Strategic Communications of the United Nations: Case Studies of the Department of Public Information under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1997-2006 A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Young Joon Lim August 2013 © 2013 Young Joon Lim. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Strategic Communications of the United Nations: Case Studies of the Department of Public Information under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1997-2006 by YOUNG JOON LIM has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Michael S. Sweeney Professor of Journalism Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT LIM, YOUNG JOON, Ph.D. August 2013, Mass Communication Strategic Communications of the United Nations: Case Studies of the Department of Public Information under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 1997-2006 Director of Dissertation: Michael S. Sweeney This study examines strategic communication practices of the United Nations (UN) under the seventh Secretary-General Kofi Annan, including the successes and failures of Annan’s revolutionary plan, through the lenses of strategic communication theories and the construction of a historical narrative. By focusing on the reorientation of the Department of Public Information and Annan’s ambitious goals in terms of improving the UN image and leadership, this study attempts to show how Annan and the department implemented their plans and strategies to achieve a better UN image that was aimed at strengthening the UN’s global leadership. This study not only broadens the perspective on the communication strategy of the UN under Annan’s leadership, but the study also revises several commonly held public images of the UN: ineffective and inactive from a view of organizational performance; corrupt from a view of administrative bureaucracy; submissive from a view of international relations; and non-newsworthy from a view of the media. It explores the maneuvers Annan and the department performed to address such images, and further reinforces the importance of the UN as an indispensable and irreplaceable organization at the international level. In doing so, this study attempts to show that the UN – as one of the most representative international organizations in terms of pioneering use of strategic iii communication – would give an exemplary demonstration of how to utilize every means of communication strategies in order to achieve goals of international and non-profit organizations. Thus, this study uses a strategic communication perspective to evaluate the processes and outcomes of the UN’s strategic communication. iv DEDICATION To Him v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS John F. Kennedy said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” I will carve my blessings in my heart, the blessings from the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Anne Cooper, Dr. Catherine Axinn, Dr. Roger Cooper, and committee chair Dr. Michael Sweeney. May they stay forever young. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract..............................................................................................................................iii Dedication........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ...................................................................................................................viii List of Figures.................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Related Literature............................................................................................ 32 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................ 60 Chapter 4: Case Studies .................................................................................................... 68 Chapter 5: Conclusions................................................................................................... 143 References....................................................................................................................... 163 vii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: UN Role..........................................................................................................150 Table 2: UN Membership .............................................................................................151 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. The UN Structure . ............................................................................................5 Figure 2. The Department of Public Information Structure ...........................................12 Figure 3. Newcomb’s Model .........................................................................................50 Figure 4: UN Gallop poll .............................................................................................150 ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This study examines strategic communication practices of the United Nations (UN) under the seventh Secretary-General Kofi Annan, including the successes and failures of Annan’s revolutionary plan, through the lenses of strategic communication theories and the construction of a historical narrative. By focusing on the reorientation of the Department of Public Information and Annan’s ambitious goals in terms of improving the UN image and leadership, this study attempts to show how Annan and the department implemented their plans and strategies to achieve a better UN image that was aimed at strengthening the UN’s global leadership. The period for this study is ten years between 1997 and 2006, while Annan served the UN as two-term secretary-general. The UN – although certainly not the first organization suffering from criticism from the media, the public, and governments – could not help but be concerned about its existence and functions as an influential global organization when the two human-oriented catastrophes of conflicts in Somalia and Bosnia dragged it into chaos before Annan’s era. These two catastrophes are important because they served as a drive for ending Annan’s predecessor Boutros Boutros-Ghali as secretary-general. Annan, having learned from his predecessor’s failure to manage the UN’s image and secure public and political support, was determined to devote his tenure as secretary-general to an increase of the organization’s influence with positive image through communication strategy. Purpose This study aims to demonstrate that Annan and the department strategically used communication to emphasize the distinguished activities and irreplaceable roles of the 1 UN for the benefit of people around the world. It argues that the organization, which was accustomed to complaining about either negative media coverage or a lack of media coverage since 1948, had a turning point with the inauguration of Annan on January 1, 1997. Annan had a different approach to media relations with the UN. Rather than passively responding to media representatives who might be interested in the UN, he and the department made an active attempt to organize media events, create a media-friendly culture, and launch media-friendly programs to grab the media’s attention; they hoped that the media would be persuaded to look at the UN as a reformed organization that could utilize its resources and perform efficient tasks to address chronic human issues such as poverty, war, human rights violations, and more recently terrorism and climate changes. This study not only broadens the perspective on the communication strategy of the UN under Annan’s leadership, but the study also revises several commonly held public images of the UN: ineffective and inactive from a view of organizational performance; corrupt from a view of administrative bureaucracy; submissive from a view of international relations; and non-newsworthy from a view of the media. It explores the maneuvers Annan and the department performed to address such images, and further reinforces the importance of the UN as an indispensable and irreplaceable organization at the international level. In doing so, this study attempts to show that the UN – as one of the most representative international organizations in terms of pioneering use of strategic communication – would give an exemplary demonstration of how to utilize every means of communication strategies in order to achieve goals of international and non-profit 2 organizations. Thus, this study uses a strategic communication perspective to evaluate the processes and outcomes of the UN’s strategic communication. Definitions of Strategic Communication The definition of strategic communication should be noted to elucidate the perspective of the UN’s strategic communication program. However, as there are many definitions of strategic communication with self-interpreted understandings of those definitions from a broad range of claimers, a UN-related strategic communication definition needs to be stated to minimize the terminology confusion of strategic communication. The term strategic communication