According to Berridge, Public Diplomacy is simply the current name of white propaganda contrary to Cull who sees it as an invitation to influence as many people as possible from foreign countries as it seeks to achieve over them (Berridge, 2010, pp 179-182).
Mark Dillen argues in his article ‘’US Public Diplomacy, Back to the Future’’(11.03.2010) on Public Diplomacy website that the State Department is strategically trying to revive US Information Agency (USAI) policy ten years after its closure by communicating and influencing foreign publics. Therefore key diplomatic positions will be upgraded and other strategic public positions ceded to the Pentagon in the past will be reclaimed. If successful this will definitely reduce the influence and the authority of US embassies abroad. For example there is a new plan underway in Pakistan called the ’’Pakistan Plan’’ which has four objectives: increase the media audience, fight against terrorist propaganda, increase communication network and have a direct contact with the local population by increasing positive American presence on the ground in Pakistan with more non-official contacts between Pakistanis and Americans in Pakistan. Thus Secretary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan in October 2009 was planned according to the set objectives. (http://publicdiplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com) [accessed 26.03.10].
This new strategy in Pakistan and the change of tone of American Foreign Policy shows the US is adopting to another form of Public Diplomacy: Soft Power by both President Clinton and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton according to Kim Ghattas’s article on BBC News, Washington posted on the 18 October 2009. For Ghattas, Hillary Clinton feels her schedule with ‘’Soft’’ events during which she meets students, women activists or human rights advocates contrary to her predecessor Condoleezza Rice who conducted her foreign policy in a more rigid academic style, sticking mostly to official meeting during short trip that were run with military precision. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/831293.stm) [accessed 26.03.10]
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Hey Augustin, great writing. Would you not agree that Clinton’s way of conducting public diplomacy goes more in line with what is known as “new pubic diplomacy”? That is in short, not trying to influence as in persuade, but instead establish good grounds for communication and understanding, as Mrs. Clinton was doing in Pakistan.
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