In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of public diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions vary and continue to change over time. It is practiced through a variety of instruments and methods ranging from personal contact and media interviews to the Internet and educational exchanges.
Background and definitions
In his essay "'Public Diplomacy' Before Gullion: The Evolution of a Phrase", Nicholas J. Cull of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy wrote that "The earliest use of the phrase 'public diplomacy' to surface is actually not American at all but in a leader piece from The Times in January 1856. It is used merely as a synonym for civility in a piece criticizing the posturing of President Franklin Pierce." Cull writes that Edmund Gullion, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a distinguished retired foreign service officer, "was the first to use the phrase in its modern meaning". In 1965, Gullion founded the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy, and Cull writes that "An early Murrow Center brochure provided a convenient summary of Gullion's concept":
Public diplomacy in Israel (also hasbara, Hebrew:הַסְבָּרָהhasbará, "explaining") refers to public relations efforts to disseminate abroad positive information or propaganda about the State of Israel and its actions. The term is used by the Israeli government and its supporters to describe efforts to explain government policies and promote Israel in the face of negative press, and to counter what they see as delegitimisation of Israel around the world. Hasbara means "explanation", and is also a euphemism for propaganda.
Meaning of the term
While hasbara literally means "explanation", its exact import in its current usage is debated. Gideon Meir has said that there is no "real, precise" translation of the word hasbara in English or any other language, and has characterized it as public diplomacy, an action undertaken by all governments around the world with the growing importance of what Harvard professor Joseph Nye termed soft power. Gary Rosenblatt describes it as "advocacy".
Public Diplomacy is that "form of international Political Advocacy in which the civilians of one country use legitimate means to reach out to the civilians of another country in order to gain popular support for negotiations occurring through diplomatic channels."
1938 - The Division of Cultural Relations (State Dept.)
- Interdeparmental Committee for Scientific Cooperation (USIA pamphlet) - response to German and Italian propaganda aimed at Latin America.
1940 - Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs
1941 - U.S. broadcasting 24/7
1941 - Pearl Harbour, U.S. enters into WWII --> U.S. broadcasting goes global
1942
1946 -The Fulbright Act of 1946 - “Mandated a peacetime international exchange program”
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
published: 05 Oct 2021
Visualizing Public Diplomacy
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and disseminate visuals on a daily basis to obtain offline policy goals, MFAs have institutionalized the process of visual narration. Visuals serve as ideological devices to promote a certain worldview and enable the delivery of elaborate messages despite social media platforms' character limits.
Through selfie diplomacy, a practice that entails the use of social media to manage national images, countries deploy positive images about human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism to increase their ability to attract foreign direct investment. In recent years, MFAs have increasingly used humor to promote instrumental interpretations of events ...
published: 28 Jan 2023
Joseph Nye on the Future of Soft Power and Public Diplomacy
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently published an essay reflecting on these topics as part of a special edition of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled, "Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next." More: https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/future-soft-power-and-public-diplomacy
published: 07 Jun 2019
Public Diplomacy and Soft Power: Governments, People and Foreign Policy
Nicholas Cull
Professor and Director of the master’s program in public diplomacy
04/11/2007
published: 23 Jun 2015
The Day My Job Mattered Most: Daniel, Public Diplomacy Officer
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignment in West Africa I was in Mali and one of my first assignments was to go up to Timbuktu, the fabled city of Timbuktu. I mean who knew it ever even existed, right? Go to http://careers.state.gov/resources/videos/transcript-daniel.html to read the transcript.
published: 03 Dec 2009
History of Modern Public Diplomacy
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold War was won because the United States had a better economic system and because the United States had better ideas and values. USIA helped present those ideas and values, and USIA’s public diplomacy campaigns around the world played a major role in that victory. Although USIA is no longer in existence, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past ought to be harnessed and presented in a manner that future generations can benefit from the knowledge that has been gained.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
published: 26 Feb 2018
An Illustration of Public Diplomacy
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional Diplomacy!
Read more at www.diydiplomacy.wordpress.com
published: 02 Dec 2012
Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding
published: 20 Aug 2020
Public Diplomacy: What Is It?
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The program trains professionals to carry out public communications for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with...
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and dissemi...
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and disseminate visuals on a daily basis to obtain offline policy goals, MFAs have institutionalized the process of visual narration. Visuals serve as ideological devices to promote a certain worldview and enable the delivery of elaborate messages despite social media platforms' character limits.
Through selfie diplomacy, a practice that entails the use of social media to manage national images, countries deploy positive images about human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism to increase their ability to attract foreign direct investment. In recent years, MFAs have increasingly used humor to promote instrumental interpretations of events to foreign publics. While narratives involving humor can spread more widely, their power to convince rather than entertain remains contested. Alternative tools, like avatars and digital humans in the Metaverse, have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we think about visual representation, as avatars can facilitate communication and understanding across cultural and physical boundaries in ways that traditional modes of communication cannot.
