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The Cultural Awakening in Public Diplomacy THE CULTURAL AWAKENING IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY R.S. Zaharna April 2012 Figueroa Press Los Angeles THE CULTURAL AWAKENING IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY R.S. Zaharna Published by FIGUEROA PRESS 840 Childs Way, 3rd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90089 Phone: (213) 743-4800 Fax: (213) 743-4804 www.figueroapress.com Figueroa Press is a division of the USC Bookstore Copyright © 2012 all rights reserved Notice of Rights All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmit- ted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author, care of Figueroa Press. Notice of Liability The information in this book is distributed on an “As is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, neither the author nor Figueroa nor the USC Bookstore shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by any text contained in this book. Figueroa Press and the USC Bookstore are trademarks of the University of Southern California ISBN 13: 978-0-18-213359-8 ISBN 10: 0-18-213359-1 For general inquiries or to request additional copies of this paper please contact: USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School University of Southern California 3502 Watt Way, G4 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281 Tel: (213) 821-2078; Fax: (213) 821-0774 [email protected] www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy CPD Perspectives is a periodic publication by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and highlights scholarship intended to stimulate critical thinking about the study and practice of public diplomacy. Designed for both the practitioner and the scholar, this series will illustrate the breadth of public diplomacy—its role as an essential component of foreign policy and the intellectual challenges it presents to those seeking to understand this increasingly significant factor in international relations. CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy is available electronically in PDF form on the Center’s web site (www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org) and in hard copy by request. About the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School The USC Center on Public Diplomacy seeks to advance and enrich the study and practice of public diplomacy through its research and publication programs, professional training and public events. The USC Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) was established in 2003 as a partnership between the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. It is a joint research, analysis and professional training organization dedicated to furthering the study and practice of global public diplomacy. Since its inception, the Center has become a productive and recognized leader in the public diplomacy research and scholarship community. CPD has benefited from unique international support within academic, corporate, governmental, and public policy circles. It has become the definitive go-to destination for practitioners and international leaders in public diplomacy, while pursuing an innovative research agenda. For more information about the Center, visit www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org Table of Contents Part I Overlooking Culture 7 Why the Oversight? 12 Repercussions of Overlooking Culture 20 Cultural Hotspots in Public Diplomacy’s Horizon 24 Part II Developing Cultural Awareness & Knowledge: 29 Other and Self Culture’s Eloquent Signs: How and Where to Look 31 Communication, Perception, Cognition, Values, 33 Identity, Power Culture in Public Diplomacy Scholarship and Practice 45 § § § I would like to thank Bruce Gregory and Daryl Copeland for their feedback on the project proposal and earlier drafts of this piece. Also, special appreciation for the assistance and feedback from my research assistants Amy Zheng from USC and Adel El-Adawy and Lucy Odigie from American University. Special thanks to Naomi Leight, Nick Cull, and Phil Seib and the USC Center for Public Diplomacy for assistance and support for the project. THE CULTURAL AWAKENING IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 7 The Cultural Awakening in Public Diplomacy Part I Culture—as an underlying force that shapes the public communication between nations and publics in the global political arena – has been curiously underexplored in public diplomacy. Yet culture infuses every aspect of public diplomacy, from policy, to practice, to scholarship. From the values and ideals buried in the political goals to the characteristic patterns of how a nation or political entity communicates with publics all reverberate with cultural tones. This paper explores the intersection of culture and public diplomacy, looking at where their paths cross and what can we learn while pausing at those intersections. The goal is to stimulate thinking on culture and create a cultural awakening in public diplomacy. Part I focuses on the oversight of culture in public diplomacy, how it could occur as well as its repercussions and concludes with why culture will gain urgency in the near future. Part II brings culture back into public diplomacy, beginning with developing cultural awareness and knowledge and learning how to recognize culture’s eloquent signs in communication, perception, cognition, values, identity and power. The study ends with culture in public diplomacy scholarship and practice. Overlooking Culture Over the past decade there has been a surge of interest in public diplomacy. Around the globe, governments have developed new agencies and departments devoted to public diplomacy, initiated specialized training programs and reports, and launched broadcast media and other initiatives. 1 The proliferation of studies has give rise to what Bruce Gregory called the “sunrise” of an academic field.2 While the interest over the past decade may be new, the practice of one political entity trying to influence the public of another is not. In fact, public diplomacy may be as old if not older than traditional diplomacy. In ancient China, India, and pre-Islamic Arabia, 8 THE CULTURAL AWAKENING IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY diplomacy was conducted in a public venue or in the presence of influential court elite and stressed oral speaking skills. As diplomatic scholars Hamilton and Langhorne observed, diplomacy in ancient Greece “was surprisingly” open and public. Yesterday, like today, public diplomacy spans across cultural terrains as well as political borders. Culture intersects at nearly every juncture of public diplomacy, from vision, to policy, to practice. Communication scholars have argued that communication and culture are so intertwined they cannot be separated. As intercultural scholars John Condon and Fathi Yousef noted, “We cannot separate culture from communication, for as soon as we start to talk about one we are almost inevitably talking about the other, too.”3 Public diplomacy, as a communication as well as political phenomenon, is doubly influenced by culture. Scholars have long noted that nations have developed their own unique political cultures.4 The attention paid to culture lags well behind the exploration found in public diplomacy’s parent fields of communication and international relations (IR) studies. In the 1990s, IR studies scholars began exploring culture’s role in conflict resolution, security studies, and traditional diplomacy.5 The example of traditional diplomacy is illustrative. Originally, diplomatic scholars maintained that principles of negotiations were “universal.” Raymond Cohen’s landmark study, which was soon followed by others, found that culture does matter.6 He demonstrated, what seasoned diplomats instinctively knew, namely that Arab, Japanese and U.S. diplomats do not “negotiate” the same way or necessarily from the same premise. The distinctive styles were traceable to the differing cultural and intellectual heritages. The benefit of exploring culture ultimately led to diplomats being better able to “negotiate” across different contexts. Similarly, in communication subfields, scholars are excavating cultural features buried in public relations, marketing and advertising practices and scholarship. It is not only a matter of what sells – a double-chocolate doughnut in Denver or the dried pork and seaweed doughnut in Shanghai – as Dunkin’ Donuts discovered, it matters THE CULTURAL AWAKENING IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 9 how they are sold. For health communicators, knowledge of cultural nuances can literally mean the difference between programs that falter and those that save lives. To date, public diplomacy scholarship may have only skimmed the surface of the connection between culture and public diplomacy. Within the field, discussions of culture tend to fall under cultural diplomacy. Here culture is not only visible, but is viewed as a positive force in fostering mutual understanding. Culture is spoken of primarily as a product for export, a vehicle for understanding, or a tool for communicating with culturally diverse publics. These aspects of culture that people can observe, listen to, or talk openly about represent the explicit side of culture. An awareness or mindfulness of culture can play a positive role in enhancing relations and communication between nations and people. This awareness may in part be the true strength of cultural diplomacy – culture’s power is very much acknowledged. However, there is also an Public diplomacy is not “culture implicit, unspoken side of free.” … When public diplomacy culture that can sabotage even initiatives
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