(3) The rise of public diplomacy: from few-to-few to few-to-many Saturday 22nd December 2018

Carter Review definition In the UK, the 2006 Lord Carter Review (House of Commons) introduced a new definition of public diplomacy: ‘work aiming to inform and engage individuals and organisations overseas, in order to improve understanding of and influence for a specific country in a manner consistent with governmental medium and long-term goals’. The Carter Review marked an important shift in approaches of many countries, because it moved away from the idea that public diplomacy aims merely to change perceptions, to the notion that it should also seek to change behaviour, in line with the government’s international priorities.

The rise of public diplomacy There has been a growing recognition in recent years of the importance of influencing foreign citizens, as well as their leaders. Where diplomacy, ‘the art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties and agreements’ focuses on conversations and relationships between a small number of elites, public diplomacy aims to reach the masses. Although public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy are distinct phenomena, they cannot be totally separated from one another.

Aims and methods of public diplomacy There is, however, no consensus about the aims and methods of public diplomacy. Inherent within all public diplomacy work is the Harvard Professor of International Relations, Joseph Nye’s, idea of soft power. While hard power is the ability to coerce (through military or economic means), soft power is the means to attract and persuade. As one British expert has put it: ‘Public diplomacy is based on the premise that the image and reputation of a country are public goods which can create either an enabling or disabling environment for individual transactions.’

Different models of public diplomacy Different countries develop models of public diplomacy suited to their global outlook, capacity and pre-existing profile. These extend from the Norwegian ‘niche’ approach that concentrates on the delivery of a limited number of simple messages, to the arm’s length, distributed system of the UK, and from the centralised and state funded French approach, to the news management or even ‘propaganda’ model of the US and China. Approaches also differ over time as local, national, regional and global dynamics change.

Principles of public diplomacy There are a number of principles that underpin public diplomacy. In an article for Foreign Policy in 2002, Mark Leonard outlined the four purposes for public diplomacy in the twenty-first century: increasing familiarity : making people think about your country and updating their image of it. increasing appreciation : creating positive perceptions of your country and getting others to see issues from your perspective engaging people : encouraging people to see your country as an attractive destination for tourism and study and encouraging them to buy its products and subscribe to its values influencing people’s behaviour : getting companies to invest, encouraging public support for your country’s positions, and convincing politicians to turn to it as an ally.

Operation of public diplomacy In order to achieve these goals, he argued that public diplomacy needs to operate in three dimensions – and that all three must be covered for the overall strategy to be effective:- First, governments need to deal with communication on day-to-day issues, which requires them to align themselves with the news agenda. In particular, they must stop distinguishing between foreign news stories and domestic ones as if the audiences were entirely different. Second, they need to use strategic communication to manage the overall perceptions of their country. Strategic communication is made problematic by the fact that different institutions are responsible for managing different aspects such as politics, trade, tourism, investment and cultural relations. Third, governments must develop lasting relationships with key individuals through scholarships, exchanges, training, seminars, conferences and access to media channels. These relationships are not built between diplomats and people abroad, but between peers (politicians, special advisers, business people, cultural leaders and academics).

Cultural activity and public diplomacy Cultural activity has an important contribution to make to public diplomacy in terms of both strategic communication and relationship building, but, it is currently undervalued by governments and poorly coordinated. Moreover, a number of emerging trends in global relations and communication suggest that culture could become the most important tool for public diplomacy practitioners, making its effective use vital.

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