Public Diplomacy and Foreign Policy; Links and Objectives

Presenting certain definitions of traditional diplomacy based on its own context, the present article deals with the issue of public diplomacy, and its interaction and application as one of the instruments of foreign policy. This research covers such issues as the various theoretical and practical definitions of public diplomacy in accordance with the views of well-recognized theoreticians, semantic overlapping of public diplomacy with the concepts of propaganda and public relations, communication pyramid of public diplomacy, and its general objectives in foreign policy. It deals particularly with the application of public diplomacy in the foreign policy of the United States.Mentioning different approaches toward public diplomacy within U.S administration, the present article discusses certain instances of the instruments of public diplomacy. The author concludes with the presentation, significance, and necessity of application of public diplomacy as a modern instrument in planning, formulating, and implementing foreign policy. Attempting to refer to the works and articles devoted to the issue, the article is fully documented with the official reports of the U.S administration in this regard. Some of the reports are as follows: the 2003 report of the United States Commission on Planning the Strategy of National Security; the 2001 performance report of Bureau of Public Affairs, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, the U.S Department of State; the 2004 report of Advisory Commission of Public Diplomacy, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State; and the 2004 – 2009 strategic five-year plan of Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State.