The paper adds to the body of recent scholarly literature that emphasizes the role of domestic publics in public diplomacy – a field until recently examined with only minor attention to the domestic realm. It suggests conducting an analysis of the domestic dimension of public diplomacy on three levels: individual, organizational, and national. By doing so, we are able to understand in a complex manner the environment from which public diplomacy practice grows, and thus also its specific dynamics. Applying this model of analysis to the case of Israel, the paper describes major domestic factors shaping Israeli public diplomacy: the culture of individual engagement (individual level), the clash of organizational ethea of institutions responsible for public diplomacy (organizational level), and the intertwining of public diplomacy and nation-building (national level). The analysis also allows us to better grasp the dilemma faced by Israeli public diplomacy between efficiency and democratic character

The article tackles the issue of measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness of public diplomacy instruments, such as strategies. The author suggests applying the approach based on the phenomenon of attraction. The evaluation of quality of public diplomacy is presented as the evaluation of influence of capabilities of public diplomacy instruments, and their certain set (aggregate) in subjective and functional strategies of public diplomacy. The article also argues a state that the more public diplomacy instruments meet the conditions of successful attraction and affiliation, the more likely they would be attractive to the population of a host country and would provide an involvement effect.

China is a country that employs a number of tools in order to shape its positive international perception. Sport plays an important role in this area. The aim of the research is to investigate the issue of sports exchanges and their role in shaping international image of China. The analysis is an empirical case study and is aimed at answering a research question concerning how sports exchanges may be used in order to shape a desired international image of a country. According to the main hypothesis to be tested in the article, through sports exchanges China managed to make a swift from the old, unidirectional sports diplomacy, to a more dialogue-oriented, reciprocal form.

Celem artykułu jest zbadanie pojęcia dyplomacja sportowa. Mimo że znaczenie sportu w dyplomacji wydaje się być dostrzegane i rozumiane przez badaczy w Polsce, zagadnienie to nie było jak dotąd szerzej analizowane. Jako że termin ten jest zazwyczaj uznawany za jeden z wymiarów dyplomacji publicznej, artykuł poświęcony jest także zbadaniu kwestii roli i miejsca sportu w jej ramach.
W treści artykułu przedstawiony został szereg sposobów rozumienia pojęcia dyplomacja sportowa prezentowanych przez różnych badaczy. Naukowcy rozumieją ten termin w sposób zróżnicowany, w szczególności jeżeli chodzi o jego zakres. W związku z tym w artykule podjęto próbę zaproponowania najbardziej adekwatnego sposobu rozumienia tego pojęcia.

greater security than another submarine

Sweden has a substantially long tradition of conducting an image policy using both public diplomacy and nation branding. The refugee crisis is a significant challenge for maintaining a strong nation brand and positive perceptions of this country, mostly owing to contradictions between the declared values of Sweden’s image and nation brand and the real steps undertaken by the government to limit refugee immigration. The aim of this article is to discover potential correlation between the refugee crisis and changes within Sweden’s image and the strategy for promoting the country abroad, as well as Sweden’s methods and forms of international communication.

The goal of the research was to investigate FIFA, one of the most important international sports organisations, from the perspective of its diplomatic subjectivity. It is a case study concerning the process of selection of the World Cup hosts by FIFA, in reference to the engagement of presidents, prime ministers and other representatives of national authorities of states that hosted FIFA World Cup in bidding for the tournament within last the 30 years. The hypothesis that was verified within the research assumed that through selecting World Cup host FIFA obtains diplomatic subjectivity. This refers to research questions concerning the willingness of state leaders to engage in contacts and negotiations with sports officials and reasons for such engagement.

The working paper consists of the analyses of different forms of Taiwanese public diplomacy and it also contains a future development scenario as far as such an essential tool of foreign affairs is concerned. The research project has been conducted from many points of view. There are institutional, strategic and operational dimensions of public diplomacy with the engagement of government officials and agencies, NGOs, public institutions and citizens as well. Having analysed the whole activity concerning public diplomacy, the main conclusion ought to be made, i.e., the official development assistance and humanitarian aid shall be provided as the most effective tool to enhance Taiwanese international visibility.

