scholarly journals Public Diplomacy and International Conflict Resolution: A Cautionary Case from Cold War South America

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Darnton
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
South America ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Mixed Messages

AbstractCan public diplomacy help resolve protracted international conflicts? Both rationalist and constructivist traditions identify significant domestic obstacles to international peacemaking. However, Robert Putnam's concept of “reverberation” implies that diplomats can expand their adversaries’ win-sets for cooperation by engaging foreign publics. This paper analyzes a most-likely case, with archival evidence: Argentine Ambassador Oscar Camilión's unsuccessful quest for Argentine-Brazilian rapprochement in 1976–77. Although the two countries later overcame rivalry, public diplomacy contributed negligibly to this success: internal Argentine divisions created mixed messages toward Brazil, Brazilian leaders launched a competing public relations operation, and these two currents obstructed and nearly terminated Camilión's mission. This case illuminates the paradoxes of Argentine foreign policymaking under military rule and offers a cautionary tale for scholars and practitioners of public diplomacy and conflict resolution.

scholarly journals Editorial

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 412-413
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
Bilateral Coordination ◽  
Change Dynamics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Conflict Intervention ◽  
Theory Research

Conflict theory and conflict intervention can be explored using a wide range of perspectives, from a focus on different specialisms, through theory, research and to theory applied to practice. We welcome the contributors to this issue from many parts of the world, covering a wide range of mediation themes and topics. The authors in this issue examine conflict with a focus on a variety of different fields of knowledge which are the bases for the articles. In this issue, Aytekin Cantekin presents and critiques conflict “ripeness” or “readiness” theories, concepts that have been helpful as analytic tools in the world of peacemaking. His article, “Ripeness and Readiness Theories in International Conflict Resolution” argues that “...using readiness theory (first) to understand each party and its positions separately, then using ripeness theory to map the bilateral coordination can be a better way to grasp basic foundations and change dynamics of the conflict to catch the ripe moment...” for conflict intervention in international conflicts.

U.S.-Thai Public Diplomacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-87
Author(s):  
P. Michael Rattanasengchanh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The People ◽  
United States Information Agency ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Hearts And Minds

During the Cold War, u.s. and Thai leaders invested in public relations programs to win the hearts and minds of the people of Thailand. Changes in Thailand between the years 1957 and 1963, which gave rise to Thai General Sarit Thanarat and King Bhumibol Adulyadej to positions of political authority, strengthened u.s.-Thai relations. To project their power, Washington and Bangkok relied on practicing public diplomacy through the United States Information Agency (usia) to demonstrate the benevolence of the United States, the army’s paternalism, and the god-like image of the king. The period from 1957 to 1963 saw the beginnings of a strong u.s.-Thai relationship and the creation of a stable anti-Communist, military-monarchical government that lasted until the end of the Cold War.

American Exceptionalism and US Foreign Policy: Public Diplomacy at the End of the Cold War. By Siobhàn McEvoy-Levy. New York: Palgrave, 2001. 256p. $75.00.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-694
Author(s):  
Francis A. Beer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
American Exceptionalism ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
The Cold War

Public diplomacy, or foreign policy rhetoric, is an increasingly important dimension of international relations. As modern media extend their global reach, they bring national foreign policy actions out of the diplomatic closet into full public view. Public relations experts market foreign policy as they do other products and services. Foreign policy marketing uses rhetoric strategically to legitimize national actions, mobilize support from allies, and counter the propaganda efforts of opponents. McEvoy-Levy's work contributes to the growing literature of such modern international communication.

Land of Blue Helmets

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Arab World ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
Member States ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Political Mediation

Born in 1945, the United Nations (UN) came to life in the Arab world. It was there that the UN dealt with early diplomatic challenges that helped shape its institutions such as peacekeeping and political mediation. It was also there that the UN found itself trapped in, and sometimes part of, confounding geopolitical tensions in key international conflicts in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods, such as hostilities between Palestine and Iraq and between Libya and Syria. Much has changed over the past seven decades, but what has not changed is the central role played by the UN. This book's claim is that the UN is a constant site of struggle in the Arab world and equally that the Arab world serves as a location for the UN to define itself against the shifting politics of its age. Looking at the UN from the standpoint of the Arab world, this volume includes chapters on the potential and the problems of a UN that is framed by both the promises of its Charter and the contradictions of its member states.

A Special Intermittence and Continuity in Local History: The Chinese Diaspora and Their Hometown in Battlefield Quemoy during 1949-1960s

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiang Bo-wei
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Local History ◽  
The State ◽  
Chinese Diaspora ◽  
Overseas Chinese ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Community Power ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract From 1949, Quemoy became the battlefront between the warring Nationalists and Communists as well as the frontline between Cold War nations. Under military rule, social and ideological control suppressed the community power of traditional clans and severed their connection with fellow countrymen living abroad. For 43 long years up until 1992, Quemoy was transformed from an open hometown of the Chinese diaspora into a closed battlefield and forbidden zone. During the war period, most of the Quemoy diasporic Chinese paid close attention to the state of their hometown including the security of their family members and property. In the early 1950s, they tried to keep themselves informed of the situation in Quemoy through any available medium and build up a new channel of remittances. Furthermore, as formal visits of the overseas Chinese were an important symbol of legitimacy for the KMT, Quemoy emigrants had been invited by the military authority to visit their hometown since 1950. This was in fact the only channel for the Chinese diaspora to go home. Using official files, newspapers and records of oral histories, this article analyzes the relationship between the Chinese diaspora and the battlefield, Quemoy, and takes a look at the interactions between family and clan members of the Chinese diaspora during 1949-1960s. It is a discussion of a special intermittence and continuity of local history.

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