Michael Hawes - The Power of Exchange Diplomacy

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy was pleased to host, Dr. Michael Hawes, Canada-U.S.Fulbright Visiting Chair in Public Diplomacy (2010) and CEO of the Fulbright Canada program. His talk was titled, "Cultural Diplomacy: Understanding the Power and Purpose of Exchange Diplomacy".

Fulbright Canada is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Since 1990, Fulbright Canada has provided exchange opportunities for over 1000 students, scholars, and professionals. It has engaged the private sector, supported and encouraged public policy, and contributed to a number of national policy debates in both countries. Dr. Hawes will assess the impact of academic exchange as a vehicle for public diplomacy and it role on international relations.

About Michael Hawes

Dr. Michael Hawes has been a professor of international political economy and international relations in the Department of Political Studies at Queen's University since 1985. During the 1999/2000 academic year Michael was the J. William Fulbright Distinguished Professor of International and Area Studies at the University of California at Berkeley and the John A. Sproul Senior Research Fellow in the Canadian Studies Program. He has held posts as visiting scholar at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico in Mexico City, visiting professor of International Relations at Tsukuba University in Japan, and, on several occasions, visiting professor of international political economy at the International University of Japan. He has published widely on foreign policy, political culture, international economic relations, regional integration in North America and East Asia, and related subjects.

Event Summary

In his discussion, titled “Cultural Diplomacy: Understanding the Power and Purpose of Exchange Diplomacy,” Dr. Hawes discussed the significance and need for cultural diplomacy in effective public diplomacy. Attendees included graduate students in the USC Master of Public Diplomacy program as well as students from across campus and members of the local community.

Dr. Hawes discussed the effectiveness of exchanges in boosting cultural diplomacy. Using the Fulbright program as an example, he emphasized direct exchange as a key component for effective public diplomacy, underscoring the value of face-to-face contact. Furthermore, the Fulbright program promotes national interest, acts as a public relations agent and promotes new ideas. However, he said, the United States should understand that countries around the world do not all clearly understand the goals of such exchange programs.

The discussion concluded with several recommendations for exchange diplomacy. These included: recognizing the need to be more creative with exchange participants and the value of alumni to serve as resources for future programs; creating room for foreign nationals to participate in decision-making and directing activities to focus more on foreign nationals; and clearly identifying purposes and goals more carefully.