Abstract
It is tempting to see public diplomacy as old wine in new bottles. Official communication aimed at foreign publics is after all no new phenomenon in international relations. Image cultivation, propaganda and activities that we would now label as public diplomacy are nearly as old as diplomacy itself. Even in ancient times, prestige-conscious princes and their representatives never completely ignored the potential and pitfalls of public opinion in foreign lands. References to the nation and its image go as far back as the Bible, and international relations in ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium and the Italian Renaissance were familiar with diplomatic activity aimed at foreign publics.
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Notes
Michael Kunczik, ‘Transnational Public Relations by Foreign Governments’, Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy and Dejan Vercic (eds), The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research and Practice (Mahwah NJ and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003), pp. 399–405. On France and nationbranding, see the chapter in this book by Wally Olins.
On nation-branding, see Wally Olins’ chapter in this book and Wally Olins On Brand (London: Thames & Hudson, 2003).
See, for instance, Joseph S. Nye, ‘Soft Power’, Foreign Policy, no. 80, autumn 1990;
Joseph S. Nye and William A. Owens, ‘America’s Information Edge’, Foreign Affairs, vol. 75, no. 2, March/April 1996; and, for a recent elaboration of this concept, see
Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004).
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and Wilson P. Dizard, Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of the US Information Agency (Boulder CO and London: Lynne Rienner, 2004).
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On countries and companies ‘swapping places’, see Wally Olins, Trading Identities: Why Countries and Companies are Taking on Each Others’ Roles (London: Foreign Policy Centre, 1999).
See for instance Evan H. Potter, Canada and the New Public Diplomacy, Clingendael Discussion Papers in Diplomacy, no. 81 (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, 2002); and interviews with foreign diplomats.
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Melissen, J. (2005). The New Public Diplomacy: Between Theory and Practice. In: Melissen, J. (eds) The New Public Diplomacy. Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230554931_1
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