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| 1 |
ID:
088909
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| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Public diplomacy has become a critical component in grand strategy, particularly where the use of force by a state engages the attention of foreign audiences. 'Propaganda wars' now accompany, if not dominate, military moves on the battlefield, as rival states - and non-state actors - compete for the support of world public opinion. But whereas the military aspects of armed conflicts have been closely studied, their rhetorical side is only now beginning to attract the attention it deserves. This article seeks to advance the study of public diplomacy and propaganda wars by proposing a perspective that is based on the sociological and social-psychological theories of self-presentation and impression management. The assumption of a social and normative context renders meaningful the public accounts of conduct that states offer, while conceptualizing states as engaged in competitive self-presentation acknowledges the role of strategic considerations in shaping the message. The theoretical discussion develops the connection between rhetorical strategies and image-related predicaments in foreign public opinion. This is then applied to the analysis of a notable recent case - Israeli public diplomacy in the 2006 Lebanon war.
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| 2 |
ID:
100749
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| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Israeli public diplomacy surrounding the disengagement from Gaza and the general elections in the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2005 reflects a problematic misconstruction of Israel's messages in English regarding its relations with the Palestinians. Based on content analysis of official documents, such as official announcements, press releases, and speeches by Israeli government officials (the PM and the foreign ministry), we point to the incompleteness of Israeli public messages aimed at non-Hebrew speakers in terms of major framing functions. Incorporating narrative analysis, we further claim that the problem of missing framing functions is part of a larger problem of misconstruction of the state's foreign policy narrative. At the core of this problem lies a discontinuity between the definition of the problem faced by Israel, the characterization of those who are responsible for the problem, and the proposed solutions to the problem. While the definition of the problem tends to rest quite heavily on internal disputes within Israel, namely the dispute between the government and the settlers, the Palestinians are those who are held responsible for the problem, and the solution is defined as a confrontation with the Palestinians. This incoherence between the definition of the problems and the solutions offered has damaged the internal logic of Israeli public diplomacy. The article discusses these findings against the backdrop of the traditional Israeli approach toward public diplomacy as reflected by the concept of "explanation" (hasbara). It suggests that these incoherencies played a key role in the explanation of why Israel failed to achieve significant improvement in its international image following the disengagement.
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