Public Diplomacy A Better Policy Choice

In recent times, public diplomacy is gaining popularity as a foreign policy tool for building trust, mending strained relation and fostering an environment conducive for a collaborative coexistence. The skillful use of public diplomacy can enhance global status and image of a nation. In simple terms, public diplomacy refers to initiatives aimed at projecting a soft, cooperative and non-confrontational image of a country through extensive cross-national engagements, open communication and mutual collaboration.

During cold war period, public diplomacy was also referred to as "charm diplomacy". These days the phrase "charm offensive" is often used for initiatives to win collaboration in the field of economy, culture, science and technology. Famous American journalist, Joshua Kurlanzick is credited to have coined the word "charm offensive" to mean a country's initiative to improve its leverage through non coercive and soft power methods. 

Wider dimension

In traditional sense, diplomacy was understood as a policy and art to be pursued by a country for furthering friendly relation, creating conducive environment for economic cooperation and ensuring cultural, educational, scientific and defense cooperation with other countries at the state level. With the emergence of public diplomacy, international relation assumed a wider dimension extending beyond the state to include people to people relation, involving exchanges between parliament members, academics, scientists, defense experts, media persons, human rights advocates, students and cross-border communities.

Public diplomacy is a valuable tool for both the superpowers and smaller countries for furthering relation by casting aside the coercive and threatening image and assuming more cordial and cooperative demeanor in international relation. Public diplomacy represents a strand of theory of foreign relation and has been incorporated as a discipline of study covering the broad field of international relation.

Powerful countries which once defined their foreign relation in terms of alliances, blocks and ideological alignment polarised the nations. They are now offering economic packages to less developed countries aimed at enhancing their productive sectors or improving their development infrastructures. China is promoting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project while the United States has been implementing Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) in several least developed countries as part of their international diplomacy aimed at gaining international influence. This can be explained as the charm offensive launched by power countries to win friendship by presenting their softer and more appealing image.  

In history, there are instances of powerful countries devising various policies to govern their foreign relation. They used hard power policy with their competitors to maintain dominance and used soft power charm offensive to win over weak neighbours. The objective of these policies was to ensure their security and expand their sphere of influence. During the Cold War, the world was compelled to live under the shadow of bipolar power rivalry and unchecked arms race. Smaller countries, especially those in sensitive geopolitical regions, had devised non-aligned foreign policy, focusing on neutrality and economic cooperation with all nations. 

With the gradual shift of global geopolitics to multi-polarity, the soft power diplomacy is fast replacing the traditional hard power diplomacy. In this new context, public diplomacy is offering a range of opportunities for engaging foreign nations. This is because public diplomacy helps construct a vision of better future by providing a platform for sharing resources, competences and capabilities in the field of economy, culture, education, science, health and technology. 

For a country like Nepal, positioned between two great neighbours, public diplomacy can be a core tool for taking advantage from their prosperity on the one hand and making both the neighbours feel secured and at ease on the other. The interaction with these neighbours has helped shape Nepal's foreign policy over the past centuries. In recent years, Nepal is not only being tasked with balancing ties with its two neighbours in a new geopolitical milieu, it is also finding itself in a strategic position where it must navigate  the complex waters of international politics with skillful pursuit of public diplomacy.. 

Despite these constraints, Nepal has ample possibilities for crafting a nuanced foreign policy that capitalises on the cross-national public wisdom. Opening its reservoir of good will and leveraging on the economic potentials of the neighbours, Nepal can guide the region toward a new era of peace and prosperity. Though Nepal's geographical space is limited, it is endowed with rich natural resource, diverse cultures and remarkable heritages which can be harnessed for the benefit of its people. Nepal has stunning landscapes, world renowned pilgrimage sites, eight of the fourteen highest mountain summits, national parks and conservation areas, several of which are  recognised as the must visit tourism destinations for tourists worldwide. 

 Nepal has consistently pursued a balanced foreign policy firmly adhering to the United Nations Charter, international law and the five principles of peaceful coexistence. Safeguarding sovereignty, promoting peaceful coexistence, cultivating mutual cooperation and ensuring equality have remained the core objectives of Nepal's foreign policy. To enhance its international standing and play an influential role in the field of international diplomacy Nepal must also use the tool of public diplomacy 

Multiple crisis

We are living in an era beset with multiple crisis ranging from wars, pandemic, climate crisis, food scarcity and migration. In such international environment, perceptual differences create trust deficit among nations. If proper attention is not given to clear misgivings, small cracks in understanding can develop into chasm. Public diplomacy can be useful in repairing trust, shaping perception, building bridges and find common ground for cooperation on issue by issue basis gradually clearing the lens for both the sides to gain a balanced perspective.

A lack of adequate engagements, scarcity of public discourses, failure to pursue the subtle and silent negotiation at high level, deteriorates environment. Public discourses among academia, experts, media persons and cross border communities help identify and address strains in friendly relations helping us mend fence and continue weaving the fabric of closer, more cordial and friendly ties. Public diplomacy provides communication channel for negotiation and persuasion helping build positive atmosphere and creates space to explore various options. This is crucial for fostering understanding and building resilience against future conflict. 

(Dr. Bharadwaj is former ambassador and former chairperson of Gorkhapatra Corporation. bharadwaj@gmail com)