Public diplomacy is a concept that is dominating research on diplomatic studies in the current times and is distinguished from the traditional practices of diplomacy as it is about diplomatic engagement with the people. Public diplomacy has been credited with broadening the elite world of diplomacy, i.e. democratisation of diplomacy, with multiple actors now entering the arena.
Public diplomacy does not have a concrete definition that is agreed upon by scholars but one working definition of the same has been provided by Kishan Rana. According to him, public diplomacy may be defined as ‘activities through which governments, working with non-state agencies, reach out to the public and non-official actors abroad, covering inter alia information, culture, education, and the country image.’ In other words, public diplomacy is an instrument through which state actors seek to understand the culture and attitudes of the general public and other actors, build and manage relationships with them, as well as influence thoughts and actions in order to advance their own interests and values.
Some scholars equate public diplomacy with propaganda but others hold the view that promotion of a country’s culture and external image is an integral part of diplomatic practises. Public diplomacy is intrinsically connected to the ‘soft power’ of a country. Governments are quickly realising the importance of developing their country’s brand image and now consider it a prerequisite for contemporary statecraft. Formulating and carrying out effective public diplomacy has become a major security challenge in the current scenario.
The United States has a long history of engaging in public diplomacy. The US has traditionally used public diplomacy to influence the citizens of foreign countries so that they, in turn, influence their own governments in forming positive perspectives regarding the US. For instance, during the cold war years, the US established the United States Information Agency (USIA) and through that, led a massive outreach program directed at populations in other countries to counter the spread of communism. The idea behind the establishment of the USIA was to ‘tell America’s story to the world’ and the USIA was ultimately successful in helping the US achieve its foreign policy objectives. After the abolition of the USIA in 1999, external public diplomacy has come to be under the jurisdiction of the State Department.
Public diplomacy, in the context of the United States, received renewed interest after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the US invested vast resources towards the same so as to change the negative viewpoints that emerged after the Global War on Terror. Numerous reports outlining what the US should do were published and various initiatives were undertaken to influence the thoughts of citizens in other countries and make them understand the perspective of the US. However, all external public diplomacy efforts did not succeed in changing the opinions of people and the image of the US was considered to be tarnished.
Public perceptions of the US have been declining for more than a decade and the current covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges the US faces in formulating an effective public diplomacy strategy. The US currently has the largest number of infected people and a massive death toll and has thus been unable to successfully deal with the pandemic. The astronomical numbers of cases being reported in the US have shocked the whole world. The US is viewed as the most powerful country in global politics and seeing it struggle with the pandemic has completely transformed the way the people of other countries look at the US.
The failure of the US government in containing the Covid-19 pandemic has received vast coverage throughout the world and this has gravely impacted the status of the US in the international arena. The response of the US government is being compared to the responses of other governments who have been largely successful in their battle against the Covid-19 virus. Moreover, the Trump administration has expressed support for opening up the country and this has perplexed much of the world’s population because there is substantial data supporting the fact that lockdowns can lessen the spread of the virus. The image of ‘American exceptionalism’ and its superiority in terms of resources has been undermined. The notion of the US as a superpower nation has weakened in the current covid crisis.
In addition to this, the US has also come under scrutiny for allegedly diverting shipments of crucial equipment meant for other countries. These reports have had a negative impact on the relations of the US with other countries, even some of its important allies. The systematic undermining of alliances by the current administration have also resulted in negative perceptions regarding the US. The US now has to work hard to rebuild its credibility and moral authority and this is a significant challenge with regard to its public diplomacy.
The US has also increasingly concentrated its efforts on holding China accountable for its inaction with respect to the pandemic and has dedicated its public diplomacy resources to ensure that its perspective holds more value. The withdrawal of further funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the time of the pandemic has also brushed people the wrong way and some intellectuals believe that this has had a negative impact on the US’s standing and also provided a space for China to increase its diplomatic overtures.
For the US public diplomacy efforts to be effective, they need to formulate a long-term public diplomacy strategy. Its public diplomacy has also suffered a major setback because of the widespread coverage of police brutality aimed at the African-American population. The callous response of the current administration to the Black Lives Matter movement has also sparked outrage throughout the world and resulted in a massive public diplomacy problem.
The lack of public support with respect to the US needs to be countered with effective dialogue and global engagement. These two steps are necessary to do away with the challenges of public diplomacy faced by the US. Public diplomacy has for a long time been an indispensable foreign policy tool for the US as the US’s greatest asset has always been its immense ‘soft power’, which has attracted almost every individual. The value of public diplomacy has risen steeply in the contemporary set-up and it is, therefore, essential for the US to revitalise its public diplomacy efforts.
