scholarly journals Promoting a Better Image through Culture: The Case of Turkey’s Cultural Diplomacy towards Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-251
Author(s):  
Rifkha Aulia Fazrianti Zaelani ◽  
Ahmad Sahide

This study attempts to reveal cultural diplomacy, which Turkey implements towards Indonesia. The ‘golden period’ of Turkey is from 2007 until 2013. After that, the public diplomacy of Turkey was not effective as before, and it was fallen dramatically. The country’s instability caused by the political turmoil within the country also influences the growth of international isolation. With these based on the problem that influences its image, Turkey needs to prove a different and better image to promote itself abroad.  Public perceptions can be shaped and controlled by doing cultural diplomacy that acts as soft power. Having one thing in common as a country with a Muslim population as the majority, Turkey has a special place in the hearts of the Indonesian people. Based on the theory of cultural diplomacy by Milton C. Cummings, the authors drew two arguments. First, Turkey’s Cultural diplomacy towards Indonesia is done not only by state actors (officially by the government) but also by non-state actors such as individuals and companies. Second, cultural diplomacy carried out by Turkey towards Indonesia is through all aspects of the needs of the Indonesian people, such as films, fashion, news, music, food, and education.

Author(s):  
N. A. Ivanova

Abstract: Actual Lithuania-Russia relations are characterized as tension. The official rhetoric is strongly negative. The opportunities to maintain public dialogue are restricted, ideas to promote positive cooperation are being criticized by elites and government. Mass-media transmit the official standpoints of the government. Consequently, it works on even more amplification of the public break between the two societies, strengthening discredit, spreading stereotypes and myths about each other. That has been leading to estrangement between the societies of the both countries and also to increase of word outlook, emotional and mental break. In the historical perspective it might become the grand challenge for both states as neighboring countries. However, as in Russia so in Lithuania there are social communities that are interested in developing positive communication even in actual tense circumstances. Thereupon alternative communication platforms, belonging to “soft power” and public diplomacy, become special. The ones that nowadays maintain dialogue in Lithuania-Russia relationships are studied in this article. Besides, the obstacles to a constructive dialogue are revealed. Author gives recommendations on the most effective alternative platforms and “displays”


2019 ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Miroslav Mitrovic

Strategic communication is one of the expressions of state power and represents an instrument in the political and security achievement of national interests. In the context of contemporary conflicts, it is an expression of a hybrid action in the fields of information, media, internet, and the entire spectrum of public diplomatic performances. It can have an offensive or defensive character. The main goal is to influence the public opinion and further move the focus in relation to the public towards cultural values and eventual adjustment of the political system through the ?reprogramming? of the political culture in accordance with the given objectives. Strategic communication is a planned and comprehensive activity of the organizational entity, which aims at achieving a successful and efficient interaction with the environment. Some of the elementary forms of strategic communication that support the highest national goals, even in the case of defense and security issues, are propaganda, public diplomacy, and interest communications (advocacy, lobbying, etc.). In this paper, using the analysis of the content and synthesis, a projection of strategic communication in the scope of propaganda, public diplomacy, and lobbying as determinants of strategic communication is presented. A framework for strategic propaganda planning, a strategic approach to public diplomacy, and a lobbying strategy have been developed, with a basic proposal for the modelling of every listed component of strategic communication. The paper contributes to the thesis that strategic communication aims at supporting the organization?s mission. In the field of defense and security, strategic communication has one of the vital roles in supporting the achievement of the mission of strengthening the overall identity, the international position of internal cohesion and the unity of the nation, as well as the general readiness to respond to the contemporary security challenges. Strategic communication represents a wide area of communication disciplines that combine different co-information areas, disciplines, and skills in a hybrid and inventive way. Strategically guided propaganda, public diplomacy, and lobbying are certainly areas of importance for the comprehensive construction of the ?soft? power, but also in support of the construction of the ?hard? power. The conclusion is that the planning and implementation of the strategic communication, through strategic determinants, such are propaganda, public diplomacy, and lobbying, must be meticulously studied and planned, according to scientific and practice-tested postulates. In this way, it is possible that strategic communication really strongly and significantly supports the achievement of the organization?s mission, which in the case of the state relates to its international position, resistance to contemporary, hybrid challenges of risk and threats, and readiness for the defensive, and, if necessary, offensive activity. This approach seeks to raise general defense capacities, thus turning the state into an unwanted opponent, and achieving the effect of preventing and deterring possible aggressive action.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-281
Author(s):  
Sylvia Dümmer Scheel

