The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Paradoxes of ‘public diplomacy’: Ethnographic perspectives on the European Union delegations in the antipodes

Paradoxes of ‘public diplomacy’: Ethnographic perspectives on the European Union delegations in the antipodes
Paradoxes of ‘public diplomacy’: Ethnographic perspectives on the European Union delegations in the antipodes
‘Public diplomacy’ is a term increasingly used among policy makers and academics, yet its meaning is ambiguous and contested. Advocates proclaim it as a new approach to statecraft entailing a participatory approach of shared meaning‐making between politicians and the public markedly different from the elitist, Machiavellian inter‐governmental practices of traditional (‘Westphalian’) diplomacy. The European Union (EU) has embraced these ideals, proclaiming public diplomacy a cornerstone of European external relations policy. We examine these claims in the context of the EU's delegations to Australia and New Zealand. Using three ethnographic case studies, we highlight discrepancies between official discourses on public diplomacy and its practice. The participatory ideals of EU public diplomacy, we argue, are undermined by the EU's preoccupation with image and branding, public relations and marketing techniques, and continuing reliance on traditional ‘backstage’ methods of diplomacy. We conclude by outlining the implications of these paradoxes for both anthropological research and EU external relations.
1035-8811
337-356
Altman, Tessa
6d289ad3-f65c-496f-b1b2-07ff5a3e6072
Shore, Cris
1eacd0e1-539f-403e-b22e-fa668e7a7a55
Altman, Tessa
6d289ad3-f65c-496f-b1b2-07ff5a3e6072
Shore, Cris
1eacd0e1-539f-403e-b22e-fa668e7a7a55

Altman, Tessa and Shore, Cris (2014) Paradoxes of ‘public diplomacy’: Ethnographic perspectives on the European Union delegations in the antipodes. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 25 (3), 337-356, [1035-8811]. (doi:10.1111/taja.12102).

Record type: Article

Abstract

‘Public diplomacy’ is a term increasingly used among policy makers and academics, yet its meaning is ambiguous and contested. Advocates proclaim it as a new approach to statecraft entailing a participatory approach of shared meaning‐making between politicians and the public markedly different from the elitist, Machiavellian inter‐governmental practices of traditional (‘Westphalian’) diplomacy. The European Union (EU) has embraced these ideals, proclaiming public diplomacy a cornerstone of European external relations policy. We examine these claims in the context of the EU's delegations to Australia and New Zealand. Using three ethnographic case studies, we highlight discrepancies between official discourses on public diplomacy and its practice. The participatory ideals of EU public diplomacy, we argue, are undermined by the EU's preoccupation with image and branding, public relations and marketing techniques, and continuing reliance on traditional ‘backstage’ methods of diplomacy. We conclude by outlining the implications of these paradoxes for both anthropological research and EU external relations.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 6 September 2014
Published date: December 2014

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 436040
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/436040
ISSN: 1035-8811
PURE UUID: c8313b35-a458-463c-b204-20159fd6cb2d
ORCID for Tessa Altman: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5928-603X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 26 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:59

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Tessa Altman ORCID iD
Author: Cris Shore

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×