Public/Digital Diplomacy 21stC

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course introduces a central feature of the contemporary international affairs – public diplomacy – and challenges the student to locate themselves as both its targets and practitioners. It further addresses fresh possibilities the advancement of new technologies has introduced to public diplomacy. International actors have always understood that success in world affairs requires engaging foreign audiences. Today, thanks to the revolution in communication technology, public diplomacy and associated issues of communication, networking and exchange have moved from being optional extras to essential tools of modern diplomacy. The class is divided into four parts. The first part will consider the key concepts of public diplomacy – propaganda, soft power, and digitalization. The second part will present the foundational practices of public diplomacy – listening, strategic narrative, advocacy, cultural diplomacy, exchange diplomacy and international broadcasting. A third section will address the theory and practice of digital diplomacy, on a policy as well as institutional dimension. The fourth and final part will consider the issues raised by globalization and examine how public diplomacy can be used to address the social, political, economic and cultural issues of our time by governments and other international actors. At the end of the semester students will reflect on the implications of the world of public and digital diplomacy for their own responsibilities as global citizens