Join Corneliu Bjola, Jennifer Cassidy, Dmitry Chernobrov, and Ilan Manor for a discussion and Q&A moderated by CPD Research Fellow Elisabeth King on current and future implications of visual communication in diplomatic messaging through digital channels.
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and disseminate visuals on a daily basis to obtain offline policy goals, MFAs have institutionalized the process of visual narration. Visuals serve as ideological devices to promote a certain worldview and enable the delivery of elaborate messages despite social media platforms' character limits.
Through selfie diplomacy, a practice that entails the use of social media to manage national images, countries deploy positive images about human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism to increase their ability to attract foreign direct investment. In recent years, MFAs have increasingly used humor to promote instrumental interpretations of events to foreign publics. While narratives involving humor can spread more widely, their power to convince rather than entertain remains contested. Alternative tools, like avatars and digital humans in the Metaverse, have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we think about visual representation, as avatars can facilitate communication and understanding across cultural and physical boundaries in ways that traditional modes of communication cannot.
Join Corneliu Bjola, Jennifer Cassidy, Dmitry Chernobrov, and Ilan Manor for a discussion and Q&A moderated by CPD Research Fellow Elisabeth King on current and future implications of visual communication in diplomatic messaging through digital channels.
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently pu...
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently published an essay reflecting on these topics as part of a special edition of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled, "Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next." More: https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/future-soft-power-and-public-diplomacy
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently published an essay reflecting on these topics as part of a special edition of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled, "Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next." More: https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/future-soft-power-and-public-diplomacy
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignmen...
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignment in West Africa I was in Mali and one of my first assignments was to go up to Timbuktu, the fabled city of Timbuktu. I mean who knew it ever even existed, right? Go to http://careers.state.gov/resources/videos/transcript-daniel.html to read the transcript.
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignment in West Africa I was in Mali and one of my first assignments was to go up to Timbuktu, the fabled city of Timbuktu. I mean who knew it ever even existed, right? Go to http://careers.state.gov/resources/videos/transcript-daniel.html to read the transcript.
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold Wa...
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold War was won because the United States had a better economic system and because the United States had better ideas and values. USIA helped present those ideas and values, and USIA’s public diplomacy campaigns around the world played a major role in that victory. Although USIA is no longer in existence, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past ought to be harnessed and presented in a manner that future generations can benefit from the knowledge that has been gained.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold War was won because the United States had a better economic system and because the United States had better ideas and values. USIA helped present those ideas and values, and USIA’s public diplomacy campaigns around the world played a major role in that victory. Although USIA is no longer in existence, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past ought to be harnessed and presented in a manner that future generations can benefit from the knowledge that has been gained.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional...
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional Diplomacy!
Read more at www.diydiplomacy.wordpress.com
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional Diplomacy!
Read more at www.diydiplomacy.wordpress.com
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Pu...
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The program trains professionals to carry out public communications for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The program trains professionals to carry out public communications for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and disseminate visuals on a daily basis to obtain offline policy goals, MFAs have institutionalized the process of visual narration. Visuals serve as ideological devices to promote a certain worldview and enable the delivery of elaborate messages despite social media platforms' character limits.
Through selfie diplomacy, a practice that entails the use of social media to manage national images, countries deploy positive images about human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism to increase their ability to attract foreign direct investment. In recent years, MFAs have increasingly used humor to promote instrumental interpretations of events to foreign publics. While narratives involving humor can spread more widely, their power to convince rather than entertain remains contested. Alternative tools, like avatars and digital humans in the Metaverse, have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we think about visual representation, as avatars can facilitate communication and understanding across cultural and physical boundaries in ways that traditional modes of communication cannot.
Join Corneliu Bjola, Jennifer Cassidy, Dmitry Chernobrov, and Ilan Manor for a discussion and Q&A moderated by CPD Research Fellow Elisabeth King on current and future implications of visual communication in diplomatic messaging through digital channels.
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently published an essay reflecting on these topics as part of a special edition of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled, "Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next." More: https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/future-soft-power-and-public-diplomacy
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignment in West Africa I was in Mali and one of my first assignments was to go up to Timbuktu, the fabled city of Timbuktu. I mean who knew it ever even existed, right? Go to http://careers.state.gov/resources/videos/transcript-daniel.html to read the transcript.
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold War was won because the United States had a better economic system and because the United States had better ideas and values. USIA helped present those ideas and values, and USIA’s public diplomacy campaigns around the world played a major role in that victory. Although USIA is no longer in existence, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past ought to be harnessed and presented in a manner that future generations can benefit from the knowledge that has been gained.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional Diplomacy!
Read more at www.diydiplomacy.wordpress.com
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The program trains professionals to carry out public communications for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
In this video I present the following definition of public diplomacy:
"Attempts by a government to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with foreign publics with the aim of gaining support for its foreign policy objectives"
I discuss who the actors are, who are their key stakeholders and what is the overall purpose of public diplomacy
Digital diplomacy is here to stay, and it is now an embedded practice for Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFAs) across the globe. As diplomats create and disseminate visuals on a daily basis to obtain offline policy goals, MFAs have institutionalized the process of visual narration. Visuals serve as ideological devices to promote a certain worldview and enable the delivery of elaborate messages despite social media platforms' character limits.
