This calls for multi-level diplomatic engagements. Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Professor Emeritus Joseph Nye explains how American “smart power” combines hard power (military strategies, economic sanctions etc.) with soft power. Public diplomacy, or advancing foreign policy goals by engaging global public, is an example of the latter.
In his book Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age, University of Southern California’s Professor Nicholas Cull shares lively anecdotes on how the term was “the creature, if not quite the creation” of ex-diplomat turned Dean of Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Edmund Gullion. Cull also draws a distinction between public diplomacy and propaganda, with the former’s focus on flexibility, reciprocity, and cultural humility. The emphasis on culture, education, and citizen exchanges makes public diplomacy uniquely suited to inclusivity — and more ethical compared to militarisation, given the negative impact of armed conflict on women and girls.