The Impact of Digital Tools on Conflictive Communications in the “Government-Society System”: St. Petersburg Experience

The paper examines the influence of digital tools on conflictive communications in the “government-society” system using the example of interaction between the St. Petersburg Government and the citizens. The aim of the research is to reveal the dynamics of conflicts in the digital space. The main method of investigation is sentiment analysis [6] based on a one-dimensional emotive space for determining the degree of influence of digital tools on the escalation or de-escalation of conflicts. The empirical base is composed of the materials and comments in the official social media of the St. Petersburg Government. The results of the study demonstrate dominating negative impact of the introduction of digital tools on conflict communications in the sphere of relations between the government and the society.