The United States Information Agency (USIA) was the official propaganda agency of the American government. During the period of the Johnson administration, its programme in Italy was the second largest in Western Europe, right after West Germany and immediately before France. This dissertation examines the USIA programme, and places it within the larger context of American policy towards Italy at this crucial juncture in the history of both countries. Beginning in the 1950s, following the traumatic experience of World War II and the unthinkable implications of nuclear warfare, the bipolar conflict was progressively channelled into non-military means of combat. In addition to the better known methods of traditional diplomacy, the threat of force, and economic aid, the United States deployed new instruments to win the ‘battle for hearts and minds’ against the Soviet Union. These new instruments included public diplomacy, cultural and educational exchanges, and ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ propaganda operations. This exercise of soft power became one of the main instruments used to stop the expansion of communism and to unite NATO countries behind American leadership. Yet this task was particularly demanding during the Johnson years, when the image of the Unites States abroad was tarnished as never before by the civil rights struggle and the escalation of the Vietnam War. Italy is a particularly interesting and important case study of American psychological warfare in Western Europe. Not only did the country host the largest Communist Party in the West, the Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI), for the entire duration of the cold war, –– but Italy also had more than twenty governments in the first two decades of the post-war era. At a deeper level, the country oscillated between two different political formulas, centrismo and a centre-left coalition. As a result it proved impossible to carry out the structural reforms needed to ensure the country’s stability. The government’s inability to ‘keep Italy on track’ and to effectively oppose the communist threat led to the deployment of an extensive USIA programme in Italy. Surprisingly, this topic has not been studied intensively. Although there is a rich literature on American influence in the Italian election of 1948, and there has been some discussion of American psychological warfare in Italy during the fifties, no scholar has carried out an in-depth study on the role of US public diplomacy in Italy during the sixties, particularly the Johnson era. The dissertation is based on detailed research in the Johnson and Nixon libraries as well as at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland where the official documents of the USIA (RG 306) are located. On the Italian side, I have analyzed the major Italian newspapers, radio and TV shows targeted by the agency.

This research aims at examining the Vietnamese online media’s framing of conflict, thereby highlighting the outstanding characteristics of peace journalism and war journalism frames available in the media of an Asian peripheral country when it covers conflicts with other core, more powerful nations. The study is inspired from an overarching hypothesis of a possible junction between peace journalism and public diplomacy as relevant theories have it that they are basically identical in one sense: both representing a form of message which carries the note of peace-rebuilding, solution-orientated and mutual understanding in the war context. That message is delivered through media to reach out the foreign publics, not only to gain benefits for national interests but also to point out a solution for peace and offer an opportunity to conflict-resolution talks. The events chosen for study are media analysis following two attacks in late May and early June, 2011 against two Vietnamese oil exploration vessels in the South China Sea in which China was the accused. Basing on the theories of peace journalism, public diplomacy and world system theory, the research hypothesized that Vietnamese online media’s framing of China throughout seven months May 1st to November 30th, 2011 is inclined towards peace journalism. Two research techniques were employed: Quantitative Content Analysis to find out the dominant frame of the Vietnamese online media when covering the two clashes between Vietnamese and Chinese ships; and Qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis to further examine what messages the media aspire to send to foreign publics and how these messages are crafted. Findings from the content analysis rejects the main hypothesis, showing that the Vietnamese online media still opted for the war journalism frame even though theoretical and empirical evidence confirms Vietnam’s soft, assuaging and non-provocative approach in its public diplomacy with China. CDA results however highlighted the characteristics of the Vietnamese online media’s war frame: very tactful and implicit. The negative China presentation and positive self-presentation of Vietnam cannot be clearly seen through the use of victimizing, dehumanizing and emotionalizing language, but through implications and presuppositions hidden in the sentences. The implied messages that the Vietnamese online media want to send out the foreign publics portray China as a perverse bully neighbor and a two-faced partner, defying international law and breaking regional peace. Meanwhile, Vietnam is portrayed as a tolerant victim of China – its own friend and as a noble, forgiving friend of China. These messages are presented in the media by a very flexible, diplomatic and reconciliatory language so as to create an enemy scene with China. The study confirms the value and applicability of the theories selected and findings from previous studies. It also inspires future studies on expanding public diplomacy and peace journalism theories to make it more applicable to media of similar state structure or those in Asia./.

