The concept of public diplomacy has traditionally been understood in state-centric terms and has been closely related to a state’s foreign policy. Despite conceptual evolution towards more dialogue and networking with different players, some authors continue to envisage public diplomacy as a state pursuit. The impact of globalization on politics, however, has provoked the emergence of an array of non-state organizations that have progressively increased their influence, power, legitimacy and credibility in the global arena. They may act complementary to or independent from states, and sometimes even challenge the role of the state. This article proposes an alternative approach to the concept of public diplomacy that can include non-state actors’ independent actions. The article explores three main conditions for non-state organizations that could contribute to broadening the conceptual framework of public diplomacy: emphasis on the object of the action; legitimacy to develop public diplomacy initiatives based on effectiveness; and a progressive disappearance of borders between the domestic and international dimensions (as so-called ‘intermestic’ actors attempt to do). These preconditions are examined in the following two scenarios: defending citizens’ interests before international institutions; and explaining and implementing international institutions’ policies locally.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
See Hans Tuch, Communicating with the World: US Public Diplomacy Overseas (New York: St Martin’s Press, 1990); Howard Frederick, Global Communication and International Relations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993); and Jarol Manheim, Strategic Public Diplomacy and American Foreign Policy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
See Jan Melissen, The New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in international Relations (Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005); and Jan Melissen, ‘Beyond the New Public Diplomacy’, Clingendael Paper no. 3, Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, October 2011.
See Huijgh, ‘Changing Tunes for Public Diplomacy’; Josef Bátora, ‘Public Diplomacy between Home and Abroad: Norway and Canada’, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, vol. 1, no. 1, 2006, pp. 53–80; and Jordi Xifra, ‘Catalan Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, and Noopolitik: A Public Relations Approach to Catalonia’s Governance’, Catalan Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 1 August 2009, pp. 67–85(19).
Bruce Gregory, ‘American Public Diplomacy: Enduring Characteristics, Elusive Transformation’, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, vol. 6, no. 3/4, 2011, 351–372 at p. 353.
See C. Kegley and E. Wittkopf, World Politics: Trend and Transformation (Boston, MA, and New York: Bedford/St Martin’s Press, 1999). As Szondi explains, ‘intermestic’ are those affairs where international and domestic issues merge and encroach upon each other; see György Szondi, ‘Central and Eastern European Public Diplomacy: A Transnational Perspective on National Reputation Management’, in Nancy Snow and Philip Taylor (eds), Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy (New York: Routledge, 2009), p. 304.
Julie Mertus, ‘Considering Non-State Actors in the New Millennium: Toward Expanded Participation in Norm Generation and Norm Application’, Journal of International Law and Politics, vol. 32, no. 2, 2000, pp. 537–566; Ann Florini, ‘Who Does What? Collective Action and Changing Nature of Authority’, in Higgott, Underhill and Bieler (eds), Non-State Actors and Authority in the Global System, pp. 15–31; and Arts, ‘Non-State Actors in Global Governance’.
Richard Langhorne, ‘The Diplomacy of Non-State Actors’, Diplomacy and Statecraft, vol. 16, no. 2, 2005, pp. 331–339.
Wiseman, ‘“Polylateralism” and New Modes of Global Dialogue’, p. 41.
Wiseman, ‘“Polylateralism” and New Modes of Global Dialogue’, p. 41.
See Paul Sharp, Diplomatic Theory of International Relations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 53-71.
Eytan Gilboa, ‘Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy’, The Annals of the American Academy for Political and Social Science, SAGE Journals, 2008, pp. 55–77.
Paul Stubbs, ‘International Non-State Actors and Social Development Policy’, Global Social Policy, SAGE Publications, vol. 3, no. 3, 2003, pp. 319–348; Raymond Saner, ‘Development Diplomacy by Non-State Actors: An Emerging Form of Multistakeholder Diplomacy’, in Jovan Kurbalija and Valentin Katrandjiev (eds), Multistakeholder Diplomacy: Challenges and Opportunities (Geneva: DiploFoundation, 2006), pp. 93–104; and Simone Eysink, ‘Human Rights’ Dialogue in ASEM: Do NGOs Have a Role to Play?’, Clingendael Discussion Papers, no. 7 (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, September 2006).
Jim Whitman, The Fundamentals of Global Governance (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), p. 9.
M. Edwards, ‘International Development NGOs: Agents of Foreign Aid or Vehicles of International Cooperation?’, Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, vol. 28, 1999, p. 26.
Kristine Kern and Harriet Bulkeley, ‘Cities, Europeanization and Multi-level Governance: Governing Climate Change through Transnational Municipal Networks’, Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 47, no. 2, 2009, pp. 309–332.
Karen Heard-Lauréote, European Union Governance: Effectiveness and Legitimacy of European Commission Committees (London: Routledge, 2010), p. 18.
See Ulrich Beck, Power in the Global Age (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2005); and Manuel Castells, ‘The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 616, no. 1, 2008, pp. 78–93.
Lisa Young, ‘Gender Equal Legislatures: Evaluating the Proposed Nunavut Electoral System’, Canadian Public Policy, vol. 23, no. 3, 1997, pp. 306–315; and J. Mansbridge, ‘Everyday Talk in the Deliberative System’, in Stephen Macedo (ed.), Deliberative Politics: Essays on ‘Democracy and Disagreement’ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), pp. 211–229.
Anthony Zito, ‘Epistemic Communities, Collective Entrepreneurship and European Integration’, Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 8, no. 4, August 2001, pp. 585–603.
S. Bernstein and B. Cashore, ‘Can Non-State Global Governance Be Legitimate? An Analytical Framework’, Regulation and Governance, vol. 1, 2007, pp. 347–371.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 2918 | 551 | 65 |
Full Text Views | 548 | 44 | 10 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 644 | 89 | 21 |
The concept of public diplomacy has traditionally been understood in state-centric terms and has been closely related to a state’s foreign policy. Despite conceptual evolution towards more dialogue and networking with different players, some authors continue to envisage public diplomacy as a state pursuit. The impact of globalization on politics, however, has provoked the emergence of an array of non-state organizations that have progressively increased their influence, power, legitimacy and credibility in the global arena. They may act complementary to or independent from states, and sometimes even challenge the role of the state. This article proposes an alternative approach to the concept of public diplomacy that can include non-state actors’ independent actions. The article explores three main conditions for non-state organizations that could contribute to broadening the conceptual framework of public diplomacy: emphasis on the object of the action; legitimacy to develop public diplomacy initiatives based on effectiveness; and a progressive disappearance of borders between the domestic and international dimensions (as so-called ‘intermestic’ actors attempt to do). These preconditions are examined in the following two scenarios: defending citizens’ interests before international institutions; and explaining and implementing international institutions’ policies locally.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 2918 | 551 | 65 |
Full Text Views | 548 | 44 | 10 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 644 | 89 | 21 |