In the field of public diplomacy, it has increasingly become relevant to develop analytical operations in order to gain knowledge on the perceptions of foreign publics and their attitudes towards countries – a construct known as the country image. In recent time, research on public diplomacy has been increasingly occupied with the impact of media on country images due to the continuous expansion and fragmentation of the hybrid media landscape. Academics and practitioners alike must navigate through large quantities of data and different choices regarding prioritization of sources and methods in order to find suitable analytical frameworks to properly investigate the country image as an analytical object. This thesis addresses these analytical challenges by developing a diachronic text mining analysis of the Swedish country image in the British newspaper the Guardian. Sweden has in recent years drawn attention from the international media, for example during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015 and during the covid-19 pandemic of 2020. In the extensive media coverage of these major events the Swedish course of action was met with a wide range approval and criticism. Using a mixed-method approach of distant and close reading, this thesis approaches the news coverage of Sweden in the Guardian through a content analysis designed in three analytical steps: topic modelling, collocation and concordance analysis, and diachronic corpus assisted discourse analysis. In each of these steps, the appearance of different dimensions of the country image was explored using a dimensional model for integrative country image analysis developed by Ingenhoff and Buhmann. The design of the mixed-method approach showcase how large quantities of textual data can be analyzed in a new diachronic approach, bringing strains of research from digital humanities to the field of public diplomacy.

A challenge when reforming public management is the potential risk of side effects as policy intentions often come with unintended consequences in practice. For the field of International Relations (IR), management reforms affecting the foreign service are particularly relevant as they go beyond the domestic context with potential implications also for state relations with foreign publics. However, little academic attention has been directed towards visa management, which serves not only as a consular function of the diplomatic missions but also plays a key role in facilitating their diplomatic functions as stated in the Vienna Convention. Employing the theoretical perspectives of New Public Management (NPM) and The Visa Dimension of Public Diplomacy, this thesis investigates the intentions and outcomes of Sweden's decision to regionalise its Schengen visa management in Sub-Saharan Africa. The inquiry is based on 15 semi-structured interviews with public officials currently or formerly working at the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish embassies in Abuja, Addis Abeba, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Nairobi and Pretoria. The thesis finds the regionalisation of Sweden's Schengen visa management to be an NPM-inspired reform intended to establish economies of scale in visa management. While the reform was motivated to improve cost efficiency and quality in terms of increased uniformity and legal certainty in visa processing, it was meantime anticipated to come with challenges related to resource allocation, transfer of local competence and service delivery to applicants. In practice, the reform has led to permanent side effects on applicants by making the visa process more time-consuming and expensive from a user perspective. Thus, the thesis concludes the regionalisation of the Schengen visa management to be an NPM-inspired reform that focused too narrowly on internal efficiency gains that it overlooked the negative effects on applicants to the detriment of Swedish diplomatic functions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Thesis (Ph.D. (International Politics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This thesis analyses China’s foreign policy towards Africa. Given that the rich literature on the discourse employs “traditional” theories such as realism, liberalism and social constructivism, the researcher employs an alternative theory of Afrocentricity on China-Africa relations. As an emerging theory in International Politics that is grounded and orientated in African value systems, Afrocentricity provides an alternative perspective in making sense of Global South relations. The study further makes use of case study design to make a comparative analysis of China’s engagement in Africa. The two African states utilised as case studies includes Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively. The usage of two case studies allowed the researcher to showcase how internal politics of African states influence to some extent; China’s engagements in the continent. Despite the two China-Africa policy of 2006 and 2015, this thesis argues that China’s relations with each African state is unique. The generalisation on several findings of China’s engagement with one African state observed in the existing literature enforces the epistemic violence on the rest of African states in terms of the explanation and understanding of their bilateral relations with China. This is so because China’s engagement with one state cannot be regarded as a microcosm of China’s engagement with the rest of African states in formal diplomatic relations with it. Unlike the dominant theories that problematise China-Africa relations, Afrocentricity proposes a holistic approach on making sense of Sino-Africa relations. The thesis comparatively explore China’s foreign policy towards Zambia and Zimbabwe from the year 2010 to 2018. In doing so, qualitative approach was conducted. Data source triangulation was utilised in addressing the research problem to enhance the credibility and dependability of the study. The study made us of thematic analysis by analysing data by theme and sub-themes. The thesis finds that China’s relations with African states is still a debated terrain with different views. The views can be quite misleading if focused on one specific state or project under study. v More so, China’s engagements become more explicit when explored at both regional and continental context. The study further denotes the ignored reality that China does not only prioritise rich oil states in the continent. Instead, there are quite a number of interests pursued by China in Africa such as mineral resources; investments, markets as well as farming and commercial agriculture driving China’s engagement in Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively. The thesis also reflects on China’s extent of abiding to the principles of peaceful co-existence in its relations with Zambia and Zimbabwe. Amongst the recommendations of this study and way forward is that future research on China-Africa relations could explore other African states in bilateral relations with it. This would assist in deviating from the generalised view of China-Africa relations which is not detailed and does not assist in showcasing comprehensive reality on the ground. Alternatively, scholars can consider the same case studies and make use of different delimitations to help detect if there is any gradual shift of China’s foreign policy from the years focused in this study. Upcoming works can consider contributions of China-Africa relations from a non-western perspective such as Afrocentricity employed in this study.

