Dialogue Between Authorities and Citizens in New Uzbekistan

Аннотация

Observation of everyday life and numerous studies show that over the last two decades, communication between people has increasingly moved to the sphere of social media (World Economic Forum, 2015). This also applies to the practice of using these platforms by the authorities, which implement their strategies of influencing citizens (European Commission, n.d.). However, current technological solutions create different conditions for communication than before (OECD, 2021). In this article, the authors present an analysis of the communication process between the authorities and society in Uzbekistan - a country that is undergoing a process of political transformation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The subject of the study was social media, which is the main channel of communication in the modern world. The analysis covers the years 2023-2024, and the primary data was collected in the form of an online survey and interviews with a questionnaire based on two groups: users of a popular news portal and representatives of central and regional authorities. The study results indicate: - a fundamental discrepancy between the expectations of citizens (public opinion) in contemporary Uzbekistan and the media activities currently implemented by the authorities of this country; - limited or low effectiveness of the content and the way it is presented, in particular the deficiency of such aspects as the attractiveness of the content (its usefulness, importance for the recipient) and the transparency of the message (providing sources, credibility); - confirm the principle known in the literature that in order for the authorities to influence society in order to engage it, it is necessary to build trust. Keywords: Trust, transparency, responsiveness, engagement, communication, social media, institutions, Uzbekistan. Development Strategy 2022-2026 (Uzbekistan Special Introduction: Social media has influenced the way of Report, 2022). social communication in almost all countries in the world (OECD, 2021). It has changed the way in which However, in Uzbekistan, as in many other countries, public discourse takes place and the development goals there are differences in positions and views between of a given country are formulated. The authorities of the typical citizen and the authorities, which results Uzbekistan, like the authorities of many other countries from, among other things, historical and cultural in the world, actively participate in the process of conditions. Uzbekistan is a country with a long and rich communicating with the citizens of their country. The history. However, the country only gained its statehood aim of the authorities in this process is to engage in 1991, which has a significant impact on limited society in the postulated actions, which is part of a institutional development, both in terms of formal and nationwide project called "New Uzbekistan". The informal institutions and their synergies (Freedom government focused on the country's next stage of House, 2022). socioeconomic enhancement with the implementation Particular attention in the study was paid to the issue and execution of its ambitious New Uzbekistan American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research 76 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141) of building citizens' trust and their involvement in readiness for dialogue, and provide a forum where public activities proposed by the government. For the citizens can express their opinions without fear of purposes of the study, an own theoretical model was restrictions (Kim & Lee, 2012; Liao et al., 2020). defined. Studies also indicate that governments are currently In the case of assuming that the path to such trying to use social media to "warm up their image", i.e. engagement is to build trust among members (World to create bonds with society by humanizing the image Bank Group Management, 2019). However, it should be of the authorities (Eom, Hwang, and Kim, 2018; taken into account that in the country it is only building Guillamón et al., 2018). civil society, this level of trust is low. It can be assumed The literature indicates that Uzbekistan - like other that Uzbekistan is such a case. Due to the fact that states that emerged after the collapse of the USSR - is access to them is limited, and access to the security of going through a process of searching for and views that operate between them and the authorities, formulating its own identity. In the case of Uzbekistan, they will be particularly difficult to obtain and will we are dealing with the creation of structures, require basic equipment. Attention should be paid to traditions, and functions of an independent state from the element of the communication process. This is also scratch. The authorities must therefore build the myth in relation to such detailed requirements as the of statehood and their legitimacy to rule at an currency of con