The role of sports and music in public diplomacy: the case of Kosovo

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 189-203
Author(s):  
Labinot Hajdari

This article elaborates the influence of sports and music on the diplomatic position of Kosovo. Despite being a new country and struggling with political recognition and diplomatic relations, Kosovo has gained popularity through the global success of its citizens in sports and music. An analysis of international media has shown that there is a significant correlation between the success of individuals in changing diplomatic approaches towards Kosovo and redefinition of constraints towards its citizens. Moreover, the image of a country built through success stories of individuals has a significant effect on the general international public and has changed the negative perception of the country. Kosovo here is used as an example to illustrate how sports and cultural diplomacy have been more successful than classical diplomacy.

Author(s):  
A. Kussainova ◽  
◽  
L. S. Kalibekova ◽  

The article analyzes aspects of cultural diplomacy in the framework of humanitarian cooperation between France and Kazakhstan, their importance in establishing diplomatic relations. Certainly, in the context of globalization, the role of cultural diplomacy is growing, the world has turned into a huge information space, where the interconnection and interdependence of the countries of the world community is evidently. Cultural diplomacy is often a means of establishing and developing relations with other states and peoples, as well as a means of selfexpression and positioning a country in the world arena and in the mass consciousness. The main emphasis in the article is given to the sphere of education and culture, their role is determined as a means of deepening bilateral relations between two countries. The strengths and weaknesses of cooperation in this area, as well as prospects for further development are considered. The growing role of cultural diplomacy between countries as a means of deepening bilateral relations is noted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 102-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Duncombe

Summary Public diplomacy is increasingly facilitated through social media. Government leaders and diplomats are using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to communicate with foreign publics, changing the dynamics of interaction between broadcaster and audience. The key to understanding the power of social media in public diplomacy is the role of emotion in digital diplomacy strategies: social media statements relating to state identity can incite strong emotions that have the potential to undermine heretofore positive diplomatic relations, or provide communicative openings that move towards ameliorating crises. Examining the interaction of social media, emotion and identity provides insight into the increasing importance of digital diplomacy and the future challenges relating to digital disinformation that lie ahead.


2019 ◽  
pp. 244-267
Author(s):  
Judith Gough

The interview with Judith Gough, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine, reveals Her Excellency’s opinion on a range of issues and the position of Great Britain on security matters. The article states Great Britain was one of the pioneers of the campaign for the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation in response to its aggression against Ukraine. Great Britain also highly appreciates the support of Ukraine after the Salisbury incident. Specifically, here the reader will find articulated Great Britain’s position relating to the Minsk process, which can be succinctly described by a phrase ‘there is no such thing as an ideal peace process.’ The negotiations are always associated with difficulties and never finish at a pace desired. However, the paramount task of today is to stop hostilities in Donbas. The interview goes on to explore the role of the NATO Contact Point Embassy, which consists in that every NATO Member State undertakes the functions to carry out NATO public diplomacy, assists the NATO Liaison Office in communicating with citizens of the receiving state, and makes clear what the organization is and what its activities are. It is stressed it is the first time when such functions are jointly undertaken by two countries, Great Britain and Canada. Thus, Ukraine has gained the support of two states at the same time. The article also underlines that Great Britain does not intend to change its visa policy towards Ukraine. However, that is not a discriminatory model, as such a policy is applied to the entire world in the same manner. An important aspect of this matter in the relations between Ukraine and Great Britain is an ever-growing number of visas issued. It is mentioned that Brexit has not changed the policy of Great Britain towards Ukraine, has not affected the decision to support Ukraine, and has not decreased an interest to it. After the referendum, the support has become even more evident. The number of visits at the ministerial level has also increased. The article delineates the importance of such organisation as the British Council, providing not only English tutor lessons at a globally recognised level but also vigorously taking part in the realm of cultural diplomacy. Key words: Ukrainian-British relations, Brexit, NATO, Minsk process.


Author(s):  
N. A. Smirnov

In recent years, in many countries around the world the role of society in political decision making quickly strengthened, and the population is increasingly affects the position of the state leaders. For countries pretending to have the support of its policies in other regions, public diplomacy is an essential tool. Today, public diplomacy is regularly used in various conflicts, one of which is the civil war in Syria. Media, Internet, social networks and other tools are used daily to cover the events and create the necessary views of the population in different countries. At the beginning of the article the reasons for the outbreak of the war are discussed from the standpoints of the main actors - the current Syrian government and its opposition, as well as their allies and enemies. The causes of the conflict are essential for further evaluation of the evs, so diametrically opposite points of view of the main actors of the events are analyzed in the material. Then we consider the coverage of the war, because period of direct military action is important to assess the behavior of its members. Among the most important and controversial topics covered by the international media in the conflict, are the use of prohibited weapons, killing of civilians, a violation of international agreements. Determination of the prospects of civil war in Syria is also critical when planning further action by all these events. To get the necessary public support, the parties are trying to have different interpretation of further scenarios. Much depends on this: whether the country's population supports the direction of further assistance or troops, how residents of other countries would react to a further continuation of the conflict, or how the representatives of international organizations would answer the question about the legitimacy of any move. The formation of public opinion in different countries aimed at obtaining approval of its policy on the part of the population and the necessary support for further action. Each of the parties to the conflict, using its own and is making significant opportunities attempts to provide the necessary coverage of the events in this war. Analyzing numerous publications, photos and videos, largely specially rigged to achieve the desired result, it is difficult to say about the objective picture of what is happening, but it is an indisputable fact of enormous human sacrifices, millions of people who have fled their country and the destroyed country in the heart of the Middle East.


