Students learned how public diplomacy is becoming more important in the world in a Global Awareness lecture Wednesday.

Nicholas Cull, professor and director of the Master's in Public Diplomacy Program at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, said public diplomacy is a government or corporation's attempt to manage the international environment by influencing people across international borders.

There are several major components of public diplomacy. Listening is one of the most critical components and is used today in international relations by government polling.

"Before you can speak to someone, you have to listen to them first to understand their concerns," Cull said.

Another component of public diplomacy is cultural diplomacy, which occurs when a state extends its culture into other countries hoping to gain influence for their own state, especially political influence.

Russia has done this in recent years by sending ballet companies abroad, hoping to replace the idea of associating Russia with communists with the association between ballet and Russia, Cull said. This differs from exchanges of resources, a component of public diplomacy, which is a powerful way to strengthen relationships because both states involved benefit.

The term public diplomacy was used beginning in 1965 through the early 1990s. Today, there is a new type of public diplomacy that involves different methods of distributing information, such as through the Internet. The new public diplomacy also involves communities binding together across international borders, as well as the use of soft power.

"Soft power is the ability to get what you want by attracting followers through values and culture," Cull said. "You use your moral force to establish an international agenda."

Soft power, or using the influence of a state's values and morals, is becoming increasingly important in the world today because hard power, or the use of force to coerce a nation into action, is becoming more unacceptable to use, Cull said.

"Hard power looks messy in a world of instant television," Cull said, adding that because violence is broadcast quickly, world powers are quick to react. "Soft power has to be at the heart of international decisions."
Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Apr 2007