As part of its commitment to building the field of public diplomacy, CPD conducts research into thematic areas of perennial interest and identifies emerging trends deserving of further scholarship. Additionally, we welcome research proposals that match these initiatives. To this end, each year scholars are invited to apply for the non-residential CPD Research Fellowship program. All in-house research and related CPD events are designed to bridge the gap between academic and professional work in these areas. Current research initiatives include:
Accurately evaluating PD activities continues to prove challenging to practitioners around the world. Performance evaluation is reconceptualized here as an integral part of strategic planning as CPD defines what is measurable for policy-making purposes.
Cities across the world are increasingly poised to address challenges at the international level, from climate change and immigration, to the health and security of citizens. This initiative will provide a framework for creating the first-of-its-kind capacity-building program for effective city diplomacy.
Public diplomacy has been a central pillar of American statecraft for more than 60 years. So what does public diplomacy look like from the vantage point of states like Oklahoma, Iowa and Illinois in the nation’s heartland? Or from the perspectives of coastal states like California and New York?
This initiative explores the practices and trends in global engagement in emerging markets of varying political persuasions, including, but not limited to, BRIC nations, Mexico, and Turkey to provide a greater understanding of the forces reshaping public diplomacy and cultural relations globally.
Given resurgent nationalism across multiple regions and the growing centrality of information technology in sowing seeds of distrust and violence, this initiative explores priorities and actions in public engagement to counter information warfare and prevent future conflict.
As non-state actors become increasingly engaged in global development, CPD will explore the relationship between international development and public diplomacy and analyze water diplomacy, corporate diplomacy efforts and specific international aid projects.