El artículo analiza la diplomacia pública del gobierno de Lázaro Cárdenas centrándose en su opción por publicitar la pobreza nacional en el extranjero, especialmente en Estados Unidos. Se plantea que se trató de una estrategia inédita, que accedió a poner en riesgo el “prestigio nacional” con el fin de justificar ante la opinión pública estadounidense la necesidad de implementar las reformas contenidas en el Plan Sexenal. Aprovechando la inusual empatía hacia los pobres en tiempos del New Deal, se construyó una imagen específica de pobreza que fuera higiénica y redimible. Ésta, sin embargo, no generó consenso entre los mexicanos. This article analyzes the public diplomacy of the government of Lázaro Cárdenas, focusing on the administration’s decision to publicize the nation’s poverty internationally, especially in the United States. This study suggests that this was an unprecedented strategy, putting “national prestige” at risk in order to explain the importance of implementing the reforms contained in the Six Year Plan, in the face of public opinion in the United States. Taking advantage of the increased empathy felt towards the poor during the New Deal, a specific image of hygienic and redeemable poverty was constructed. However, this strategy did not generate agreement among Mexicans.


Author(s):  
Mykola Trofymenko

Public diplomacy of Great Britain is one of the most developed in the EU and in the world. The United Kingdom has developed an extremely efficient public diplomacy mechanism which includes BBC World Service (which due to its popularity boosts the reputation and the image of Great Britain), Chevening Scholarships (provides outstanding foreign students with opportunity to study in Great Britain and thus establishes long-lasting relations with public opinion leaders and foreign countries elite) and the British Council, which deals with international diplomatic ties in the field of culture. The British Council is a unique organization. Being technically independent, it actively and efficiently works on consolidating Great Britain’s interests in the world and contributes to the development of public diplomacy in Great Britain.   The author studies the efforts of the British Council as a unique public diplomacy tool of the United Kingdom. Special attention is paid to the role of British Council, which is independent of the governing board and at the same time finds itself under the influence of the latter due to the peculiarities of the appointment of Board’s officials, financing etc. The author concludes that the British Council is a unique organization established in 1934, which is a non-departmental state body, charitable organization and public corporation, technically independent of the government. The British Council, thanks to its commercial activities covers the lack of public funding caused by the policy of economy conducted by the government. It has good practices in this field worth paying attention by other countries. It is also worth mentioning that the increment in profit was getting higher last year, however the issue of increasing the influence of the government on the activities of British Council is still disputable. Although the Foreign Minister officially reports to the parliament on the activities of the British Council, approves the appointment of the leaders of organizations, the British Council preserves its independence of the government, which makes it more popular abroad, and makes positive influence on the world image of Great Britain. The efficiency of the British Council efforts on fulfillment of targets of the United Kingdom public diplomacy is unquestionable, no matter how it calls its activities: whether it is a cultural relations establishment or a cultural diplomacy implementation. Keywords: The British Council, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, Foreign Office, Her Majesty’s Government, official assistance for development


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Tawanda Zinyama ◽  
Joseph Tinarwo

Public administration is carried out through the public service. Public administration is an instrument of the State which is expected to implement the policy decisions made from the political and legislative processes. The rationale of this article is to assess the working relationships between ministers and permanent secretaries in the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe. The success of the Minister depends to a large degree on the ability and goodwill of a permanent secretary who often has a very different personal or professional background and whom the minster did not appoint. Here lies the vitality of the permanent secretary institution. If a Minister decides to ignore the advice of the permanent secretary, he/she may risk of making serious errors. The permanent secretary is the key link between the democratic process and the public service. This article observed that the mere fact that the permanent secretary carries out the political, economic and social interests and functions of the state from which he/she derives his/her authority and power; and to which he/she is accountable,  no permanent secretary is apolitical and neutral to the ideological predisposition of the elected Ministers. The interaction between the two is a political process. Contemporary administrator requires complex team-work and the synthesis of diverse contributions and view-points.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nour Halabi

