- Apr 2022
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set clear goals for public diplomacy
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Clearly defined goals with subordinate country or region-specific objectives where necessaryDesired outcomeDefinition of the problems, risks, and threatsClearly identified target groupsPlan of activities including coordination between relevant national authoritiesDescription of resources and investments requiredStandardised evaluation methodology
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can be scaled down based on the needs and resources of each project and ministry.
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The first step is to adopt a strategic approach.
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temptation for diplomats to measure their performance on public diplomacy by describing activities rather than assessing outcomes
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e. To be measurable, the mission needs to be broken down into achievable and time-limited objectives.
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many public diplomacy goals are necessarily intermediate or long-term.
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much public diplomacy work is wrapped up within a specific policy goal
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whether the organisation itself, the foreign ministry in this case, is structured as it should be,
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based on continuous monitoring against specific performance indicators
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strategy remains on track. Are the objectives realistic, have the right target groups been identified, has the right balance of activities been drawn up?
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little understanding of how diplomats contribute to the well-being of their own countries
This should be one of the objectives of PD directed at domestic audiences.
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particularly important for foreign ministries, much of whose work is not understood by their own domestic public
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any activity that involves spending tax-payers’ money should be assessed for cost-effectiveness,
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justify program expenditures
Not only to justify the expenditure of public funds, but without feedback and performance assessments you have no way of knowing for certain if the strategy needs to be adjusted.
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erformance measurement and evaluation ensure accountability and transparency so that stakeholders,
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iplomats will say that it is not possible to quantify results of activities
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valuation is often the most neglected area of activity in foreign ministries.
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stablish a ‘PD Board’ which would include all home actors that directly or indirectly contribute to a country’s image (
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arrow definition confines the focus of PD to influencing publics, at home and abroad, on issues relating to foreign affairs.
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PD integrates all outreach promotional activities, covering culture, education, the media, and even some elements of economic work
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PD, covering networking among non-state actors in world affairs and related activities, is diplomacy. (
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Singapore and some European states now hold them accountable for damaging posts and levy heavy fines
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each country has its own value system. U
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work on interacting with the audiences, rather than just broadcasting information,
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need to use visual enhancement and emotional framing
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it is not enough to be heard. You need to be listened to and followed
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every person and even country needs to have a digital identity, otherwise somebody else will define it for you.
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‘ability to read, interpret and manage emotions inhabiting the digital medium’ (Bjola et al., 2018)
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need to develop ‘digital emotional intelligence’,
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. A democratic republic can only function if there are forums for cultural values that support deliberation across different groups.
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address such segmented targets.
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easier
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ative absence of dialogue among different groups.
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reinforces these views and indirectly leads to polarisation
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new media apps tend to aggregate those who hold similar views,
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inability ‘to perceived own biases and prejudices’
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Bias blindness,
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Congruence bias,
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ndowment effect, ‘which leads people to prefer the possessions they already have
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exposure effect, which entails that ‘familiarity with an idea promotes its acceptance
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Confirmation
Isn't this the same as prejudice?
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Confirmation, in which people ‘are more likely to believe information that confirms a pre-held idea’
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or pessimism
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ptimism
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A person´s disposition,
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Prejudice, where there is a ‘preference to information which affirms preexisting notions and opinion
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ognitive and social biases
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important information can be missed when a source is regarded as not credible’
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Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement the Digital Ages (Cull, 2019), Prof. Nicholas Cull
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oals must be precise and well-defined [
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he purpose of public diplomacy is to advance the strategic interests of the country
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Philip Seib
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Soft power is an asset, but useful only if it is actually utilised
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getting funds from their finance ministries.
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costs, including the lack of reputational security.
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The cost is one deterrent
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Criticism of local authorities via the prolific Chinese social media is encouraged, but not of higher government levels.
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the Chinese media practice self-censorship;
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efforts to ‘sell’ the Gaimusho (Japan´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) as a credible agency
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disadvantages of incumbency, especially in our times of high public expectations.
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nternally, PD runs the risk of being taken as partisan politics by the opposition parties,
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Alumni events
Recently I was invited to an event at the Belgian embassy in Mexico City, targeted at Mexican students that studied in Belgium, where there are networking opportunities with Belgian companies working in Mexico.
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sustainability over a long period of time is the main challenge,
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credibility is of the utmost importance, and in the digital realm it is derived from ‘people-like-me’, MFAs are collaborating with social media influencers
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Should PD prioritise decision makers or mass audiences abroad?
