Three key challenges for public diplomacy
By Keith Dinnie, Founder, Brand Horizons
Public diplomacy – which may be defined as reaching out to audiences beyond the diplomatic corps and government in the receiving state – poses a number of challenges that embassies must address. Whilst the concept of public diplomacy is relatively well established, the quality and effectiveness of public diplomacy programmes in practice fluctuates wildly from one embassy to another.
Three of the key issues to consider in public diplomacy include the influence of individual ambassadors; the use of celebrities; and the appropriateness of using social media.
The attitude and behaviour of individual ambassadors can influence not only the effects of public diplomacy programmes, but also the very existence or otherwise of such programmes. When an ambassador actively supports public diplomacy activities and encourages other individuals within the embassy to contribute their ideas and energy, the results can be impressive. On the other hand, when an ambassador frowns on such initiatives, inertia sets in. A diplomat at an embassy in Washington D.C. informed me recently that his suggestions to implement public diplomacy initiatives were flatly rejected on the grounds that “It is not the government’s job to promote our country”.
Public diplomacy attempts to engage with the general population in foreign countries. To this end, celebrities can play a powerful role in establishing perceptions of the country which they are from. For example, within Japan, public perceptions of Estonia are based exclusively on one person – the sumo ozeki Baruto, a successful and hugely popular sumo wrestler who comes from Estonia. Baruto regularly appears at events designed to cement relations between Estonia and Japan, and his presence is valued by the Embassy of Estonia in Japan. Other embassies, however, do not reach out to their diaspora – celebrities or otherwise – and thus miss out on what may potentially be the only means by which they will generate interest in their country amongst foreign populations.
The use of social media is an emerging trend in public diplomacy programmes. High profile social media brands such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube offer countries as well as individual diplomats the opportunity to reach wider audiences than ever before. The best known example of a country embracing a user-generated content approach to social media is the Curators of Sweden campaign, in which each week a different Swedish citizen is allowed to curate the @Sweden national Twitter profile. The stated objective of this campaign is to promote interest and confidence in Sweden around the world. However, the downside to the campaign is the risk of individual citizens tweeting offensive content. Such a hands-off approach to public diplomacy may not be appropriate for most countries. keithdinnie@brandhorizons.com
Gabrielle McIntyre, ICTY Candidate
By Gabrielle McIntyre, Judicial Candidate for ICTY Election.
The next international judicial election will occur on 18 November 2013, when the General Assembly of the United Nations elects a single permanent judge to serve in the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). I am one of six candidates for this position.
I am deeply honoured to have been nominated for the position by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in keeping with the long commitment the Caribbean region has shown to international criminal justice and as part of a merit-based approach to international judgeships. I am similarly honoured to have the strong support of Australia, my country of nationality.
From 2003 I have served as the most senior legal advisor to the past three Presidents of the ICTY, who serve ex officio as the presiding judge of the Appeals Chamber of both the ICTY and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). As a result, I am a candidate who is intimately familiar with the appellate practice and procedures of the ICTY and ICTR and who has deep, first-hand knowledge and experience of drafting and advising on ICTY and ICTR appeals jurisprudence. Notably, the person elected to this position would not only serve on the ICTY Appeals Chamber but would also, pursuant to the Statute of the ICTR, serve on the ICTR Appeals Chamber. If elected, my long experience with the work of the Tribunals would enable me to make a substantive contribution from day one, thus advancing the completion of the work of both tribunals.
In addition, of the six candidates, I am the only woman. At present there are no female permanent judges who have been elected or appointed to the ICTY. If elected, I would bring valuable gender diversity to the ICTY complement of judges.
I am visiting embassies in The Hague to present my candidacy and answer any questions. In the last two weeks alone I have been received by over 30 embassies and met with ambassadors and legal advisors from every geographic region and from a broad spectrum of legal backgrounds. These visits have proved immensely fruitful to me as a candidate and as an individual. I have valued deeply these discussions and I am immensely impressed by the commitment to international criminal justice expressed by the members of the diplomatic corps, and by the well-informed questions and concerns raised. – Gabrielle McIntyre (gabriellelouisemcintyre@gmail.com)
Congratulations!
By Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland, Judge in the Court of Appeal & honorary Special Advisor International Affairs of the Municipality of The Hague.
