Integrated Public Diplomacy

After the event of 9.11, super powers have been dramatically underscoring image-building as they are advancing their global strategies. The rise and fall of big power in modern international community is largely determined by its National Image or National Identity (NI). Modern nation-states have integrated building, maintaining and promoting their national image into their national strategies.This dissertation will take US global image building during the post-Cold War era as a case of U.S. public diplomacy practiced in the Middle-east. Employing an in-depth comparative analysis method, this study will examine the extent to which Washington has utilized its"soft power"in promoting its national image and identity in the international community. Specific attention will be paid to strategy design, policy consideration, and policy selection course in the arena of public diplomacy.This dissertation concentrates on America's employment of"soft-power"—under the dissymmetrical condition—in carrying out Integrated Public Diplomacy (IPD). The research puts forwards a brand-new concept of Integrated Public Diplomacy, which pursues the goals of image building, identity construction, attitude transformation and values recognition. With strategic communication, media relationship and private Communication as inner core, the dissertation further integrates system, function, strategy and resources of public diplomacy. On the basis of boundary of IPD, special focus has been raised on the fundamental hypothesis of 4 IPD independent variables involving goal, channel, strategy and efficiency. With the method of in-depth comparative analysis, this dissertation systematically and thoroughly examines the application of integrated public diplomacy strategies in the First Gulf War, the Israeli/Palestinian Peace Talk, and the current Nation-Building efforts in Iraq after 911.In analyzing models in each historical episode, the dissertation will probe into the aspects of strategic goals, policy considerations, behavior options, mechanism construction, effectiveness assessment , ensuring the integration effectiveness among strategic communication, media relations and non-governmental communications, further demonstrating that effectiveness of public diplomacy implementation is a crucial factor in the favorable and successful national image building and thus the exercise of soft power will be effective in reducing negative emotions through a favorable international image construction by means of public diplomacy.This dissertation attempts to integrate public diplomacy and strategic communication into a brand-new theoretical analysis frame and proposes an innovative way of research thinking.It means much to choose US global image building during the post-Cold War era as an in-depth case of U.S. public diplomacy in the Middle-east, for it can provide rich referent experience for China's image building and on-going practice of harmonious diplomacy.