Public diplomacy

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 (Israel)

Public diplomacy in Israel (also hasbara, Hebrew: הַסְבָּרָה‎ hasbará, "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 (U.S.)

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."

Examples

America

1917-1919 - President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information led by advertiser George Creel

1936 - Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy

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”

1947 - Fulbright Program founded.

1948 - U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act signed by President Truman