Deterrence by public diplomacy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing public diplomacy literature as it focuses on the crucial, but so far largely unnoticed negative dimension of public diplomacy by analyzing information campaigns targeting unwanted people as one instrument of public diplomacy. Design/methodology/approach Using the cases of Australia and Germany this paper analyses the public diplomacy narratives of these two countries and contrasts those with the messages both countries communicate to potential migrants/refuges through a number of information campaigns. Based on this assessment the paper highlights the negative dimension of public diplomacy and discusses how this negative dimension influences the conduct of public diplomacy. Findings Both cases clearly exemplify that public diplomacy is no altruistic affair and that public diplomacy is facing new challenges due to this concurrence of opposing images it aims to communicate. It further illustrates that this negative dimension not only challenges the understanding of public diplomacy, but at the same time exemplifies a communicative predicament which, it is argued, cannot be solved satisfactory and requires a trade-off between deterrence and attraction. The predicament arises from the dichotomy of presenting a positive image of a country to produce endorsement and sympathy as well as to attract tourists and investment, while at the same time communicating a negative image to deter uninvited people from entering the country. Practical implications Referring to this communicative predicament, the paper suggests that those campaigns are unrewarding for two reasons: first, they apparently do not achieve their objectives and at the same time undermine other public diplomacy initiatives. Originality/value The paper highlights the normally neglected fact that public diplomacy is not only concerned with presenting a positive image of a country and winning hearts and minds, but that public diplomacy also has a negative dimension which needs more academic analysis and practitioner’s attention.

The enforcement infrastructure of public information campaigns: Australia’s No Way campaign, colonial logics, and the production of value

“…As the largest and best-funded Australian campaign to date, scholars have studied the content of the No Way campaign, from the striking full-length feature film “Journey” to the visual products produced throughout the campaign with the small boat surrounded by rough seas, exploring the gendered dimensions of campaign materials (Dehm and Silverstein, 2021) as well as the spatial implications of visual media (Watkins, 2017). More broadly, the No Way campaign has demonstrated how campaigns simplify the challenges of migration to invisibilize the role of government policy in creating the dangers migrants face (Bishop, 2020; Hartig, 2017). Leroy (2023) connects the No Way campaign to questions of national identity within Australia.…”

How migration information campaigns shape local perceptions and discourses of migration in Harar city, Ethiopia

“…1. The communication and media strategies -focusing on what is disseminated to potential migrants and through what kind of media channels (Brekke & Thorbjørnsrud, 2018;Hartig, 2017;Heller, 2014).…”

“…There is a growing body of literature addressing migration‐information campaigns (for an overview see Maâ, 2021; Nieuwenhuys & Pécoud, 2007; Pagogna & Sakdapolrak, 2021; Rodriguez, 2019; Watkins, 2017; Williams, 2020). Pagogna and Sakdapolrak (2021) have clustered this research into four thematic areas: The communication and media strategies – focusing on what is disseminated to potential migrants and through what kind of media channels (Brekke & Thorbjørnsrud, 2018; Hartig, 2017; Heller, 2014). The implementation of information campaigns in origin and transit countries, ranging from specific media campaigns to prevention and development projects, combining information campaigns with cultural and education projects (Bartels, 2017; Gazzotti, 2019; Rodriguez, 2019).…”