Public Diplomacy
Olympic games is much more with sport competition. It is one of the most powerful tools of public diplomacy of the host country. We are following successes and failures of public diplomacy in the Olympic Games, including 2024 Paris. Read more on Olympic Diplomacy.Â
About public diplomacy
There is no agreed definition of public diplomacy. Fitzpatrick identified 150 definitional statements of public diplomacy.[1] Â All of them can be situated between the wide and narrow definitions of public diplomacy.
The wide definition treats it as an expression of soft power and makes the point that PD, covering networking and other core activities, is diplomacy.[2] Such an approach is excellent for focusing on how PD integrates all the soft outreach promotional activities covering culture, education, the media and even some elements of economic work. This is good as an approach but not for operational purposes because each activity has its own context and needs.
Thus cultural outreach is PD, but it is best handled as cultural diplomacy, with its own participants and its ground rules. The same is true of educational promotion work, consular work, outreach to scientific and other research institutions and the like.
The narrow definition confines the focus of PD to influencing the public at home and abroad on issues relating to foreign affairs. This is fine for concentration on the operational activities that PD must first implement, and the specific methods that are to be deployed for that, mostly in partnership with the other domestic actors.
For instance, the PD department in a foreign ministry can treat this definition as the basis for its own activities. But if it were to attempt to function on the basis of the wide definition, it would quickly find itself in contention with the agencies that handle this broad range of activities.
[1] Fitzpatrick, K.R. 2010. The Future of US Public Diplomacy: An Uncertain Fait. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff.
[2] Arguing the case for PD one expert writes: ‘Increasingly in the twenty-first century, diplomacy will be public diplomacy.’ Shaun Rirodan, ‘Dialogue-based Public Diplomacy: a New Foreign Policy Paradigm?’ New Public Diplomacy, (Palgrave Macmillian, Basingstoke, 2005) p. 187.
Research in Public Diplomacy
Diplo conducts multidisciplinary research in public diplomacy. It is evidence-based research with a strong focus on practice in public diplomacy institutions worldwide. Diplo’s research niche is research on the needs of countries with limited and financial resoruces for conducting comprehensive public diplomacy campaigns. Diplo’s research complement current research in the field of PD that focuses mainly on the position and experience of the major players (Untied States, UK, China).
Research activities include:
Academic research by Diplo’s academic staff
MA thesis written by students
In the collection of MA thesis the following titles deal with public diplomacy related issues:
Public Diplomacy and Nation Brand | The Positive Branding of Islam: A Case Study of Islamic Countries, their Public Diplomacy Efforts and Effectiveness | Establishment of Public Diplomacy in Slovakia: An Effective New Approach | The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Diplomacy and Diplomatic Service | The Role of the Beijing Olympics in China’s Public Diplomacy and its Impact on Politics, Economics and Environment | Cultural Diplomacy An Essential and Creative Component in the Toolkit of Contemporary Diplomacy | The Role of Public Diplomacy in the Resolution of African Disputes: Civil Society Action in Sierra Leone | Virtual Diplomacy: Diplomacy of the Digital Age
Conferences and panels
Latest events on public diplomacy. You can consult the previous events on public diplomacy.
Publications (see books)
Public Diplomacy in Multilateral Relations
The goal of public diplomacy for international organisations is to ensure a positive perception of their activities among opinion formers, the media, and members of the public who will consequently support continued involvement by their governments in the organisation’s activities. This will involve persuading their audiences that the activities they undertake are relevant and yield positive benefits.
In order to implement a successful communication or public diplomacy strategy, an international organisation must be clear and unanimous about its goals and the message it wants to convey. Organisation secretariats should embrace new technology and imaginative methods of spreading their messages, identify ways to accommodate the circumstances of the membership. All member states should promote the objectives and values of the organisation in question and should play their part by providing the necessary financial resources, expertise, information, and technology to allow the staff to project the right image and message.
But several questions remain. Who should bear the principal burden of responsibility for explaining and promoting the organisation to the national populations within the member states? Should the secretariat of the organisation take the principal role, or should it be the respective governments? How far can an international secretariat go in identifying shortcomings within the membership to uphold the goals of the organisation in order to preserve overall credibility? Who is best placed to assess public perceptions through opinion surveys and other instruments and who is best placed to respond to specific concerns or questions? Should the role of the secretariats be limited to anodyne glossy publications or web-based factual information or can they take on a more strategic role? The institutions themselves should not be subject to the vagaries and unpredictability of national politics and can in principle take a long-term approach to public diplomacy which is often beyond national governments. Few regional or international organisations can yet be said to do this effectively.
Excerpts from Diplo’s online course on Public Diplomacy – text written by Liz Galvez
13 October 2025
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