Latest CPD Perspectives Paper Evaluates the JET Program from a Public Diplomacy Standpoint

In the third installment of CPD Perspectives in Public Diplomacy for 2012, Emily Metzgar, an Assistant Professor from Indiana University’s School of Journalism, evaluates the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program from a public diplomacy and soft power standpoint. "Promoting Japan: One JET at a Time" features original survey data gathered in 2011 from over 500 American JET alumni, and considers how the government-sponsored exchange program fits into the shifting constructions of public diplomacy.

Given the purpose of public diplomacy in reaching out to foreign audiences, the study also aims to paint a picture of the average JET participant through demographic information, their perspectives on Japan, their overall experience in the program and degree of connection to Japan years later. Using these findings, Metzgar then considers the cultural significance of the JET program and how it can benefit Japan in the medium-to-long-term.

Read the review of this paper by CPD Public Diplomat in Residence 2009-2011, Dr. Robert Banks here.

Read the entire paper here.

CPD Perspectives is a periodic publication from the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and highlights scholarship intended to stimulate critical thinking about the study and practice of public diplomacy.

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