Communication at the Crossroads of Development, Public Diplomacy and Soft Power

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to develop a theoretical basis for better understanding the intersections between public diplomacy and development communication. Both activities involve theories of influence over social change in foreign countries, whether those changes are attitudinal, behavioral, or socio-political. Both involve a voluntary transfer of resources (e.g. money, knowledge, technology) from an actor promoting a specific cause or agenda to a group or organization in a foreign country. Both seek to stimulate and deliver desired policy outcomes through an active civil society and private sector, and both ultimately support what is believed to represent the common good. Both are strategic, planned, and intentional. Through an analysis of how these objectives overlap, the chapter lays a theoretical groundwork for considering how development communication and public diplomacy can be considered as tools of soft power.