Governments since World War I have instituted radio broadcasts in foreign countries as a means of informing and influencing local populations, particularly in times of war and other
conflicts. Frequently considered propaganda, such broadcasts also have been seen as a tool of public diplomacy, an evolving concept that generally refers to the use of mass communication,
foreign exchanges, and other non-traditional diplomatic tools to advance foreign policy goals and cultivate positive international relations. This study concerned a particular case, the
U.S. public diplomacy tool Voice of America (VOA) Deewa, a Pashto language radio service for the Tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. VOA Deewa was an ideal case for examining
questions of public diplomacy and propaganda since it operates in a poor, neglected, war-stricken region where Taliban members spread anti-American sentiments and many citizens hold
anti-American attitudes, that have been exacerbated by U.S. drone strikes in the region. Though the United States established the VOA Deewa to contain Taliban anti-America propaganda and
change the hearts and minds of local citizens, it has been criticized as propaganda. To examine this assertion, and the extent to which VOA Deewa exhibited features of public diplomacy,
extensive data were collected from senders, messages, and receivers. Twenty-seven VOA Deewa shows broadcast at the time of 2013 drone strikes were analyzed to determine the extent and
nature of drone strike news and other topics. In addition, 11 Deewa staff from Washington D.C. and Pakistan were individually interviewed and focus groups with 78 university students
belonging to Tribal regions were conducted, as well as 5 telephone interviews with locals and face-to-face individual interviews with 18 Internally Displaced Persons. Data collection and
analysis was triangulated, and all qualitative content/textual analysis was conducted using Nvivo software. The findings indicate that a highly qualified, native Pashtun VOA Deewa staff
delivered balanced and objective journalism on a variety of topics (education, health and hygiene, business and finance, social and moral ethics, freedom, democracy) from a U.S.
perspective but with a focus on the target region. In addition, the shows frequently highlighted women's, human, and political rights, which are lacking in the Tribal region. Overall, VOA
Deewa served as an effective platform for delivering awareness-raising messages, empowering local voices, and connecting locals to locals through on-air call-in programs that increased the
sharing of ideas, understanding, and unity. Thus, VOA Deewa was found to serve as a public diplomacy instrument in accord with the VOA charter, and as such, to incorporate characteristics
of positive propaganda and strategic communication. Though the findings may be unique to the VOA Deewa case, they contribute to the development of a theoretical framework for public
diplomacy and provide a direction for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / November 10, 2015. / awareness, drone, propaganda, public diplomacy, voice of America, war and conflict / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen McDowell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lance Dehaven Smith, University Representative; Jennifer Proffitt, Committee Member; Patrick Merle,
Committee Member; Jay Rayburn, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_291294 |
| Contributors | Gul, Mehnaz (authoraut), McDowell, Stephen D., 1958- (professor directing dissertation), deHaven-Smith, Lance (university representative), Proffitt, Jennifer M. (committee member), Merle, Patrick F. (committee member), Rayburn, Jay D. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Communication and Information (degree granting college), School of Communication (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (303 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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