Russia has energetically expanded its involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade. Through a qualitative thematic analysis on a dataset of 191 English language posts from the websites of the Kremlin and the Russian MFA published between 2001 and 2023, this project seeks to describe how Russian state public diplomacy presents Russia’s relations with Sub-Saharan African nations and Africa as a whole. A typology by Bobba and Hubé (2021) was adapted, which focuses on how issues are problematised and politicised in political communication, and revolves around the categories of naming, blaming and claiming. The findings reveal that while anti-colonial and anti-Western rhetoric is prevalent in Russian state public diplomacy, themes emphasising cooperation, shared values, identity, and positive representations are even more widespread, a departure from previous research. This justified the creation of a fourth category in the typology: invoking. Combative portrayals of the West, and naming of colonialism as a problem, entered the dataset starting around 2018 for MFA posts and 2022 for Kremlin posts. From 2022, some posts also portrayed Russia as a country and Russians as a people as fellow victims of colonialism together with Africa, which was not mentioned in prior research. Further studies could apply the typology used in this thesis to include statements by Sub-Saharan African state officials, or study Russian state portrayals of relations with Russia’s Near Abroad.

自第21世紀初以來，由於電信與資訊科技的積極發展，使資訊取得更容易。於此同時，資訊來源的多樣性也使思想和觀點多元化。 國家形象是簡潔且通俗易懂的概念，它包含一國的國內經濟、政治發展程度、國際體系上的地位、合作行爲、文化和歷史價值。此外，國家形象也把國家利益反映到國際舞臺，允許領導人與外國夥伴鞏固關係、創造共贏局面。該背景下，國家形象塑造是每個政府的迫切目標之一，蓋因和平且可靠的國際形象可以保證國家永續發展。 最近幾年當中，俄羅斯的國際形象惡化。因此本論文的目標為研究自2012年至2016年中（現任總統普京的任職期間）的國際公眾對俄羅斯聯邦的態度。 作者研究俄羅斯形象塑造及公眾外交政策，分析俄羅斯聯邦與其他國家及國際組織的正式文件、國際學者文獻理的推論，也解析臺灣國立政治大學來自不同國家學生、畢業生、老師與教授的立場。作者根據上述資料推論出俄羅斯國際形象受損的原因及國家公眾外交有哪些需要改善的部分；並以強調形象改革政策計畫中，哪些交流能夠使俄羅斯聯邦與國際社會關係暖化來作為結論。 / Since the beginning of the 21st century, development of telecommunication and information technologies has resulted in the substantial expansion of media coverage, greater information accessibility, and sophistication of control over the information. Abundance of facts concerning any issue makes it multidimensional, provoking a plentitude of opinions. The image of a country is a succinct and ready-for-apprehension informational phenomena or entrenched perception of a country by foreign partners, which offers a particular expectation of its behavior, thus, it is one of the major factors influencing international cooperation. In addition, state image identifies a country’s political weight abroad and its status among other members of global community, including the capacity to defend national interests. The significance of the image-building is determined by the fact that it is one of the strategic tasks for each contemporary government. Trustworthy international image speaks for a country’s economic and cultural development and creates a formula of its success abroad and within national borders, serves as a criterion of its stability and transparency. Recently Russia has experienced a substantial shift in its apprehension by the foreign public. The particular study is focused on how global community perceived the Russian Federation from 2012 till 2016, the period that correlated with the latest tenet of President Vladimir Putin. The research is focused on the origins of Russia’s international image along with the evaluation of governmental attempts to enhance it and create transparency and mutual trust under existing conditions, including the course of the country’s public diplomacy. The author analyzed how the world academia and media portray the Russian Federation and collected opinions among students, alumni, and professors of the National Chengchi University. The paper aims to define the most distinctive factors, which form the image of the Russian Federation on the international arena and to elicit the fields of Russia’s public diplomacy, which lack attention the most, as well as to offer a roadmap for overcoming the existing misunderstanding.

