STATE IMAGE POLICY AS A TOOL OF TRUST MANAGEMENT: MECHANISMS, FUNCTIONS, AND OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical and applied study of state image policy as a tool for trust management, as well as the identification of its mechanisms, functions, and operational framework. The research examines the political image of the state as a result of the interplay between substantive decisions (policy) and communication (messaging), and defines the key factors, actors, and functional elements involved in shaping a positive image of the state. Special attention is given to the methodological foundation of the study that is based on the theories of public administration, strategic communications, and public diplomacy. The research employs systemic, institutionalnormative, structural-functional, comparative, and content analysis methods, as well as the modeling method to construct an analytical framework for image policy. The analysis covers both internal and external factors of trust, international indices of state policy effectiveness, and practices of positioning the state in the global environment. The study emphasizes the need to view state image policy as a managed trust-governance system that combines political, communicative, and institutional components. An analytical framework of factors (conditionally static, sociological, and institutional) has been developed, enabling the measurement of image policy effectiveness through indicators and international performance indices. The article substantiates a polycentric architecture of imageformation actors and the functional profile of the state’s positive image. It is proven that trust management is realized through the coordination of strategic communications, public diplomacy, and cultural policy, as well as through the institutionalization of transparency, open data, and civic participation. The article concludes that the state’s image policy functions as an infrastructure of trust, transforming the results of public policy into symbolic capital. Its effectiveness is ensured by the combination of substantive reforms and relevant communication, interagency coordination, operational measurability, and adherence to ethical standards of public administration. The article proposes a “factor–response” conceptual logic to enhance the adaptability of image policy and to integrate international indices into national planning and reporting mechanisms.