Increased international competitiveness to host sport mega-events indicates their perceived value in stimulating regional and national economic, social and cultural development. In the context of broader governmental public opinion management strategies, sport mega-events hold the potential to mobilize soft power resources of the host country, expressed in values, culture and policies, and engage with and influence the publics of other countries. This thesis investigates the significance of sport mega-events for the host country’s public diplomacy strategies and practice by exploring the concepts of public diplomacy, sport mega-events, soft power and national image within a multi-disciplinary conceptual framework. The analysis of scholarly literature, official and media reports reveals how aspects of reputation, credibility, and legitimacy guide both foreign public opinion and the practice of public diplomacy in conjunction with sport mega-events. Moreover, international reputation of the host nation, including status, prestige and image, appeared to benefit the most as a result of strategic application of sport mega-events to public diplomacy. This can be achieved by proving functional reputation though demonstration of financial and organizational success. Alternatively, social reputation of the host is at risk of sustaining considerable damage as a result of resistance from social activists groups, thus requiring extensive damage control efforts of the host country's image. The conclusions drawn from this study raise significant questions about the potential of sport mega-events being effectively used for public diplomacy and the experience of the host governments, revealing functional competence as having the greatest potential to influence public diplomacy strategy built around hosting sport mega-events.

Public Diplomacy has been around for decades, in some parts of the world more than others. Despite that, research related to public diplomacy has mainly focused on approaches serving governments’ policy concerns. A large part of the research has also surrounded efficiency aspects: the level of impact culminating from public diplomacy activities. This tunnel vision has undoubtedly contributed to the limitation of theoretical and methodological development. From that standpoint, this study attempts to contribute and fill the existing theoretical and methodological gap. The study builds on the research by Yun (2005), directed by J. E. Gruing, and examines the reliability of her framework and sheds light on some potential shortcomings and eventual amendments. Suggesting the convergence of public diplomacy and public relation, the model is composed of two theoretical frameworks. Public diplomacy as the dependent variable is anchored in Grunig’s excellence theory and national culture as determinants (independent variable) is anchored in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. As did Yun, the study finds that cultural dimensions as determinants for South Korea’s public diplomacy do not possess sufficient explanatory power to understand South Korea’s public diplomacy management. A historical lens and additional contextual factors would hypothetically better explain Korea’s public diplomacy, paving the way for future studies.

一九九○年，美國學者奈伊(Joseph S. Nye)在《外交政策》(Foreign Policy)期刊中發表〈軟性權力〉(Soft Power)乙文，指出權力可分為硬性(hard)與軟性兩類。前者屬強制性質，包括軍事攻擊、武力威嚇與經濟制裁；後者則主要以吸引力作為內涵。國家可以藉由本身的價值、文化或特定的外交政策，在國際間設定議程(agenda)，讓其他國家認同，舉止符合軟性權力施行國的利益。 本文主張可沿用奈伊軟性權力之概念，尋求國際合作空間：首先界定台灣的軟性權力得分為以下三方面：知識經濟、民主與人權價值、以及「主要以非政府間組織(non-governmental organization)作為主體的」社會交流；並列舉以軟性權力開創銜接國際平台的實證。 奈伊在相關著作中指出，應假「公共外交」(public diplomacy)方式來宣揚軟性權力，學者亦有將「軟性權力」與「公共外交」視作「商品」與「行銷策略」之說。本文拆解「公共」(publicity)的意涵，說明台灣的公共外交可從三個層面進行：針對外國群眾(to public)、新參與者(by public)與公開管道的與時俱進(by public)。 繼而闡述我外交部相關的外交活動，包括「人權外交」、「全民外交」、發展「NGOs外交」與國際援助。人權外交即我內政價值的向外展現，因此許多涉外問題將同時接受國際檢視。全民外交則主要涵蓋三項措施：「台灣獎學金」、「外交替代役」與「無任所大使」。 研究結果，本文嘗試釐清「經濟是否屬於軟性權力範疇」的爭議，認為奈伊係將「經濟」緊縮定義為「制裁與酬庸」兩者；筆者另外舉出以「人類安全」(human security)為目的之「經濟援助」與「經濟研發、合作」得納入軟性權力。在其他非傳統外交方面，筆者揭示文化外交(cultural diplomacy )的「文化產業」角色，在亞洲國家有逐漸增強的跡象，值得我國借鏡。

Esta dissertação analisa as diferentes imagens do Brasil construídas pela revista britânica The Economist, de forma a evidenciar como essas imagens forjaram o mito do Brasil como País do Futuro, contribuindo para a construção de uma identidade internacional do País. O marco cronológico desta pesquisa, 1970 a 2010, corresponde a uma longa curva que demonstra a gangorra de interesse e desinteresse da qual o Brasil foi objeto. Para a consecução dos objetivos desta dissertação foram analisadas as publicações editadas entre os anos mencionados. Dessa forma, a dissertação também demonstra que os debates sobre o posicionamento do Brasil na ordem econômica internacional e sobre as perspectivas de alteração nesta ordem são travados entre as elites político-econômicas que, por sua vez, são os segmentos preferenciais dos leitores da The Economist. / This research investigates how the different images of Brazil were built by the The Economist, in order to show how these images have contributed to the myth of Brazil as the country of the future, and also to to shape the international identity of the country. The survey considers the coverage by the British magazine between the years 1970 to 2010, which corresponds to a long curve that shows the variations of interest and disinterest about Brazil. To achieve the objectives of this research, were analyzed publications published between these years. The dissertation also demonstrates that the debates about Brazil's position in the international economic order and the outlooks for changing in this order are conducted by the politic and economic elites who are the main group of The Economists readers .

