| The public diplomacy(PD) involving the dissemination of information, culture or the explanation of its foreign policies conducted by any government has existed from ancient times. Its ultimate goal is to protect their national interest, shape their national image, disseminate and expound foreign policies and spread their own values. The development of U.S. PD was mainly discussed in this dissertation from the perspective of the performance or efficiency of PD from post-WWII to 2011, because U.S. government carried out large numbers of PD activities and their performance was relatively obvious. Meanwhile, it consisted of the different stages, such as its beginning, its peak, being overshadowed and being re-strengthened. And the core factors and its lessons will be determined, which would play an important role in US PD’s protecting its national interest, establishing its good image, expounding its foreign policies or spread its values.Defining the notions of PD is the prerequisite and basis of studying it. They were analyzed from the four aspects of its agent, its recipients, its performing methods and its ultimate goal. Then the similarities and differences were studied between PD and traditional diplomacy(official diplomacy), people-to-people diplomacy, public affairs, propaganda, cultural diplomacy. The assessment and evaluation of PD performance is also an important of PD. It is of significance to improve the efficiency of the government departments and strengthen the impact of US on foreign countries. They experienced from immaturity to maturity, non-professionalism to professionalism and qualitative analysis to quantitative one. As the performance of PD is influenced by various factors, including its own ones and external ones, it is quite difficult to be measured.The focus of the dissertation is to analyze the typical features of American PD, summarize the methods and measures of effectively implementing it by observing the important factors influencing PD performance, its programs and its performance during the different periods of American history, such as from the cold-war period between US and USSR, the prime time after it and the period of America’s anti-terrorism. The period from 1917 to 1945 witnessed the initial stage of US PD. The outbreak of World War One and the involvement of US into it made US PD come into being. US Committee on Public Information, Division of Cultural Relations and Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs are the organizations which implemented the cultural and educational exchanges between US and Latin American countries or other countries. The Espionage Act and the Sedition Act encouraged US government to spread the information favorable to its interest and constrain those against its interest, which laid a solid foundation of carrying out PD efforts in the later years.The era between 1945 and 1991 saw US PD faster and further development and even its peak. During this period, a series of laws or regulations issued by US government, such as the National Security Act, the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, the Peace Corps Act or National Security Decision Directive-77, strengthened further development the PD programs or activities. In the meantime, the establishment of US Information Agency played a key role in the elevation and independence of PD in US government agencies, and large numbers of PD-implementing departments or organizations, for example, USIA, the Office of International Information and Educational Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations and US International Communications Agency facilitated the implementation of PD programs or activities, such as publishing and translating the books, encouraging the international exchanges between students and scholars by Fulbright Program, sending American volunteers to the developing regions by Peace Corps. All these efforts of PD made great contributions to spreading American culture and values to other countries, influencing foreign audiences, establishing good American national image and winning the cold war.Into the low ebb went American PD from post-cold war to the terrorist attack, September 11, 2001. US International Broadcasting Act of 1994 and Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 had a great impact on the development of PD. Among them, the Act of 1994 regulated the contents of overseas broadcast and required the establishment of different agencies to manage broadcasting activities. The Act of 1998, which stipulated that US Information be canceled, gave a fatal blow to the effective implementation of PD programs.The period from 9.11 terrorist attack to the killing of Bin Laden experienced the PD’s consolidation and fast development after US being seriously attacked. US government made full use of modern technologies, such as telecast, internet and established a large number of agencies, for instance, the Office of Global Communications, Strategic Communications Policy Coordinating Committee, to carry out PD programs and activities. Therefore, the audiences of US PD have been maximized and younger in age and its performance greatly strengthened.As mentioned above, the contributing factors to the effective implementation of US PD are as follows: the formulation and perfection of the laws or regulations related to PD, the establishment of management system and executive agencies of PD programs or activities, the wide participation of non-governmental organizations, individuals and the elites in all walks of life, the full use of modern scientific and technological means, the evaluation and surveillance of PD by governmental agencies or the academia. In addition, the influences of changes of the world situations on US foreign policies and the PD’s lack of long-term, coherent goals, strategic plans and implementing approaches are main negative factors to the performance. In order to obtain its good performance and set up its own PD system, the Chinese government tries its best to absorb American successful experience and avoid its defects.
|
PDF Full Text Request