The Sovereignty of the Digital Space of Socio-Political Communications in Contemporary Russia and Its Key Components: Evidence from Expert Research

In the context of global technological transformations in the digital communication sphere, ensuring the digital sovereignty of a contemporary state is becoming increasingly urgent. This problem is of particular importance in the sphere of socio-political communications, which is characterized by its significant potential to influence mass consciousness and transform the traditional spiritual and moral foundations of state and society. The identified problem acquires additional significance for Russia, which is currently in a geopolitical confrontation with the collective West, many of whose countries are technologically advanced powers claiming a dominant role in the digital space. The authors studied current digitalization practices in various countries of the world and also conducted an international expert study, based on the analysis of the results of which several key conclusions were made regarding the content, structure, and degree of universality of models for ensuring the sovereignty of the digital space of socio-political communications. Based on the results of the study, the authors conclude that sovereignization processes in modern states have national specificity, which raises the question of the need to develop a model of digital sovereignization based on national characteristics in contemporary Russia. In addition, the results of the study allow us to conclude that the digital sovereignty of the space of socio-political communications is a single system of interconnected infrastructural, communication, technological, personnel, competence, management and content (value-semantic) components that ensure in their unity, achieved with the help of national legislation and practices of its implementation, independent and successful functioning in the national interests of the socio-political sphere of life of a modern state in the digital space. The key components of the digital sovereignty system of the national space of socio-political communications identified in this study can be used as a basis for developing our own model of digital sovereignty for contemporary Russia.