本文從分析國際環境的變化開始，在資訊傳播科技的進步和國際社會價值觀的變化中，整理出國家管理國家形象的三種方法：國際宣傳、公眾外交和國家品牌。本文將公眾外交和國家品牌作結合，建構出本論文的主題：「國家」行銷。 由於目前並沒有實例可證明「國家」行銷的效用，故只能從美國的失敗案例中，說明「國家」行銷的重要性。接著，本文以中國對美國發動公眾外交的個案為例，測試該模式的「描述」能力，並加以「解釋」中國行動背後的原因，最後「研究」中國公眾外交的發展。 本論文主要的研究成果有四：第一，是從文獻的討論中，指出「國際宣傳」與「公眾外交」的差異。第二，是蒐集1965年至2005年間，學界討論公眾外交的變化。第三，是建構一套「國家」行銷分析架構，試圖描述、解釋並研究一國公眾外交政策的發展。第四，是以中國的公眾外交為例，補足目前學術界在亞洲個案上的空缺。 / This thesis paper drew four conclusions: (1) illustrated the difference between “international propaganda” and “public diplomacy” (2) collected and cataloged different definitions of “public diplomacy” (3) established the analytical model－the marketing of “nation”, trying to describe, explain or predict the whole scenery of “public diplomacy” (4) taking the public diplomacy of People’s Republic of China(PRC) for example, examined the effectiveness of the marketing of “nation”.

公眾外交在世界各地逐漸受到重視，本文試圖藉由研究以色列這個強敵環伺下的國家對其盟國美國的公眾外交政策，觀察這兩個同盟國家之間的軟實力外交關係。 本文從以色列對美國公眾外交的歷史實踐中證明，美國對以色列友好的原因除了硬實力外，公眾外交等軟實力因素也有重要影響力。其次，本文認為影響以色列對美國之外交策略的內外要素主要包含衝突、宗教、民主和政府態度等要素。最後，本文介紹納坦雅胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）政府時期，以色列對美國的兩大公共外交利基：「新媒體」和「族裔外交」，分別以「點對點外交」及「美國以色列公眾事務委員會」（the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC）的機會與阻礙作為主軸。 / Public Diplomacy’s value is gradually increasing around the world. This thesis focuses on Israel and its Public Diplomacy policy toward its ally, the United States of America, in order to observe the soft power diplomatic relationship between the two. This thesis proves that besides Hard Power, Soft Power is also a crucial factor that improves the relations between Israel and the U.S. Also, this thesis states that “conflicts,” “religion,” “democracy,” and “the attitude of domestic leaderships” are the main factors that influence Israel’s diplomatic strategy toward the U.S. Finally, by describing “the Peer-to Peer Diplomacy,” and “the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC),” this thesis introduces the two main “Niches” in Israel’s Public Diplomacy Policy towards the U.S.: “New Media,” and “Diaspora Diplomacy.”

本研究旨在藉由中國大陸與台灣公眾外交策略、官方文獻、新聞稿、研究報告、著作之搜集，分析比較兩岸公眾外交的思維發展、制度沿革、文化交流、國際傳播、形象塑造等，主要的研究發現如下： 一、因應無國界挑戰環境，網路科技是公眾外交的利器：處於瞬息萬變的資訊化、全球化、民主化時代，公眾外交必須善加利用網路科技，方能因應無國界、無時差之挑戰。 二、支助非政府組織推動公眾外交：政府不被信任是常有的事情。非政府組織強調獨立、非營利與專業，活動形式靈活多樣，與民眾關係也較密切，較官方機關更受人們信任。因此，政府支助非政府組織推動公眾外交，將獲得更明顯的成效。 三、公眾外交傳遞之訊息，其包裝須符合目標國家需求：設計訊息時，要有一個清晰的主題。在傳遞訊息之前，要了解接受訊息一方的需要，以他們能明白的方式去發送訊息。為吸引目標對象的注意，訊息內容除了要符合對方的國情外，還要以創意或新奇的手法包裝。 四、研究機構及媒體最能塑造輿論，是公眾外交的重點目標對象：研究機構及媒體之意見受到很多人的重視，會直接影響社會菁英及大眾。政府經常與各國智庫、基金會及大學等研究機構建立合作關係，共同提倡某些議題或政策，並藉由媒體塑造有利於本國的輿論環境，推動外交關係的發展。 五、設計推動公眾外交的跨部門協調機制：公眾外交涵蓋資訊、文化、教育等領域，有賴不同機關協力合作，但不同機關基於本位思考，難免意見相左，因此有必要設計一個跨部門的協調機制。 六、突發事件中之公眾外交，在於盡快提供正確的資訊：當突發事件發生時，由於資訊不明，國內外民眾詮釋危機訊息時，經常各自表述，公眾外交必須盡快提供正確的資訊，積極掌控全盤。 七、體育外交係較為國際社會所能接受之公眾外交活動：體育被譽為「世界通用語言」，可以讓不同血統、背景、宗教信仰和經濟狀況的各國人民共聚一堂，互相學習、瞭解、欣賞不同文化。 八、國民素質、文化活動、消費產品及對國際社會之貢獻係塑造國家形象之關鍵：公眾外交重要的目標就是形塑良好的國家形象。從研究分析形塑國家形象經驗中，了解塑造國家形象關鍵在於注重國民素質之培養、善用文化活動、提高消費產品信譽，以及對國外民眾做出實質貢獻，建立休戚與共與互惠關係。 / The research is aimed at studying ideology, institution, cultural exchanges, international communication of public diplomacy in Mainland China and Taiwan. After analyzing the relevant policies, official literature, news releases, and publications, I come up with the following research findings: First, internet technology is an efficient instrument of public diplomacy to cope with boundless environment. In the face of ever-changing global and democratic environment equipped with information technology, a government should make the most of internet technology to deal with real-time challenges transcending national borders. Second, a government may sponsor non-governmental organizations to implement public diplomacy. