The Holy See in the contemporary international legal order: diplomatic activity, soft power, and digital challenges

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The article provides a comprehensive international legal analysis of the Holy See’s contemporary diplomatic activity in the context of the digital transformation of international relations. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to reconsider the role of the Holy See as a unique subject of international law under conditions of expanding digital diplomacy, the growing importance of soft power, and the development of international approaches to the ethical regulation of artificial intelligence. The aim of the research is to identify the specific features of the Holy See’s contemporary diplomatic activity, to examine the relationship between its international legal personality, soft power, and digital diplomacy, and to assess the significance of the Holy See’s position on the ethical governance of artificial intelligence for the contemporary international legal order. The methodological framework combines general scientific and special legal research methods, including the systemic, historical-legal, comparative-legal, formal-legal, and structural-functional approaches, which made it possible to comprehensively examine the international legal foundations of the Holy See’s diplomatic activity and the current trends in its development. The study demonstrates that the Holy See’s international legal personality constitutes the legal foundation of its diplomatic activity, whereas its international influence is exercised primarily through soft power, moral authority, and universal humanitarian values. It is argued that digital diplomacy should be understood not merely as the use of modern information and communication technologies but as a new stage in the evolution of the Holy See’s soft power. Furthermore, the article establishes that the Holy See’s human-centred approach to artificial intelligence contributes to the development of the international ethical discourse and to emerging concepts of global digital governance. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive substantiation of the relationship between the Holy See’s international legal status, soft power, digital diplomacy, and its participation in shaping the international ethical discourse on artificial intelligence. The article concludes that the Holy See’s contemporary diplomatic activity is gradually evolving from traditional interstate interaction towards active participation in shaping the international ethical discourse on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, thereby reflecting the transformation of its mechanisms of international influence in the era of the digital transformation of the international legal order.