Throughout the Syrian crisis, the presence of material and symbolic boundaries to culture became a particularly salient element of the continuously unfolding political turmoil. As one terrorist group, Daesh, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, seeks to unite the vast area of the Middle East under the political, religious, and cultural administration of a “Greater State of Syria,” or “al-Sham,” this article revisits the historical spatial organization of Damascus and the construction of city boundaries and walls as factors that contributed to the cultivation of spatially grounded cleavages within Syrian and Damascene identity. In the latter section of this article, I reflect on the impact of these cleavages on the Syrian crisis by focusing on the public response to the siege of the Mouaddamiyya neighborhood.


Perceptions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Fiona Fackler

Benito Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship over Italy in the period between world wars remains a troubling element of the nation's history. It has heavily affected the contemporary politics and public displays of in addition to scholarship about the thriving artistic scene of that time, yet, the weight of Italy's Fascist legacy has either comprised the primary focus of or been entirely absent from studies on art in the 1920s-1930s until a recent academic interest in reinvestigating the political and cultural atmosphere of the period. This paper underlines the importance of such renewed critical interests in chapters of painful history and how those interests can influence public perceptions of national history and its outreach into contemporary culture. Specifically, I will examine the written and exhibited discrepancies between the life of the painter Mario Sironi under the regime and the life of selected paintings that perpetuate his existence in contemporary Italy. By comparing La Famiglia del Pastore in "Roma Anni Trenta: La Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Le Quadriennali (1931 - 1935 - 1939)" at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna and La Solitudine in "Time is Out of Joint" at the Galleria Nazionale I will analyze how exhibitions of art shape the Italian public's reception of this period. I contend that certain exhibiting styles can either deepen public reception and consideration for a work of art and the time from which it stems or can reduce understanding to that inspired by instantaneous connections, dependent on the institution's or curator's approach to context. For, no trip to a museum is simply a trip to a museum – whether actively or passively, museums shape how the public approaches the works in its halls and through these works, how the public approaches themselves and the world surrounding them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 232 ◽  
pp. 982-1001
Author(s):  
Gary Rawnsley

AbstractAccepting that Taiwan has accumulated “soft power” since the introduction of democratic reforms in the late 1980s, this paper assesses Taiwan's external communications during Ma Ying-jeou's presidency and how its soft power resources have been exercised. Demonstrating the strategic turn from political warfare to public and cultural diplomacy, the paper begins with the premise that the priority must be to increase familiarity with Taiwan among foreign publics. It then argues that any assessment of external communications in the Ma administration must consider the impact of two key decisions: first, the dissolution of the Government Information Office and the transfer of its responsibilities for international communications to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a new Ministry of Culture, and second, the priority given to cultural themes in Taiwan's external communications.


Author(s):  
Michael Eamon

In October 2011, the Government of Canada began a two-year, nation-wide celebration of the bicentenary of the War of 1812. The widely-criticized initiative returned the public eye to a traditional ‘interpretive tableau’ of war heroes, namely Isaac Brock, Tecumseh, Charles de Salaberry and Laura Secord. While the scope and expense of the federal government’s efforts have been unprecedented, the political battle to maintain certain memories of the War is one that is not new. A struggle against the forgetfulness of Canadians, and particularly young Canadians, has animated commemorations of the War for almost two centuries. Looking at a selection of past commemorative efforts this essay explores how the inertia of a traditional tableau of heroes has tended to overshadow other narratives and newer interpretations. Yet all is not lost. Using the example of the author’s exhibition, Faces of 1812, it is suggested that publicly-constructed histories can be employed as a useful departure point for the public historian and provide a foundation from which the public can obtain a broader, more critical perspective on both the commemorated events and history writ large.


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