PublicDiplomacyandPropaganda

朱娜+申蕾+郜妮

【Abstract】Public diplomacy gives priority to human interaction， aims to modify the target audiences perception， attitudes and behavior as well as win the minds and hearts of target audience through persuading and lobbying. To some extent， it is a modern form of propaganda. However， it is not so convincing to view propaganda as an equivalent of public diplomacy.

【Key words】public diplomacy； propaganda

1. Introduction

Public diplomacy research has attracted much attention from international relations， mass communications， and political studies. Cultural diplomacy， a branch of public diplomacy， has also exerted huge influence upon perceptions and attitudes of people overseas. In this essay， whether public diplomacy is a modern form of propaganda or not is discussed. All the examples are about China， public diplomacy in general， which seeks through the exchange of people and ideas to build lasting relationships to a nations culture， values， and policies， is discussed with the support of examples of Confucius Institutes and Cultural Year of China.

2. Definition of Public diplomacy

Public diplomacy is communication with the publics of foreign countries， as is different to traditional diplomacy which consists of communication between governments. In other words， it shifts from traditional government-to-government diplomacy to a government-to-citizen engagement， focusing on indirect behavioral influences such as culture， values and ideology as the key tools of itself. （Michael， 2007）. It is closely related to power and mainly impacted by Joseph Nyes （1990， 2008） soft power perspective. Central to public diplomacy is the transnational flow of information and ideas. Some see public diplomacy as an idealistic approach to enhance mutual belief and understanding. Others see public diplomacy as a harder-edged policy tool.

3. Definition of propaganda

G.H. Szanto （1978：10） states that although propaganda takes many forms， “it is almost always in some form of activated ideology.” According to Encyclopaedia Britannica （1998）， propaganda “is the more or less systematic effort to manipulate other peoples beliefs， attitudes， or actions by means of symbols. Deliberateness and a relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguish propaganda from casual conversation or the free and easy exchange of ideas. The propagandist has a specific goals or set of goals”. That partly explains why in the United States， conventional ideas hold that propaganda in a democracy is utilized mostly during times of national crisis. Apparently， propaganda can be used as a tool to win the heart of people to fulfill its goals， especially during crisis.endprint

4. Public diplomacy is a modern form of propaganda

It is argued by some researchers that public diplomacy is a modern form of propaganda. It seems that this argument highlights the similarity of public diplomacy and propaganda in terms of their function in persuading， lobbying and win the mind and heart of target audience. In many researches， public diplomacy is primarily seemed as a euphemism for propaganda. Just as J. Michael Waller （2007：331） pointed out that public diplomacy， objectively speaking， is a form of propaganda， it is a form of persuasive communication intended to modify the target audiences perception， attitudes and behavior. Some U.S. government officials （2002） also note that public diplomacy can be viewed as an equivalent of propaganda， because propaganda can be based on fact and use ideas， information， or other material disseminated to win people over to a given doctrine.

Just as Nancy Snow （2007） analyzed that propaganda is source-based， cause-oriented， emotion-laden content that utilizes mass persuasion media to cultivate the mass mind in service to the sources goals. Its utilization is not good or bad as all social institutions such as governments， commercials， and citizen-based ones use propaganda for their own purposes. At its best， propaganda involves pro-social causes that do not stray too far from the truth. At its worst， propaganda serves strictly a pro-source function that uses whatever means necessary to fulfill its goals. Actually， the fact that public diplomacy is initiated by governments leads to the accusation of propaganda. As Richard Holbrooke （2001） noted： “Call it public diplomacy， or public affairs， or psychological warfare， or - if you really want to be blunt - propaganda”.

To sum up， Public diplomacy is a euphemism for a gentler， kinder propaganda. Fundamentally， it is a modern form of propaganda in terms of the function of persuasion， modification of perception， beliefs and behavior. In the following part， its branch， cultural diplomacy， will be covered and the similarity of public diplomacy and propaganda will be discussed with examples.

Cultural diplomacy

People are aware of the role of culture in international relations. As it is noted by Michael （2007：165） that cultural diplomacy is the linchpin of public diplomacy， for it is in cultural activities that a nations idea of itself is best represented. Cultural diplomacy is a two-way engagement： culture is spread from individual to individual， who maybe international visitors and exchanged students. Listening is essential to this effort， it is effective to go across borders to listen to people in other lands and explore the mutual ground of truth and reality. And telling is also crucial in this engagement， during which the interests and acceptance of target audiences should be taken into account. Artists， writers， filmmakers， theater directors and educators traveling abroad are cultural diplomats who exchange ideas with people whose values are different from their own.endprint

4.1 Confucius Institutes

National promotion has always featured as an element in diplomacy. One important tool of Chinas cultural diplomacy is Confucius Institutes， which are set up by the Chinese government around the world to promote Chinese language and culture， and are used to shape Chinas global image and exchange internationally. For State Councilor Liu Yandong， Confucius Institutes are “an important brand of international Chinese language education and a significant platform for educational and cultural exchanges”

