Grand Strategy, Policy and Reality in Public Diplomacy

• In Event: Power and Democracy

Abstract

Public diplomacy policies designed according to grand strategy are generally based on an ideological background. However, concrete public diplomacy actions are conveyed through more humane and universal discourses. This situation creates a structural paradox. Public diplomacy is based on a positivist perspective. The ultimate purpose of public diplomacy actions is to achieve the country's interest. This reality should be taken into consideration in public diplomacy. Public diplomacy literature does not adequately analyze the impact of ideology and politics on the results of action. The main aim of this project is to analyze the impact of grand narratives and ideological background on public diplomacy actions. In other words, it is to address the equation between grand narrative, ideology and reality in public diplomacy actions. The project basically seeks answers to the following questions. Is a public diplomacy free from ideology possible?, If a public diplomacy free from ideology is possible, how is the effectiveness of action without ideology?, What is the effectiveness and impact of the grand narrative on public diplomacy?

The research is based on literature and content analysis methods. The sample group of the project includes six countries divided into big, medium and small-sized powers depending on their political and economic influence. The USA and China will represent big-sized states, Turkey and South Korea will represent medium-sized states, and Qatar and Estonia will represent small-sized states. Each of these countries has different institutional structures, objectives, discourses and philosophies in public diplomacy. These differences and small similarities in some areas will make important contributions to questioning the hypotheses of the project. Specific public diplomacy actions of these countries will be analyzed and compared with each other. Content analysis will be categorized according to the following three basic parameters:
a) Grand narratives, ideological perspectives and public diplomacy policies of countries,
b) Structural characteristics of public diplomacy activities (discourses, tools, target audiences, etc.),
c) International agenda and national agenda
The effects of the above three parameters on public diplomacy and each other will be analyzed. I think that the research results will contribute to the public diplomacy literature, policy makers and experts. I think the balance between discourse and practice will be even more important in the age of artificial intelligence. Even if public diplomacy is machine-centered, humans as policy makers are still a dominant and effective factor.

Author

• Abdulsamet Günek, Muş Alparslan University