Non State Actors & Public & Cultural Diplomacy

It has been mentioned that public has traditionally been viewed as being used by nation states rater than non - state actors. Public diplomacy techniques and strategies by different political actors, ad increasing efforts by those actors to use public diplomacy to appeal to diverse audiences.

There is not much emphasis being put on the use of public diplomacy by local and regional actors in the region. Those political organizations use public and cultural diplomacy cultivate legitimacy, reach out to new allies, and win hearts and minds.

Knowing how non - state actors operate with public diplomacy can help better our understanding of public and cultural diplomatic strategies whether it be in the Arab world or elsewhere. This can be done particularly through analyzing the links between policy and public diplomacy on one side and how those between words and actions on the other side.

Issues stemming from the post 9/11 are important to us and how the west is perceived. Changes happening in the Arab world in terms of CHANGE from authoritarian to a transitional change to more "democratic" system have called for reform and how public and cultural diplomacy should be handled.

Ever since the post 9/11 America for example and it's controversial occupation of Iraq continued alienating governments and individuals by means of hard power rather than soft power during the post 9/11 have been recalled to re asses its approach towards the Arab world.

Diplomatic, think - tank and media have been debating over what changes in foreign policies and in communication strategies might improve America's and west reputation abroad (Zatepilina, Pg. 157.

The role of non - state actors like nonprofit, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in particularly to America is seen as very important. NGOs have been, implicitly or explicitly, engaged in public diplomacy for some time. In other words the role and relationship with foreign publics and to manage organisational reputation overseas is crucial. To point out that, if NGOs are backed by a formally recognised framework integrating state and non state public diplomacy, non-state actors feel that they conceivably could do much more to advance America's and the wests position worldwide (Zatepilin, Pg. 158-159). NGOs are gaining power in world affairs at the same time NGOs according to Atack (1999) describes developmental NGOs as actively attempting to influence governments' and multilateral institutions' development policies (Zatepilina, Pg. 159).

Edwards characterized the global engagement of development NGOs as "cost - effective" public relatons for both nation-states and international organisations (Zatepilina, Pg. 158).

Do NGOs have their own agenda? Referring to NGOs' political interests and agendas, however Simmons (1998) argued that "They have the potential to do as much harm as good" (Zatepilina, Pg. 158). For example development NGOs are more likely than any other types of NGOs to be scrutinised for their dependence on government funds(Zatepilina, Pg. 158).

So far we have gathered that:

(1) Non - state actors' involvement is essential for public diplomacy.
(2) Non - state actors' experiences in building institutional relationships and managing organisational reputations overseas add value to the reputation of their country of origin (Zatepilina, Pg. 159).

Both international development and media backgrounds emphasised the importance of co - operation, trust, and empowerment. Successful development NGOs as recognised by both their donors and recipients. This also involves their foreign counterparts in the design, implementation and evaluation of their programmes.

In regards to implementation some of the best broadcasts - as supported by audience research overseas, are those produced in conjunction with NGOs' foreign media partners. There is much emphasis needed to be stressed in regards to relationship building. This entails the relationships between NGOs and foreign publics whether they may be formal, informal or friendship (Zatepilina 161). The relationships whom they may affect is seen as important. Whether it may be local staff, local partner organisations and foreign elites (Zatepilina, Pg. 161).

NGOs enjoy mre credibility among foreign publics, most audiences overseas are suspicious of governments (Zatepilina 162). International development NGOs in the other hand are often perceived as more credible because they work directly with the people.

Lastly NGOs latitude of movement and freedom of speech within host countries were mentioned by many as prerequisites to being seen as truth worthy by local publics (Zatepilina, Pg. 162 - 163).

To conclude on non - state actors and how non state actors contribute in public and cultural diplomacy is the notion that NGOs realize that "their success or failure overseas depends on their institutional reputation, which in turn is determined by their relationships with foreign publics" (Zatepilina, Pg. 166). Respect and trust for local staff and local counterparts are imperative for maintaining rapport beneficial institutional relationships in host countries (Zatepilina, Pg. 166 - 167). Sharing processes, not outcomes, makes foreign publics trust NGOs and respect their country of origin (Zatepilina, Pg. 166).

NGOs enjoy the latitude in host contries and the credibility among foreign publics that some goverments officials may lack (Zatepilina, Pg. 166). NGOs understand that they represent their nation state no matter whether they get governmental aide or do not.

It is important to both understand the position of NGOs and the political actors and institutes of the government's. The government "works on policies that will have a long - term outcome but do not always affect foreign publics directly, NGOs provide tangible assistance that makes the most difference immediately" (Zatepilina, Pg. 166).

Reputation is important aspect not to be overlooked, reputation in world politics matters as much as it does in the corporate world (Zatepilina, Pg. 157 - 158). That being said governments and politicians' credibility is a power resource that nation states rely upon in their relations with other nation states.

When it comes to public and cultural diplomacy a nation state reputation is determined by three key points:

(1) It's relationship with foreign publics
(2) Foreign publics direct experiences with the country
(3) The communications and symbols comparing its actions to those of other countries (Zatepilina, Pg.158).

This is what a NGO does, making NGOs or non - state actors role important in Public and cultural diplomacy.


Sources

Zatepilina, Olga. "Non-state ambassadors: NGOs' contribution to America's public diplomacy." Palgrave Macmillan (2008): 158. Web. 20 Mar 2011. .