The Dual Nature of Public Diplomacy: Promoting State Visibility While Perpetuating Modern-Day Propaganda - U.S. Public Diplomacy Post-9/11

Abstract

While public diplomacy is utilized to enhance the visibility of democratic societies and cultivate a positive national image abroad, the extent to which governments rely on one-sided messaging to effect foreign public opinion -in many cases- is more likely to cause resistance than attraction. With soft power as its driving engine, public diplomacy is far from being coercive in nature and is entirely devoid of coercive manners to bypass the foreign public for national interest purposes. In fact, the foreign public is not a controllable target in this equation with the freedom to accept or reject -partially or wholly- public diplomacy efforts. The one-sided public diplomacy strategies of the United States as it calls upon universal respect for human rights and democracy while simultaneously waging wars in the global south, diminished its soft power base, thus making it counterproductive. In this regard, the lack of mutuality having been perceived as forcefully pushing for its own agenda is performed in complete disregard of the foreign public it aims to engage. In such cases, public diplomacy rhetoric can be tainted by the negative impressions serving as beautified modern-day propaganda and manipulation. The application of effective state-crafted public diplomacy strategies to restore its reputation and paint a favorable image requires redressing the soft-power mechanism, which lies at the core of public diplomacy and using attraction more wisely in a non-coercive or one-sided manner.