Perhaps the core values of PD are exemplified in the upraising of the Arab people in those countries. Through the channels of public diplomacy i.e. broadcasting, the Arab world no longer wants to be subject to suppression and violation of human rights. The ideas of democratic society have perpetrated the Arab world through TV programs, radio, magazines and the internet.
The task of the Western countries that are prepared to act and to remove the oppressive governments is not an easy one. Furthermore, in order to avoid repeating mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan, the UK and the United States must take into account the opinions of foreign audiences when dealing with this issue.
Genuine listening to foreign audiences as N. Cull suggests should be at the centre of Public Diplomacy. Perhaps the democracy in the Muslim world would be different to western model. Hence the task of the West is to be able to listen to their views of democracy and stop imposing the democracy as a ‘one model fits all’. J. A. Scholte suggests some principals towards a global democracy and one of them is a cultural aspect. We live in an integrated world and if small minorities are not recognised within a state how could we expect egalitarian global society. Moreover he suggests encouragements of diversity, trans-cultural communication, and reciprocal learning in order to shift from state centric approach to more people power. (from the A.J. Scholte's lecture at LSE 22/02/11)
Cull, N. J.,(2010) ‘Public Diplomacy: Seven Lessons for its Future from its Past’, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Vol. 6, No. 1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12480844 accessed on the 2/03/2011
http://www.buildingglobaldemocracy.org/ accessed on the 2/03/2011
Diana,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points made regarding broadcasting and internet's push for democracy, but you didnt mention how facebook,twitter and other interactive platforms is instigating a powerful push towards democracy in the arab world.
Your headline could have been:Public diplomacy,propaganda and the Social networks!
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI take your point about the importance of social networks as twitter, facebook and etc. Moreover this is in a way has built a platform for a 'new public diplomacy' allowing faster communication and more information flow. This in its own term has led to public mobilization and action, making public diplomacy more about ordinary people and not just about politicians and policy makers.
Thank you for the title recommendation I'll think about it.
Diana,
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right and your opinion reflects mine. Public diplomacy is a nicer term than propaganda as propaganda includes and infers negative connotations. But the important thing here is whether we benefit from influencing their progression to a democracy or are we imposing some cultural, political values by the same positive concepts such as democracy, freedom, human rights etc..
There are two conclusions we can draw from recent events. The first is that uprisings against these dictatorships do not necessarily lead to a closer step towards democracy. The voice of the majority may be transformed within the political arena but this is questionnable if it is found that the collective majority are not able to make healthy decisions. As Plato said “People possess neither wisdom nor experience to make decisions on their behalf." ( Heywood A, Politics) Imagine the hypothetical scenario that 60 % of your society is illiterate, can they or the government elected by them make the right decisions? The Mubarek administration is thrown but there is no guarantee that the next administration will do better than him. The second point is some nations should stop trying to promote democracy. You mentioned that the task for western countries and for the United States is not going to be easy but do they have to undertake the role of policing the world? Without question of course democracy is the way society should be shaped but is democracy really the main reason for involvement by the world’s leading states?
Thanks