The problem of politics is that nobody controls it anymore, because the social formula of its acceptance is expiring, or has already expired. There is anarchy. There exist monopolies of international corporations, which try to govern globally but do not have sufficient social legitimation to do it. The notion of economic globalisation that refers to this has been developed, but in reality there is a vacuum of global management and participation (the growth of emotions over reasons, a tribal approach, and territorialism) in the prospect of growing threats (e.g. climate change, terrorism, migrations, pandemics). An average human, full of natural envy, desires that everybody can fulfil themselves in the material world the same as them, and such equality would be satisfying for them as we know that the argument about similar stomachs is universal. He or she does not want equality in spiritual realisation; here, with ease, he or she accepts that there are smarter and more talented people than them, but they will defend fiercely their equality, treating their right to it extremely seriously. Equality is a part of human faith, and practice confirms the suggestions that traditional mythical patterns cannot be eliminated without toil. Certainly, there is no threat of the end of politics. So far, all living organisms of the human kind organise themselves. The specifics of this self-organisation depend on self-determination. People will have an interest in politics as long as politics determines their security. Nowadays, we are again witnesses to disorder, revolution, desperation, and terror, so the factors that cause fear start to dominate in the moral narrative. Finally, security and directing improvement of life chances are tasks of politics and the political character. It would be a catastrophe if a problem of security returned to its pre-political state. The basic aspect of human self-determination is the organisation of every personal life according to the norms and activities allowed by the group. Theories referring to the crisis of democracy (through e.g. the dictates of fear of nuclear war, terrorism, ecologic catastrophe, a technocratic state with an expert-driven system, entertainment justified by economic-political interest groups, and losing sovereignty through complicated institutions, external networks, and sub-political social subgroups) could become true, or have already become true. The loss of reputation, credibility, and attractiveness can happen at the same time as the decline of the meaning of internalisation in social communication, which appears in the growing discouragement towards politics and the creation of subsystems that are not predictable and steerable in a democratic way because of their complexity.

Artykuł skoncentrowany jest wokół analizy fenomenu roli międzynarodowej, jaką osiągnęła we współczesnej Azji Wschodniej Nowa Zelandia. Opierając się na modelu PIPP, oszacowuję poszczególne elementy składające się na rolę międzynarodową (potęgę, wpływ, obecność i działalność międzynarodową) wszystkich Partnerów Dialogowych ASEAN – centralnej organizacji regionalnej w tej części świata. Następnie przy pomocy analizy strategicznych narracji weryfikuję hipotezę upatrującą przyczynę sukcesu Nowej Zelandii w jej niezmiennej od dekad dobrej reputacji.

Since 2015, the Social Credit System - an initiative of the government of the People’s Republic of China which aims to strengthen trustworthiness of the business entities and citizens, promote obedience to law and customs, and develop the Communist Party of China’s control over social trends and potential threats to the political stability - has been attracting worldwide attention. International media portrays the System as a mechanism which leads China to totalitarianism and destroys hope for development of the Chinese democratic movement. Therefore, interests of both sides, the West and China, are seen as contradictory. Harmful beliefs like the one that Chinese still export products of poor quality and on the Chinese side that the Western ideals lead to demoralization are common thanks to some sort of Occidental and Oriental propaganda. That is why it is necessary to compile and analyze the known facts regarding the Social Credit System, which in contrast to the media narration turns out to be a tool with interesting capabilities, not necessarily contradictory to the other major civilizations’ values.

In turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many challenges to a country’s international reputation. During the pandemic, Sweden, especially in its first stage, was frequently presented by international media outlets, sometimes negatively. Such adverse reporting may have imposed some reputational threats on Sweden. This research aims to investigate Swedish communication through a short-term perspective of public diplomacy (its day-to-day dimension) with the foreign public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on qualitative content analysis of official statements made by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Swedish Institute’s Instagram account, and interviews with the Swedish Institute employees. The main argument of this research is that in Sweden, day-to-day communication within PD served as a tool supporting the crisis management process. The research question refers to whether Sweden, through the activity of the Swedish Institute, used some elements of its public diplomacy conduct to react to the coronavirus pandemic. The hypothesis states that the day-to-day dimension of public diplomacy can be associated with the crisis management process.