According to Wang （2006：65-67）， Confuciuss ideas can represent Chinas traditional culture， therefore choosing Confucius as saint or master， rather than Laozi and Mo-tse for teaching Chinese in other countries is an indicator for the revival of traditional Chinese culture. It is known that Confucius is a representative of traditional Chinese culture， the ideas of whom are essence of the middle course， which is the origin of harmony and humility. Confucius Institutes are established all across the world to promote Chinese culture and language overseas and to enhance cooperation with foreign academic institutions. These institutes could strengthen Chinas soft power and project a positive image of China and show the whole world Chinas peaceful rise and development. According to the reported number of Confucius Institutes in October 2014， there are 471 Confucious Institutes in the world， 158 of the 471 total were in Europe， the largest number of any region （Hanban， 2014）. These European figures reflect the general distribution of Confucius Institutes， which indicates Chinas trading and cultural exchange partnerships， rather than its historical ideological alliances. （ibid）.

4.2 Cultural Year

For China， the task of cultural diplomacy is to introduce China to the world and help people understand the real China， sell Chinas culture to the world and strengthen the friendship with other countries. China and other countries in the world have established a wide-ranging， multi-tiered and comprehensive pattern for friendship and cooperation. China has successfully launched many cultural year programmes. For example， in 1999， after organizing China & France Cultural Year， China organized China & Britain Cultural Year （2003-2004）， China & Russia Cultural Festival （2003-2004）， China & Netherland Cultural Festival （2005） and so on. In recent years， China continues this project and has organized China & Australia Cultural Year （2010-2012）， China & Turkey Cultural Year （2013） and China & India Cultural Year （2014）.endprint

All these projects enrich the cultural exchange， promote the mutual understanding and enhance the benign interaction. In turn， China promotes its soft power， consolidates a booming partnership and establishes a responsible image of “amity， sincerity and mutual benefit”. Just as Zhang （2013） states that the magic power of cultural diplomacy can be seen by governments and citizens home and abroad， in essence， it is similar to the influence exerted by traditional propaganda decades ago. However， in contemporary society， the term “cultural diplomacy” is more preferred.

5. Public diplomacy is not the modern name of propaganda

According to Jowett & ODonnell （2006：2）， propaganda “in the most neutral sense means to disseminate or promote particular ideas”， However， it is a word with negative connotations that most public diplomats avoid the term completely. They described this dishonest and negative connotation by using expressions “frequently used as synonyms for propaganda such as lies， distortion， deceit， manipulation， mind control， psychological warfare， brainwashing， and palaver”. For them， there is deliberate attempt in propaganda to manipulate perceptions and influence behavior of target audience to fulfill the goals and intentions.

It is wise to follow Nye （2008：100）s idea that ideal public diplomacy has to go beyond propaganda to be more acceptable and fruitful， which lies in the fact that “information that seems to be propaganda may be found counterproductive if it makes a country lose its reputation for credibility”. In addition， as Michael （2007：334） noted that propaganda is a diversification of earlier political thinkers， and it has been always related to value， therefore， it is not so convincing to view it as an equivalent of public diplomacy， which is more than propaganda.

6. Conclusion

Public diplomacy gives priority to human interaction， aims to modify the target audiences perception， attitudes and behavior as well as win the minds and hearts of target audience through persuading and lobbying， therefore， public diplomacy is a modern form of propaganda. However， the difference is that nowadays people do not propagandize， they inform. It can be seen that public diplomacy is mainly the active shaping of public opinion by showing the truth.

References：

[1]Encyclopaedia Britannica，15th ed.Chicago：University of Chicago Press，1998.Quote available at http：//www.Britannica.com/prop（2002）.

[2]Hanban（2014），Confucius Institute Headquarters 2014 Yearbook.

[3]G.H.Szanto.（1978）.Theater and Propaganda.Austin：University of Texas Press，10.

[4]J.Michael Waller.（2007）.The Public Diplomacy Reader.The Institute of World Politics Press，Washington，23，331.

[5]Jowett，G.S.& V.ODonnell.（2006）.Propaganda and persuasion.London：Sage Publications，2，17-18.

[6]Nye，J.S.（2008）.Public diplomacy and soft power.The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616（1）：94–109.

[7]Richard Holbrooke.Get the message out.Washington Post，October 28，2001.

[8]Snow，N.Taylor，PM.（Eds）（2009）.Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy，Routledge International Handbooks，286.

[9]Wang，P.（2006）.Viewing Traditional Chinese Culture and Foreign language Teaching from the Perspective of the Setting up of Confucius Institutes，Journal of Zhaoqing University 27（6）：65–67.

作者簡(jiǎn)介：朱娜（1980-），女，江蘇徐州人，碩士，講師，主要研究方向：英語教學(xué)和跨文化交際。endprint