Through selfie diplomacy, a practice that entails the use of social media to manage national images, countries deploy positive images about human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism to increase their ability to attract foreign direct investment. In recent years, MFAs have increasingly used humor to promote instrumental interpretations of events to foreign publics. While narratives involving humor can spread more widely, their power to convince rather than entertain remains contested. Alternative tools, like avatars and digital humans in the Metaverse, have the potential to fundamentally alter the way we think about visual representation, as avatars can facilitate communication and understanding across cultural and physical boundaries in ways that traditional modes of communication cannot.
Join Corneliu Bjola, Jennifer Cassidy, Dmitry Chernobrov, and Ilan Manor for a discussion and Q&A moderated by CPD Research Fellow Elisabeth King on current and future implications of visual communication in diplomatic messaging through digital channels.
Soft power scholar Joseph Nye discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.
He recently published an essay reflecting on these topics as part of a special edition of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy titled, "Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next." More: https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/future-soft-power-and-public-diplomacy
I guess one of the most interesting days where things really solidified for me, when I really knew I was doing something special, was when on my first assignment in West Africa I was in Mali and one of my first assignments was to go up to Timbuktu, the fabled city of Timbuktu. I mean who knew it ever even existed, right? Go to http://careers.state.gov/resources/videos/transcript-daniel.html to read the transcript.
The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. The Cold War was won because the United States had a better economic system and because the United States had better ideas and values. USIA helped present those ideas and values, and USIA’s public diplomacy campaigns around the world played a major role in that victory. Although USIA is no longer in existence, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past ought to be harnessed and presented in a manner that future generations can benefit from the knowledge that has been gained.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
A quick RSA-animate-inspired illustration in which I sketch and explain what Public Diplomacy is. See also the illustration of Citizen Diplomacy and Traditional Diplomacy!
Read more at www.diydiplomacy.wordpress.com
Students talk about Syracuse University's Public Diplomacy program, which is offered jointly by the Newhouse School and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The program trains professionals to carry out public communications for governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of public diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions vary and continue to change over time. It is practiced through a variety of instruments and methods ranging from personal contact and media interviews to the Internet and educational exchanges.
Background and definitions
In his essay "'Public Diplomacy' Before Gullion: The Evolution of a Phrase", Nicholas J. Cull of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy wrote that "The earliest use of the phrase 'public diplomacy' to surface is actually not American at all but in a leader piece from The Times in January 1856. It is used merely as a synonym for civility in a piece criticizing the posturing of President Franklin Pierce." Cull writes that Edmund Gullion, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a distinguished retired foreign service officer, "was the first to use the phrase in its modern meaning". In 1965, Gullion founded the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy, and Cull writes that "An early Murrow Center brochure provided a convenient summary of Gullion's concept":
"It will become a platform for the development of public diplomacy, popularization of the Russian language and culture," the agency said in a statement published on its Telegram channel.
This is a surreal place for the Kremlin to occupy, after three years of savage aggression and little public desire to end the war outside of the US-Russia diplomacy of the past two months ... But then reality will greet the theory of telephone diplomacy.
This is long overdue ...Rwanda has denied the claims ... So, the withdrawal of this aid is likely to focus Kigali’s mind as its public coffers take strain. Now that pressure is on, diplomacy must be intensified. A ceasefire should be implemented at once.
...Donald Trump for negotiations with Iran is nothing but an attempt to "deceive the world public opinion" and portray the Islamic Republic as the party not willing to give diplomacy another chance.
Only 26 per cent of the public now have a positive view of him, while 65 per cent have a negative view. Pragmatic diplomacy – as displayed by Keir Starmer – is one thing ... A majority of the US public (52 ...
The programme is open to candidates from diverse sectors including arts, sports, entrepreneurship, diplomacy, politics, activism and journalism ... public and private sectors will select the final cohort.
The official in question, Darren Beattie, is the acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy — a fairly important job ... We have been having this debate in public for decades now, since at least ...
This is a surreal place for the Kremlin to occupy, after three years of savage aggression and little public desire to end the war outside of the US-Russia diplomacy of the past two months ... But then reality will greet the theory of telephone diplomacy.
MCLEAN, VA ...Judith McHale ... McHale has served as president and chief executive officer of Cane Investments, LLC since August 2011 and, from May 2009 to July 2011, served as under secretary of state for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs for the U.S ... .
Ramy Galal is an Egyptian senator, writer, and academic specializing in public management and cultural policies. He has authored studies on cultural diplomacy, the orange economy, and restructuring Egypt’s cultural institutions.
Beattie is now serving as acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy putting him in a position working for the man he once attacked mercilessly online.