2020 ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Alexandra Arkhangelskaya

The history of the formation of South Africa as a single state is closely intertwined with events of international scale, which have accordingly influenced the definition and development of the main characteristics of the foreign policy of the emerging state. The Anglo-Boer wars and a number of other political and economic events led to the creation of the Union of South Africa under the protectorate of the British Empire in 1910. The political and economic evolution of the Union of South Africa has some specific features arising from specific historical conditions. The colonization of South Africa took place primarily due to the relocation of Dutch and English people who were mainly engaged in business activities (trade, mining, agriculture, etc.). Connected by many economic and financial threads with the elite of the countries from which the settlers left, the local elite began to develop production in the region at an accelerated pace. South Africa’s favorable climate and natural resources have made it a hub for foreign and local capital throughout the African continent. The geostrategic position is of particular importance for foreign policy in South Africa, which in many ways predetermined a great interest and was one of the fundamental factors of international involvement in the development of the region. The role of Jan Smuts, who served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948, was particularly prominent in the implementation of the foreign and domestic policy of the Union of South Africa in the focus period of this study. The main purpose of this article is to study the process of forming the mechanisms of the foreign policy of the Union of South Africa and the development of its diplomatic network in the period from 1910 to 1948.


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


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 205630512098105
Author(s):  
Diana Ingenhoff ◽  
Giada Calamai ◽  
Efe Sevin

This article presents a study of Twitter-based communication in order to identify key influencers and to assess the role of their communication in shaping country images. The analysis is based on a 2-month dataset comprised of all tweets including hashtags of the three countries selected for this study: Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Following a two-step flow model of communication, we initially identified the influential Twitter users in all three countries based on their centrality measures. Subsequently, we carried out a qualitative content analysis of tweets posted by these influential users. Finally, we assessed the similarities and differences across the three country cases. This article offers new insights into public diplomacy 2.0 activities by discussing influence within the context of country images and demonstrating how opinion leaders can play a more dominant role than states or other political actors in creating and disseminating content related to country image. The findings also provide practical insights in the production of a country’s image and its representation on new media platforms.


2021 ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
Oksana Stasevska ◽  
Illia Malanchuk

Problem setting. The study of the potential of cultural diplomacy has been growing rapidly in recent times. This is due to the realization of the failures of traditional and «force» diplomacy, which often demonstrate the inability to ensure the successful solution of important international problems. Researchers note the need to use cultural diplomacy to intensify and increase the effectiveness of international cooperation. Target of research. Understanding the actualization of cultural diplomacy of Ukraine in the modern world, an attempt to analyze its legal basis. Analysis of resent researches and publications. The concep «cultural diplomacy» is more common in scientific discourse. Scientists such as D. Vedeneev, V. Kostrov, T. Peresunko, N. Musienko, V. Tsyvaty, M. Kulinich, O. Rozumna, and others have contributed to the development of the role of cultural diplomacy in the foreign policy vector of the Ukraine. Political science works predominate among the researches. Few works analyze the legal aspects of cultural diplomacy. Article’s main body. In the context of globalization there is a loss of national origins. Therefore, states must use all their potential to preserve and enhance their own and the world’s cultural heritage, mutual understanding and support of interethnic harmony. International legal thought defines the concept of «diplomacy» in different ways, sometimes identifying it with international law or foreign policy. However, diplomacy is one of the most important tools of foreign policy, along with its components such as the armed forces, intelligence, economic ties, and so on. Cultural diplomacy is a type of diplomacy that uses the country’s cultural heritage as a means to an end. The role of cultural potential in international relations is highly valued. It is cultural diplomacy, not the use of force to impose political, ideological ideas, which aims to unite countries. Ukraine is returning to the active use of cultural diplomacy tools in the XXI century, when there was an urgent need for broad international support for the implementation of ambitious European integration plans. The system of coordination, stimulation and organization of cultural activities at the international level allows identifying the tasks of cultural diplomacy of Ukraine. Ukrainian cultural diplomacy based on international legal instruments ratified by Ukraine and acts of national legislation. The analysis of the problem allows determining the urgent task of creating a favorable legislative framework for the maximum effectiveness of cultural diplomacy. Conclusions and prospects for the development. The filling of legal gaps in cultural diplomacy should take place in the vector of recognition of culture as a subject of foreign policy, awareness of its reputational and social potential. Ukraine faces the task of updating old and finding new cultural images and symbols to create a decent image of the country, as well as to create an appropriate legal framework for the effective implementation of the tasks of cultural diplomacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Jess Gosling

Perceptions of attractiveness and trustworthiness impact the prosperity and influence of countries. A country's soft power is not guaranteed. Countries have their brands, an image shaped by the behaviour of governments, by what they do and say, whom they associate with, and how they conduct themselves on the global stage. Increasingly, digital diplomacy plays a crucial role in the creation and application of soft power. This paper argues that digital diplomacy is increasingly vital in the articulation of soft power. Digital diplomacy is a new way of conducting public diplomacy, offering new and unparalleled ways of building trust with previously disengaged audiences. Soft power is now the driving force behind reputation and influence on the global stage, where increasingly digital diplomacy plays an essential role.


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