Newest CPD Perspectives Examines the Role of News Media in U.S.-China Military-to-Military Relations

"Media Diplomacy and U.S.-China Military-to-Military Cooperation" is the fifth issue of CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy for 2012. Written by CPD University Fellow Thomas Hollihan and doctoral student Zhan Zhang, the paper examines the nature of American and Chinese military engagement, and the ways in which they use news media as a space for argumentation of their foreign policy perspectives.

In the piece, the two authors focus on the public arguments made by the militaries of each nation around the role of the U.S. in the Pacific and the rise of China. They also examine the media diplomacy efforts of both sides and the ways in which local and international news media are used as a conduit for the viewpoints of each side.

Lastly, they argue that “even in the absence of substantive agreement, one can find slivers of evidence that they may come to better understand their competing perspectives and interests.” Despite very real areas of conflict, the authors provide hope that each may come to better understand the other’s perspective through media engagement.

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.