Importance Of Public Diplomacy

Public diplomacy is a defined as a process through which international actors attempt to accomplish their foreign policy aims by engagement with foreign publics. It has “gained international currency” since the end of the Cold War. Since 9/11, there has been a new phase in the development of public diplomacy. The interrelated revolutions in mass communication, politics and international relations have created new challenges and needs of public diplomacy. The recent revolution in communication technology, including the rise of the Internet and global news networks such as CNN International, BBC News and Al-Jazeera, has turned these mediums into main sources of information on global affairs. In the new era, a favourable image around the world is more important to state and non-state actors than territory and raw materials acquired through military or economic means. …show more content…
Relevant actors have recognized the value of soft power increasingly in recent years. Soft power comes from the attractiveness of a nation’s values, culture and policies and it causes people to act through co-operation rather than coercion. When policies or positions are perceived to have moral authority or are understood as legitimate, their soft power is increased. In the era of new warfare, the combination between hard and soft power, what Nye calls “smart power” is required of actors in the international arena. A major way to implement soft power is through public diplomacy. One method or approach used for the purpose of public diplomacy is advocacy. Public diplomacy through advocacy is an actor’s “attempt to manage the international environment through use of an international communication activity to actively promote a particular policy, idea or that actor’s general interests in the minds of a foreign