Has The National Image Of The US Changed In The Bahamas In Light Of Recent National Security Agency Activity?

This paper argues that public diplomacy is inclusive of National Image but not dependenton the events that affect it. It analyzes the concepts of public diplomacy concerning nationalimage in light of the recent revelation of United States (US) programs spying on the mobilenetworks of foreign countries. The Bahamas, one of two countries whose entire mobile networkwas secretly listened to, recorded and stored by the US, is used as the single case study. It isargued that the event aggravated the public, however, the issue itself still has not changed theiroverall national image of the US. The significance of this in relation to soft power conceptsindicate that public diplomacy is not perfect but has longterm advantages that outweighintangible issues and can be improved. Furthermore the research shares that the mindset of themasses is not so easily influenced by singular events that oppose soft power but instead aredominated by consistent experiences expecting a favorable future.The thesis is inclusive of5chapters. The first chapter opens with the introduction that givesan overview of the issue and leads into why it was chosen. The second moves into the conceptualframeworks that share the importance of public diplomacy, and national image for internationalrelations. This chapter gives an overall understanding of where national image falls within therealm of public diplomacy and why it is essential for the Bahamas and US relations worldwide.This chapter also looks at public diplomacy to understand why it is pivotal to the both countriesfor building long term positive relationships not only within governments but with foreigncommunities. It then discusses soft power which has become the new force for successfulexchange between governments in sharing their culture and policies in other countries. This hasbecome a persuasive technique for countries to successfully convince other governments andcommunities to look at policies from their perspective. The following section looks at nationalimage which is important for the countries appreciate foreign exchange without discrimination.The third chapter discusses the historical and modern US Bahamas relations from a governmentand public perspective. It also discusses US Public Diplomacy, US National Image and theeffects it has had on the country’s image throughout the world. This is important for realizing ifand why there may be a change in the perspective of the US National Image since the revealingof the surveillance activities among Bahamian citizens. The fourth chapter discusses the data thatwas collected and analyzes the findings through summaries. The fifth chapter concludes theresearch by presenting the findings, providing recommendations and discussing avenues forfuture research. The thesis aims to answer the question:’Has the National Image of the US changed in theBahamas following reports that the country is under total surveillance by the NSA withoutpermission from local state authorities?Hypothesis: There has been no major change in the view of the National Image of theBahamas toward The US in spite of discovering the entire country has been spied on by the NSA.The findings proved the hypothesis that the Bahamas’ overall image of the US has still notchanged even after the alleged NSA programs were discovered. It proves that the image of anation is something that cannot be tarnished simply by an event but is more dependent on theattitudes of the people and what they instill in young generations. In the single case study of theBahamas the unveiling of being spied on didn’t have a serious effect on their overall outlook onthe US.The country has a prevailing image that is criticized by many states like the Bahamas withthe uncovering of these programs. It still however has an overall perception of friendliness fromsoft power throughout most of the world and has formed relatively permanent alliances as aresult. Bahamian citizens agree that no irreversible harm has been done and that the issue is onethat can be resolved. There is a shortfall in the level of confidence in information securityparticularly that which is shared over their mobile devices but this is not something they feelcannot be rectified with cooperation and discussion between both governments.Bahamians arenot devastated over the recent finding of surveillance programs and most are not even surprised.They are aware that spying goes on worldwide and realize that the possibility has becomeinevitable with advances in technology. Being cognizant of the news of it only reassures themthat they are being watched and should be mindful while sharing information over the network.The event is enlightening to the people but not overwhelming.They have faith in the localgovernment to amend the issue with the US government and this decreases tension throughoutthe community. The event itself does not sway the overall image of the US in the perspective ofthe people because of many other positive shared experiences between the cultures.