Esta dissertação analisa as diferentes imagens do Brasil construídas pela revista britânica The Economist, de forma a evidenciar como essas imagens forjaram o mito do Brasil como País do Futuro, contribuindo para a construção de uma identidade internacional do País. O marco cronológico desta pesquisa, 1970 a 2010, corresponde a uma longa curva que demonstra a gangorra de interesse e desinteresse da qual o Brasil foi objeto. Para a consecução dos objetivos desta dissertação foram analisadas as publicações editadas entre os anos mencionados. Dessa forma, a dissertação também demonstra que os debates sobre o posicionamento do Brasil na ordem econômica internacional e sobre as perspectivas de alteração nesta ordem são travados entre as elites político-econômicas que, por sua vez, são os segmentos preferenciais dos leitores da The Economist. / This research investigates how the different images of Brazil were built by the The Economist, in order to show how these images have contributed to the myth of Brazil as the country of the future, and also to to shape the international identity of the country. The survey considers the coverage by the British magazine between the years 1970 to 2010, which corresponds to a long curve that shows the variations of interest and disinterest about Brazil. To achieve the objectives of this research, were analyzed publications published between these years. The dissertation also demonstrates that the debates about Brazil's position in the international economic order and the outlooks for changing in this order are conducted by the politic and economic elites who are the main group of The Economists readers .

The Swedish state has participated as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council three times and is entering their fourth. The UNSC is an old institution that is not equal to what powers the states within it has. The permanent states, the victors from the second world war, have a more prominent role in the council and do not have to be elected every two years as the other states that want to be a part of the council. The cost of for small states like Sweden to be a part of the council can be quite large, but in financial means and as a time-consuming task for the foreign department. Therefore, it is essential to know if the time spent in the council for a state like Sweden amounts to something in the sense of influence over the outcome. This bears the question if Sweden has used and is using its membership in the UNSC in an effective manner. By looking at the official documentation by the foreign department and interviewing former diplomats about Sweden’s role in the UNSC during these periods this thesis analyses the way that Sweden has acted before. Furthermore, the thesis also looks at the first five weeks in the current period of 2017. The results are analyzed through a theoretical framework of what should be methods to achieve influence in the UNSC. As the analysis shows, Sweden has moved from being a more passive participant to a more active and proactive part of the UNSC. This, however, can come at the cost of changing other states view of the Swedish state in international relations.

The phenomenon of nation branding has increased its popularity within scholars from different disciplines within the past decade. Moreover, the practice of nation branding has gained a significant role in countries’ foreign politics. However, the number of studies within the field of communication and media is lacking. The phenomenon of nation branding is usually researched from economic or political point of views. This thesis connects communication, media, marketing, and politics by examining nation branding as a tool of soft power. It aims to point out how desired meanings are constructed by using visual communication tools to create a favorable image for a country. The visual approach was chosen to be examined as it is more challenging to transfer messages through visual means than using spoken language. Two countries, Finland, and South Korea, were chosen as case studies due to their different nation branding strategies and international rankings. Their promotional videos were analyzed by using qualitative empirical descriptive method by utilizing tools provided by multimodal critical discourse analysis. The descriptive analytical method was chosen as the videos are meant as promotional materials which use over simplified narrative methods so that viewer could understand them easily. The concepts of nation, nation branding, discourse, ideology, soft power, public diplomacy, media, visual communication, and power were used as a theoretical framework. The study shows how discourse is constructed using visual representations as well as what kind of values can be transferred by using visual communication tools to influence on the foreign audience’s perceptions of the country.

This research analyzes why diplomacy is failing in the Dominican Republic. In this thesis, I describe how Dominicans construct their foreign affairs, and the limitations that diplomacy has had in the country. In order to achieve these goals, I have analyzed official documents such as the 2013 and 2015 payrolls of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and legal documents including Article 146 from the Constitution, Organic Law 314 from 1964, and the Protocol of Transparency and Institutions. I argue that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Dominican Republic lacks seriousness and is characterized by the following variables: (1) patronage, (2) corruption, and (3) the systematic violation of Dominican law. The thesis emphasizes how these variables have had a tremendous impact on the exercise of diplomacy. The research analyzes the reaction of the Dominican state and its citizens and how the nation responds to criticisms by the international community. Dominican citizens think that the opinion of international media is a campaign against their country. The implications of this false public perception is an intense nationalism, and the government encourages this. The true problem, as this thesis demonstrates, is institutional weakness. The government uses intense and widespread nationalism to hide institutional weakness and state corruption. After exploring this dialogue between the government, citizens and international media, I move forward framing concepts such as soft power and new public diplomacy to reinforce the importance of listening to foreign publics. In addition I explain why the country needs to change the traditional approach to foreign affairs. The adoption of a new public diplomacy is required to establish credibility and the integration between state, citizens and international publics.