Research that focuses on the value of soft power and smart power as tools in the field of public diplomacy, this can also include stories that bolster soft power for a nation.
CPD Publications, Analysis, & Multimedia
A new report by CPD and ACPD explores the role that public diplomacy might play in advancing U.S. citizens' understanding of the domestic impact of U.S. global engagement.
A new critical issues report published by Sanctuary Counsel and CPD sheds light on emerging challenges and opportunities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a major reset in U.S. foreign policy under a new administration.
Related CPD Research Projects
Principal Investigator:
Zahid Shahab Ahmed, CPD Research Fellow 2017-19
The global order is changing, and a new geopolitical blueprint is emerging. CPD Research Fellow Ellen Huijgh explored the public diplomacy of new emerging powers beyond the BRICS, paying particular attention to Indonesia and Turkey.
Public diplomacy is typically defined as how a nation’s government or society projects itself to external audiences in ways that improve these foreign publics’ perception of that nation. Europe, in particular, is rich with valuable public diplomacy cases to draw upon. In the long run, public diplomacy that is successful should result in more soft power (a state’s ability to co-opt or attract) and in favorable policies towards the nation that engages in it. Currently, there is a gap in the IR literature on soft power and the mechanisms behind it.
This project examines the history, status quo and challenges of Buddhism and public diplomacy, and discuss implications for U.S. public diplomacy. With its high-profile return to Asia since 2010, the United States has yet to redefine its relationship with the ASEAN countries, especaially China, India, and Mongolia, with many Buddhist adherents. How to effectively communicate to these nations should be of interest for U.S. public diplomacy.
Mixing religion and public diplomacy can produce volatile results, but in a world in which the dissemination and influence of religious beliefs are enhanced by new communications technologies, religion is a factor in most foreign policy issues and must be addressed. This initiative seeks to address key issues of faith in an increasingly connected religious world and to provide a better understanding of the role that religion plays in foreign policy.
CPD examined the Confucius Institutes in the United States as a platform for Chinese cultural diplomacy in the context of U.S.-China relations and higher-education management.
The purpose of this project is to develop a new approach to national power that allows senior policy makers to better integrate the assets and tools of coercive power such as military action ("hard power"), with the resources of traditional and public diplomacy ("soft power").