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PD cannot rectify a policy deficit
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what is being projected fits with the interests and/or the needs of the target audience.
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massive investments of
I don't think this is necessarily the case as through the mid-term assignment we focused on cost-effective, pandemic-friendly activities. Moreover, the large number of cultural associations, and chambers of commerce can help shoulder the burden of organization and resources.
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Hard propaganda on political issues has built-in limits of acceptability.
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not easy to coordinate the actions of disparate agencies, state, and non-state.
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Qatar
There is also the issue of many European governments who have banned the Qatar Charity, an "independent foundation" which is financed and controlled by the Emir of Qatar that appears to be the main financier of mosques and Islamic centers in Europe, linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
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And it is well known that the targeted audiences will not go against their own interests, even with effective PD strategies
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1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR)?
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country’s foreign policy interests.
The current Mexican administration has in a way turned this idea on its head. One of the main priorities in foreign affairs is not merely or primarily to project our values and interests in the international field, but to seek to channel the ideas and concepts of the international field to contribute to internal efforts and domestic priorities.
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undermined
In my belief, the undermining comes from a mismatch between what is promoted as American values, and the actual actions. Both need to be consistent in order for the messaging to be accepted.
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US soft power has been undermined by the way in which hard power has been used’ (
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nfluence of leaders on national brand as the `halo effect´ (Manor, 2017).
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articulate leader
This is a double-edged sword. A leader must be articulate, yes. However, the resurgence of populism worldwide is a sign of people's desire to identify with their leaders, to see them explain things in very simple terms. So being articulate can backfire if people perceive them as snobbish.
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information overload makes it harder to win attention and produce impact.
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seldom called into question
I disagree with this statement. I believe they are often questioned and also signaled when there is incoherence between the values they promote and their actions.
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Restoring credibility
This has been a sore spot on the USA’s soft power, given that shifting administrations imply a reversal on higlhly salient positions and subjects. Some examples are: the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Agreeement. This has created an image that casts the USA as an unreliable partner.
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briefings in different languages
The communication of one’s public diplomacy in different languages is a great stewp towards improving mutual understanding and effective communication. Speaking directly to foreign audiences.
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understanding,
this has been the weak pillar that explains some of the lackluster efforts in American foreign policy.
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strategic goals
the order in which these goals appear are very representative of the main concerns of all societies, security and economic prosperity. The latter goals take a backseat. This is not only evident in this categorization but throughout american conduction of foreign policy.
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knock-on effects
These are some of the difficult scenarios posed by globalization. When economies are interdependent any action justified by moral and righteous motives can have unintended and difficult consequences on other arenas. For example, the sanctions on Russia (world’s biggest wheat exporter) are having terrible consequences for food security that can destabilize already fragile and volatile societies that heavily rely on subsidized bread such as Egypt and Lebanon.
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opinion of its appeal,
One could argue that the identification of the EU with post-modern values as their most appealing quality signals a lack of awareness of the chief concerns of the rest of the world. People in the majority of countries are first and foremost concerned with security in their home countries, followed closely by economic wellbeing. Democracy and human rights are important, but for most peoples one can focus on these areas only after these two conditions have been met.
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retreat
this further exemplifies that we are not all moving towards a post-modern world order. There is a mounting countermovement and a shift towards authoritarianism, nationalism, and isolation that surfaces as a response to the disruptions caused by globalization and the uncertainty it creates, and feelings of displacement. In my opinion, populations’ chief concern is security followed by economic growth and stability, and that democracy is thus secondary; this is why sometimes people are willing to accept repressive regimes if they guarantee security and improved economic conditions, regardless of individual freedoms.
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demonstrated by
Also the demands of the public for a country to act with regards to humanitarian crises abroad, as well as the reformation of the migratory and assylum policy.
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proliferating.
it seems that States are increasingly betting on regional responses rather than multilateral approaches given not only shared experiences and challenges, but also common history and shared values. The crisis in the global supply chain brought about by the COVID pandemic I believe has reinforced this trend as countries are seeing the value in regionalizing supply chains in order to make them more robust.
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ong-term solutions
It is somewhat paradoxical that we are witnesses to a proliferation of global challenges that no country can solve on its own such as the ones listed here, however, we are also experiencing a pronounced skepticism regarding multilateral approaches and rising isolationism.
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