Throughout the XVIIIth century, Anglo-Russian relations were very contentious. The Ochakov crisis of 1791 risked escalating into direct military action between Russia and England. Ambassador Count S.R. Vorontsov managed to garner the support of members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons of the English Parliament, come in contact with the Prime Minister, members of his cabinet and opposition leaders. The above mentioned allowed him to handle the possibilities of the press, publishing houses and the opposition during the Ochakov crisis of 1791 as well as influenced a public opinion in Britain. In large part, because of the active actions of S.R. Vorontsov and his office staff, it was possible to avoid an armed conflict between Russia and England. One of the closest employees of Semyon Romanovich was the son of a Ukrainian priest Yakov Ivanovich Smirnov, who was considered by many contemporaries as one of the outstanding employees of the office of the Russian Embassy. Ya. I. Smirnov was knighted of the Order of St. John under Paul I, and then the Emperor’s stunning decision took place – the priest was appointed charge d’affaires of Russia in London. V.F. Malinovskiy, the future first director of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, served in Vorontsov’s office. After leaving London, he worked as a secretary at the negotiations in Iași in 1792. As well as V.F. Malinovskiy, V.P. Kochubey hailed from Ukraine. The nephew of Count A.A. Bezborodko was in London from the early spring of 1789 until January of 1791. In 1793, Vorontsov gave V.P. Kochubey, who was diligently engaged in his education, a brilliant character reference. Over the course of his service, Count S.R. Vorontsov regularly defended the interests of the employees of his office; he knew how to gather individuals for his inner circle and work. In the XIXth century, there was a concept of “official of the Vorontsov school”. S.R. Vorontsov and members of his office used the methods of modern public diplomacy, which implies means used by governments, private groups and particular persons to change the views of other people and governments in order to influence their external political decisions. Public diplomacy is a tool for creating the image of the state. Appealing to public opinion, publication of government documents, use of the mass media and issuance of brochure for manifesting one’s position are methods which play a crucial role in modern public diplomacy, which originated due to Ukrainian diplomats as well.

The People’s Republic of China is one of the states focusing intensively on building its soft power and shaping its international image. However, China’s image is still negative and primarily based on stereotypes. In recent years, this country is willing to change such perceptions and present itself as an efficient, intensively developing, capable country that is much more than just a global production plant. The article aims to review China’s different manifestations of development aid regarding changing this type of public diplomacy and its meaning to the Chinese government. Is it only motivated by good intentions, or maybe its goal is to only provide an advantage to China? It is evident that owing to significant development, China needs to expand its economic contacts. However, the tested hypothesis states that behind Chinese development aid, political motivation is hidden as well. The research is based on content analysis of official documents and Foreign Ministry’s statements referring to development aid.

Current trends in global development (migration processes, hybrid wars, global pandemics, multiculturalism) bring new challenges for nation states. The level of international competitiveness and subjectivity of a modern state depends on the successful positioning of its political brand, secured by the choice of adequate tools for achieving the goals and objectives. This research aims at studying the peculiarities of the public diplomacy resource potential and its use in the process of political branding in Germany. The research methodology combines system and axiological approaches, as well as discourse analysis; this helps to reveal the structural relationships within the brand, and their correlation with the peculiarities of national political and economic development and global trends. The content of the political brand is studied through the prism of the interaction of the public (politics, economics, public administration) and national (mentality, culture, traditions) components that correlate with the level of political and economic development. National political leaders, public and political institutions play a leading role in generating the key message of a state. It is proved that public diplomacy expands the possibilities of successful implementation of economic, political, socio-cultural initiatives of the state, based on partnership and cooperation with representatives of the international community. The main tools of public diplomacy include setting the agenda, synchronization of information messages by government agencies, the use of a wide range of communication channels and special events aimed at building trust and lasting relationships between international actors. The article pays special attention to the study of the content of the branding campaign «Land of Ideas». It presents Germany as an active actor in the international political space, focused on the use of brand-new technologies in all spheres of society to ensure sustainable development. The authors prove that the current branding campaign focuses on economic (sustainable development and citizens’ welfare), technological (technological innovation, energy efficiency, environmental safety), and cultural (dialogue, intercultural communication) aspects. The key ideas of the branding strategy are sustainable economic development, manufacturability and digitalization, environmental friendliness and energy efficiency, partnership dialogue and cooperation. German public authorities are actively involved in the process of political branding, which is carried out at the internal and external levels through public diplomacy. The key ideas of the political brand are presented to the domestic public through constant two-way communication on specialized online platforms, meetings of high-ranking officials with representatives of municipalities, and citizens’ potential is actively involved in various innovative projects. The process of state branding in Germany is synchronized with key global trends – environmental security, climate change issues, energy efficiency. In this context, Chancellor A. Merkel and government agencies are actively cooperating with the EU and other international organizations, participating in forums, summits and online discussions. The experience of German political branding is relevant for other countries in the context of its content, synchronization of government and society, and the use of public diplomacy.

Public and cultural diplomacy in European cities and states’ branding

Article “Public and cultural diplomacy in cities’ branding” is a try to set ideas of city diplomacy and idea of branding into theory of international relations. Also, analysis of two West-European and two East-European cities is a chance to analyze chances and threats that both states and cities can encounter during a process of brand building. The main questions that article is answering are “Can cities use their resources and connections to make public and cultural diplomacy?” and “What influence on that process has factor of being a city in post-soviet country or former Soviet Satellite state?” It can be said that cities are able to brand and rebrand itself and they are more flexible than states that cannot run away from some aspects of its identity. In case of difference between western and post-soviet states, the difference is none. In research, numerous rankings, articles and analyses were used as a primary sources in order to characterize how different are images of Italy, Germany, Hungary and Ukraine. Also, paper tries to determine, what is relation between states brand and branding of its cities.

