The Public Diplomacy of Catalonia

The Catalonian referendum for independence from Spain has been trending in the news for the past couple of weeks. However, the subject of independence itself has been around for some time, as evidenced by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT)'s efforts to "inform the principal political and economic decision-makers at the European and international levels about the democratic process that has started in Catalonia."

An article by Joan Torras-Vila and José Fernández-Cavia in the journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy looks at how successful DIPLOCAT's efforts have been in shaping international perceptions of Catalonia. The authors found that "international correspondents who have established prior contact with DIPLOCAT in turn also have a positive perception of Catalonia" and determined that "a small PD structure such as DIPLOCAT is able to achieve remarkable profits in terms of reputation gaining for the territory it represents if the right tools and strategies are used."

The article, "DIPLOCAT's Public Diplomacy Role and the Perceptions Towards Catalonia Among International Correspondents" is available here.

Photo by Ivan McClellan I CC BY 2.0