The dissertation is a political science study of political reputation phenomenon, sociocultural factors of its building in the context of the political system and the political culture development. The research is aimed at proving the supposition regarding the multidimensional nature of political reputation, which, on the one hand, serves to raise the profile and increase the social capital of political actors, and on the other hand, it objectively contributes to the consolidation of society, ensuring the legitimacy and efficiency of the functioning of political institutions in the context of modern democratic development of the state.
The author's vision of political reputation as a conscious collective assessment of the behaviour, qualities and results of the activity of political actor by the stakeholder groups has been substantiated; the level of anticipation and credibility in it both in the internal and external institutional environment, which has a systemic, cumulative nature, and requires integration into the general culture and behaviour of the carrier.
A system of criteria for comparing the essence, formation and functioning of social and political phenomena of image, brand and reputation has been suggested.
It is argued that an important factor in building the reputation of a public authority is internal (corporate) culture, discipline, ethics and culture of cooperation within the organization and with the public, constant improvement of cultural and educational level, counteracting professional deformation, pride in their profession and desire to fulfil their professional duties as best they can.
On the basis of current empirical data on the development of Ukrainian society, the conclusion about the central role of credibility in the political reputation building is confirmed.
The essence of reputation management as a system of measures to manage the reputation of a particular actor which provides strategies for building, maintaining and protecting reputation, has been analysed. Based on the research, the following main instrumental components of reputation management have been identified: media reputation; political responsibility; social partnership; crisis communication. The inclusion of building a media reputation in the main directions of development of reputation management is justified by the rapid development of the relationship between the political and media spheres. It is emphasized that media-political interaction should allow performing basic functions both in the political and in the media sphere with the maximum degree of preserving democratic relations in society.
Political responsibility has been considered as a central factor that builds the reputation of state institutions, parties and individual politicians.
The theoretical and practical significance of the research is determined by the fact that it comprehensively analyses the main socio-cultural factors and directions of political reputation, defines the parameters of its formation in terms of democratic principles of society in Ukraine, as well as value-based determinants of reputation management. These findings can be used to further research of the problems of creating and developing political reputation, as well as in practical politics.