The paper looks at the important subject of the sister city frameworks as part of China’s public diplomacy at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic (post-2020). The first part presents the concept of public diplomacy, with special focus on the role of provincial and municipal governments in China. Relations between the local Chinese governments and other local governments are seen as “having less political color” and, according to Chinese scholars, are more effective in transmitting the national image and discursive power in the P.R.C. The second part elaborates on the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that local governments in China have been using the Health Silk Road and Digital Silk Road as a vehicle of China’s public diplomacy. This section also includes a detailed analysis of the Chinese government’s plans and actions taken by the central authorities. After a general analysis, the authors present Sichuan and Guangdong provinces’ actions as a case study. The first case study examines Sichuan and Chengdu’s efforts to promote the Health Silk Road through the “mask of diplomacy,” in the second, the authors discuss actions undertaken by Guangdong province and the city of Guangzhou as part of the Digital Silk Road.

Scholars over the years have delved into the discourse of states’ foreign publics engagements in their foreign policy objectives. This analysis is done generally with the western perspective of public diplomacy with recent Asian scholarship evolving. As a result, this study aims to reflect on public diplomacy from an African perspective. Therefore, it analyses how African governments have been engaging their foreign publics (foreign governments and their citizens) to attract foreign aid, tourism, and investments in their nation-building and development trajectory. The article explores African public diplomacy mechanisms such as diasporas, nation branding, cultural diplomacy, and many others. It also digests some of the challenges confronting African governments in their public diplomacy campaigns, like lack of research, human and financial resources, and lack of coherent foreign policy documents. The article’s findings demonstrate that although Africa generally has rich public diplomacy resources, these are not adequately harnessed in most African states’ foreign policy. This situation has led to poor foreign policy implementation by most African governments. The study contributes to the public diplomacy scholarship in general and African public diplomacy in particular, which scholars have underexplored. It concludes that scholars should delve into the exegesis of the rich African public diplomacy currencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused not only substantial turmoil in the international environment, both politically and economically, but it also inspired new forms of diplomatic conduct. Since 2020 we could observe new forms of health diplomacy, which is already well-established among theoretical concept. While counteracting the harmful effects of the pandemic was the primary goal of most of the initiatives, it soon became apparent that health diplomacy can be perceived by many as a political tool, supporting foreign policies and strategic goals. This research aims to investigate International Olympic Committee as a non-state diplomatic actor and its efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic that can be classified as public diplomacy and, more specifically, health diplomacy. The main research question refers to the character of diplomatic conduct, more specifically, whether it can be related to traditional health diplomacy focused on addressing health challenges or also to public diplomacy, aimed at reaching own goals.

In turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many challenges to a country’s international reputation. During the pandemic, Sweden, especially in its first stage, was frequently presented by international media outlets, sometimes negatively. Such adverse reporting may have imposed some reputational threats on Sweden. This research aims to investigate Swedish communication through a short-term perspective of public diplomacy (its day-to-day dimension) with the foreign public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on qualitative content analysis of official statements made by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Swedish Institute’s Instagram account, and interviews with the Swedish Institute employees. The main argument of this research is that in Sweden, day-to-day communication within PD served as a tool supporting the crisis management process. The research question refers to whether Sweden, through the activity of the Swedish Institute, used some elements of its public diplomacy conduct to react to the coronavirus pandemic. The hypothesis states that the day-to-day dimension of public diplomacy can be associated with the crisis management process.

The ‘Close-up War’ project as a way of telling the story of the war in Ukraine or changes in the tools of public diplomacy in wartime

The author of the article discusses the issue of changes in public diplomacy tools during Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the example of the documentary project ‘The War Up Close’. Public diplomacy tools became consciously used in Ukraine in the second decade of the 20th century. On 26 March 2021, the ‘Public Diplomacy Strategy of Ukraine for 2021 – 2025’ was adopted, which recognized countering Russian propaganda as one of the key tasks in the context of the hybrid war unleashed by Russia in 2014. Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 showed the need to update the tools of public diplomacy and expand the institutions involved in this area. The most important tool in telling the story of the war, informing the world about Russian crimes and the threat they pose to the world has become the truth, presented in documentary projects, films, photography, and immersive exhibitions created with the help of modern technologies. Such projects are able to convey the truth to the viewer, to give a sense of presence in the epicentre of events. To understand the danger that Russia poses to the world. ‘The War Up Close’ project was created using a 360° circular panorama, drone video and 3D modelling to show the world community in detail how Russians are destroying the Ukrainian people. The project materials are direct evidence of Russian crimes and can be used in the future to bring the aggressor country to justice. The project demonstrates the change in the tools of Ukraine’s public diplomacy in the context of a full-scale war, when the goal of creating a positive image of Ukraine was supplemented by the task of telling the world the truth about Russia’s crimes against a peaceful, non-nuclear-armed country.