Broadening public diplomacy

Governments usually take the view that public diplomacy is a domain restricted to the public sector and that target audiences are external publics. Most academic definitions of public diplomacy reflect this public sector ownership of public diplomacy. Geopolitical tectonic shifts and the climate of globalisation have altered diplomacy in the second half of the 20th Century and fast capitalism has dramatically changed the nature of public diplomacy. The paper will describe these changes, argue for a broadening of the definition of public diplomacy and develop a framework for public diplomacy that incorporates second and third sector participation. It will draw on the case of Dr Thaksin Shinawatra's post-coup exile in order to illustrate some of the complexities of public diplomacy. It will address the following questions: In what ways should public diplomacy be driven by the state? Are there possible areas for partnership in public diplomacy with the public sector by other sectors?