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Summary
Soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment. A country's soft power rests on its resources of culture, values and policies. A smart-power strategy combines hard- and soft-power resources. Public diplomacy has a long history as a means of promoting a country's soft power, and soft power was essential in winning the Cold War. Smart public diplomacy requires an understanding of the roles of credibility, self-criticism and civil society in generating soft power. As authoritarian states today use new cyber technologies and other means to disrupt political processes in democracies, questions arise about the boundaries of soft power and the appropriate policies for public diplomacy.

President Barack Obama is acutely conscious of the importance of global public opinion; upon entering office in January 2009, he vowed to reestablish the United States as a beacon of liberal ideals. Recent opinion polls, however, display a worrisome gulf between lofty intentions and ground-based realities. The State Department's 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) posits that public diplomacy should be a core part of twentyfirst-century statecraft. In seeking to effectively reach an amorphous global public, Katherine Brown and Tom Glaisyer, of Columbia University, argue that public diplomacy programs must capitalize on modern technology and be adaptable to rapidly evolving global landscapes. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractIn recent months China's public diplomacy has had to move into high gear. Recent problems with the safety of China's food and toys exports, Beijing's close relations with the regimes of Sudan and Myanmar, and telling pictures of China's environmental problems on newspaper front pages have seriously undermined the projected image of China as a reliable and responsible world power. Even more importantly, these issues have a direct negative impact on China's economy and domestic political situation. If the safety issue is not dealt with adequately, the label 'Made in China' may become known as 'Buyer Beware' and exports may plummet. If China distances itself too much from the international mainstream on Sudan and Myanmar, the call by various non-governmental groups and Hollywood individuals for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games of 2008 may gain support and lead to actions that could blemish or even disrupt the Games. The Olympics have become a two-edged sword: a major public diplomacy tool for China but also an international stick to urge the Chinese government to step up its compliance to international norms and values. These recent developments illustrate the importance of image and public diplomacy for a country that is rising to play a more substantial role in world politics and economics.

Einflussnahme auf die öffentliche Meinung eines anderen Landes erreicht der außenpolitische Akteur durch Public Diplomacy. Ziel des Beitrags ist es zu untersuchen, ob und inwiefern die deutsche Bundesregierung versucht hat, sich Public Diplomacy zur Beeinflussung der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit für die Verhinderung des Golfkrieges von 2003 zu nutze zu machen. Folgende Fragen werden geklärt: Wie hat die Bundesregierung ihre Botschaft "kein Krieg gegen den Irak" in die amerikanische Öffentlichkeit vermittelt? Wie wurde diese Botschaft begründet? Durch welche Maßnahmen von Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und welche Argumentationsketten hat die Bundesregierung versucht, die amerikanische Öffentlichkeit zu erreichen? Die deutsche Public Diplomacy wird auf der Grundlage des Medienechos in den USA untersucht. Ergänzt wird dieses empirische Material durch eine Umfrage unter 71 amerikanischen Journalisten und durch das vom Auswärtigen Amt und den deutschen Botschaften in den USA erstellte Internetangebot. Die Ausführungen zeigen, dass es - abgesehen von einigen "leisen" Botschaften - der deutschen Public Diplomacy nicht gelungen ist, ihre Argumente gegen den Irakkrieg in den US-Medien in einem Maße präsent zu machen, das nötig gewesen wäre, um Opposition in der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit zu erzeugen. (ICA2)