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attach great importance on their independence, non-profit programs and expertise. Moreover, by means of various and lively activities, NGOs establish close relations with the public, and thus are more trusted by the public than governments. In this context, a government may sponsor NGOs to launch public diplomacy and will bring about lasting effects. Third, a message to be delivered should meet the needs of the target audience. A message should be clear to the receiver and framed from the receiver’s point of view. Besides, to attract the target audience’s attention, the message should be delivered in a novice manner. Most importantly, the message will be perceived by both the sender and the receiver in the same way. Fourth, public diplomacy targets research organizations and the media to construct public opinion. As the majority of the public pay attention to the suggestions and advice from research organizations and the media, research organizations and the media can exert deep influences on the social elite and the public. As a result, a government always teams up with such research organizations as think tanks, foundations and universities to advocate certain issues or policies. Meanwhile, favorable public opinion will be built through the assistance of the media to develop foreign relations. Fifth, an inter-agency coordinating mechanism should be designed. Related with various aspects like information, culture and education, public diplomacy depends on relevant agencies to work hand in hand. However, given that different agencies surely have conflicting opinions, it is necessary to design an inter-agency coordinating mechanism. Sixth, timely leading public opinion is a key to dealing with unexpected events. As unclear or confusing information is rampant in an unexpected event, people at home and abroad are likely to make their own interpretation. A government should release accurate information as soon as possible to dominate the whole situation. Seventh, sports diplomacy is the most well received activity of public diplomacy. Dubbed the world’s common language, sports can bring all kinds of peoples together regardless of race, background, religion, and economic status and learn from each other. Eighth, national overall quality, cultural activities, consumer products, and contributions to the international community play a vital role in building a national image. Successfully building a national image lies in improving the national overall quality, making the most of cultural activities, enhancing the credibility of consumer products, and establishing mutually beneficial relations with the people abroad.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / In pursuit of the objectives of the U.S. National Security Strategy and the National Military Strategy, the U.S. Armed Forces require access to military and logistics facilities overseas to be able to support and sustain its combat power projection. Access to these places translates into capabilities. An American military forward presence in time of peace as well as during a regional crisis lends credibility to U.S. diplomacy. Moreover, access to forward locations is expedient when engaging transnational threats or supporting humanitarian missions, e.g., the South and Southeast Asia tsunami relief operations. This thesis analyzes the political opposition to U.S. military presence in Thailand and the Philippines. The historical context that led to the development of this opposition is examined in detail. The rationale of those who oppose, as well as those who support, American military presence is clearly delineated. By understanding the sensitive political issues, U.S. military planners and operators can adapt base access strategies according to the existing political climate in these two countries. The politics unique to each environment will dictate the combination of "basing" approaches tailored to meet the U.S. military objectives as well as the public diplomacy required to support them. / Major (Select), United States Air Force