selected:: Voronezh region – 9, Krasnoyarsk – 7, Ufa – 5, Omsk – 6, Kazan – 5, Sverdlovsk region – 5. The selection was carried out according to the following parameters:

- the presence of signs indicating the potential for conflict, namely, certain contradictions;

− the fact of an official response to the appeal of a citizen (citizens) from the committees or the government of the city region, manual or mechanical (using bots).

− the activity of discussing the topic raised (assessed by the presence of four or more comments in the thematic "thread").

Next, we conducted a sentiment analysis of comments left by citizens to posts posted on the official pages and VKontakte groups of the administrations of the selected regions (Table 1). Sentiment analysis in the framework of this study means extracting emotions from a particular text that reflect the assessment and attitude of the subject to the subject of the statement ^[11]. This emotion can be identified as negative, positive, or neutral. If the official response of the administration has led to an increase in the number of negative evaluationscomments, then we can talk about an aggravation of the conflict situation. If the reaction of citizens to official statements by the authorities is a decrease in the number of negative statements or an increase in the number of positive statements, we can talk about a weakening or even resolution of the conflict situation.

The results of the study

TABLE 1 – sentiment analysis of comments on publications in the official groups of administrations of selected cities and regions on the VKontakte social network

Where "+" is a positive key, "-" is a negative key, and "0" is a neutral key.

It is important to note that the number of comments, as well as the appearance of conflicting topics, are related, among other things, to the size of the city/region's population and, as a result, the number of subscribers.

The table data shows that in 62.7% of cases, the response given from the official Government or Committee page on the VKontakte social network led to an escalation of the conflict. The reasons for the escalation of conflicts were the following factors:

1. Citizens' perception of the message generated by the system as a "robot response."

2. No official answer was given to the main question, attention was artificially shifted to other aspects.

3. The response received actually duplicates the previously received response, to which citizens have already reacted negatively and which did not contain steps to solve the problem.

4. Regular use of "common" templates in responses, scripts consisting of common phrases and not answering the question in substance.

5. The use of a large number of special terms in the answer, including legal ones, which makes it difficult for ordinary people who do not have the appropriate education to understand the essence of the answer.

6. The addition of this response with photographic materials allegedly "from the scene", which in fact turn out to be either unrelated to this region, or taken long before the incident.

7. Excessive moderation of comments, deletion of messages that do not contradict the rules in force in the group.

However, in 37.3% of cases, the use of digital tools such as the Incident Management program and government accounts in social networks allowed de-escalation of conflicts. Important factors in this were:

1. The use of visual argumentation by government agencies (actual photographs from the event sites, statistical data).

2. Personalized response generated without using a template.

3. Continuing the dialogue with the townspeople, clarifying certain aspects of the problem raised, and answering subsequent and more specific questions from people.

4. The maximum concreteness of the response of the authorities, a detailed list of measures taken to eliminate the problem, and a named indication of the persons responsible for the problem.

Conclusions

Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the use of digital tools for communication between government and society as a whole has a significant impact on the process in general and specifically on conflict-related communications. Unfortunately, most of the time the official responses of the authorities "work" not to resolve the conflict, but to escalate it, because they are generated automatically, executed in a template, consist mainly of general phrases, without giving clear answers to the questions posed. Where the answers of the authorities are given in substance, where they are sufficiently reasoned and formulated in clear and understandable language, excluding ambiguous interpretations, where the authorities demonstrate a willingness to conduct a full-fledged dialogue with society, digital tools allow at least to mitigate the conflict situation, as much as possible to resolve the conflict.

So, the use of digital tools in the field of public communications is promising and necessary in modern conditions. It organizes communications with citizens, ensures transparency in the activities of government agencies, officials and politicians, and opens up opportunities for information and campaigning activities. Today, there are high-quality software products that allow automating communications in the digital environment, however, effective and constructive interaction with citizens on the Internet requires not only monitoring complaints and appeals in order to generate automatic responses, but also individually processing incoming requests and providing timely, specific and personal responses, as well as ensuring reliability. information on social networks in conditions of an abundance of "fakes" and "bots".