WHY INVOLVE NON-STATE ACTORS IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY?
Submitted by christian on Thu, 08/15/2019 - 14:50
- Non-state actors’ activities are freer from skepticism as they enjoy more neutrality and credibility in the field. They are more neutral and more inclined towards universal values because they are not necessarily seen as self-interested. Furthermore, their credibility comes from their expertise and know-how on the ground with adequate local knowledge. They have more visibility in the field grounded in actions and events which lead to more healthy interpersonal behavioral relationships as opposed to mediated symbolic relationships. In addition, non-state actors are more committed for long-term efforts on the ground. They naturally maintain their relationships for their main purposes. Non-state actors can add long-term vision to public diplomacy activities with all their advantages.
- In the network environment, there are domestic and foreign non-state actors (including diaspora communities both at home and abroad) whose activities are in the realm of public diplomacy either for similar or different objectives. These non-state actors can be regarded as potential partners if there are mutual interests while it is also very likely for them to be competitors or adversaries. Not only institutionalized non-state actors, but also domestic and foreign publics can no longer be seen as mere passive audiences, but they are stakeholders whose satisfaction, collaboration or resistance and pressure can be vital for public diplomacy initiatives’ survival Treating domestic publics as stakeholders and encouraging them to participate and collaborate as partners is significant for public diplomacy projects in a network environment . If not actively engaged, some of these domestic or diaspora stakeholders – who have enormous potential to be partners – can turn out to be adversaries. They can actively oppose and lobby against their home country’s governments’ policies abroad. That is because they have a stake in public diplomacy activities or outcomes of these activities. They can legitimately advocate interests or values of their constituencies and want their voices to be heard and interests to be reflected in public diplomacy policies.
- Collaborating with or outsourcing to more credible non-state actors can bring more effective results for public diplomacy objectives. Emphasizing what public diplomacy can achieve beyond national interests and collaborating with stakeholders to achieve them together can indeed reinforce other public diplomacy objectives in the long-run. It is non-state actors who are not trapped in the boundaries of national interests and enjoy more credibility for such activities as proved in their active advocacy in every area of global public goods from banning landmines to fighting environmental degradation. They represent interests of “global civil society” providing externalities beyond national boundaries . Non-state actors can be better connected to the public and/or centrally located to reach influential elites in certain publics. In other words, non-state actors may enter some marketplaces into which state have difficulty entering.
- Collaborating with or outsourcing to more connected non-state actors can bring more effective results for public diplomacy objectives. Some non-state actors may act as brokers or as “network bridges” connecting state agencies with other parts of the network state agencies have difficulty to reach. .
- Non-state actors’ specialization (know-how) in certain issues and expertise can save state agencies’ resources as they do not need to develop the same expertise and know-how in-house . This can help share the costs (including the opportunity costs of maintaining relationships) with non-state actors In other words, public diplomats can use multipliers effectively as “network weavers” who “actively create new interactions between” different groups . By acting as managers of institutional relationships , they can increasingly rely more “on non-governmental initiatives, collaborate with non-official agents and benefit from local expertise” Furthermore, non-state actors are not elected by the large public whom they are accountable to in the short-term. Therefore, they can focus on long-term policies and activities with more flexibility, quick response and less bureaucracy in the process as opposed to the state which is often trapped in short-term policymaking with much red-tape .
- Non-state actors can “supplement” the state in creating public diplomacy outcomes which are regarded as public goods.
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