The Hague was world news twice during the last few months. On August 28th with 100 years Peace Palace with our King, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and our Prime Minister Rutte. It was on the day that the USA was about to attack Syria because of the chemical weapons. I was sitting in the Peace Palace almost next to the Director General of OPCW, H.E. Ahmet Üzümcü, who told me that he was very nervous about the situation. But see what happened in the weeks afterwards: a diplomatic solution, Syria becoming member of OPCW and on top of it: on Friday October 11th the OPCW, with its headquarter in The Hague, received the Nobel Peace Prize. Our congratulations !
Impressive also was the state visit of Israel’s president Shimon Peres. I was invited by H.E. Haim Divon to the Portugese Synagoge in Amsterdam, where during more than an hour the elder statesman (90!) answered all kinds of questions. We all realized that he was already 25 years old when the state Israel was established in 1948 and that mr. Peres played an important role during all its 65 years of existing. On Monday October 14th I was present at two other celebrations. First as a guest of H.E. Ugur Dogan, ambassador of Turkey and his wife Manolya. She wrote a very nice book about the beautiful Turkish Residence at Prinsessegracht 29, completed in 1734. I was invited because one of my direct ancestors (seven generations) lived there shortly afterwards, in the middle of the 18th century. Then a quick bicycle ride to Kasteel De Wittenburg in Wassenaar, where International Women’s Contact The Hague celebrated its 35 years of existence. As one of only a few men I was invited too and enjoyed it very much. a.beelaerts@planet.nlPoor in Holland
By Richard Griffiths.
Watch commercial TV at the moment and the chances are that you will see this advertisement from Nationaal Fonds Kinderhulp (National help the Children Fund)).
A girl, aged ten or eleven, runs after her school friends. She is white, with dark blond hair and she is obviously Dutch. So are her school friends, but they all have bicycles and she does not…. and slowly the gap between them widens as they cycle out of the village. She cannot follow. She is POOR…. just like almost 400,000 other children! But she is not just like 400,000 other children.
Let us stay for a moment with the idea that there are 400,000 poor children in the Netherlands. In the this country, of the 400,000 children living in low income households, 55 per cent are Dutch. But given the fact that non-Western households are likely to have more children, the chances probably slightly less than 50 percent that the cycle-less child will be a white Dutch girl. Now, there is a difference between income and wealth. A family’s current budget might be tight, but that may be only a short-term inconvenience. In the earlier period of relative prosperity, they may well have had the money too have purchased a bike. Not so the longer term low-income families.. but then the number of children is probably nearer 110,000, and even more likely to be from non-Dutch origins.
And how poor are the poor in the Netherlands? Slightly over ninety per cent managed a hot meal with either meat, fish or chicken every day. Sixty-five per cent could afford to buy new clothes regularly and slightly over half could afford at least a week away from home on holiday. A recent OECD report took as a yardstick for poverty for international comparison a real income equivalent to half the median income. With a high median income, the Dutch had the ninth highest poverty threshold in the OECD. It also came in tenth in rank order with the percentage living under that threshold and those that did so enjoyed the 4th highest real disposable income in the OECD (behind Luxembourg, Norway and the USA… all significantly richer).
But let us return to the advertisement. How many of the 400,000 children does the charity expect to please with a bicycle this Christmas? About two hundred (this is not a misprint) at an average cost of €150 each. Why not buy them second-had? Why not have bike donation scheme? Why not collect and tidy-up some of the hundreds of abandoned bikes each year? As matters now stand, the other 399,800 will have to wait another year.
SCP/CBS, Armoedesignalement 2012
OECD, Divided We Stand (2011)
Greece National Day
By Teresa-Praskevi Angelatou, Ambassador of Greece to the Netherlands.
GREECE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL DAY ON OCTOBER 28th.
Greece is one of a small number of countries that have two National days in a year. While one, on March 25th, is Independence Day, the other, on October 28th, commemorating the entrance to WWII, is Greece’s testimony to liberty, democracy and human dignity.
We are honored to celebrate this day in the Netherlands, a friendly country that has shown on repeated occasions it shares the same ideals and principles. On its part, Greece, despite the difficulties it has faced and still continues to face, has never diverted from its conviction that liberty, democracy and human rights form the cornerstone of our European political culture and, has always strived to contribute with all its means.
Carrying a heavy responsibility and tradition, having been called the “cradle of democracy”, Greece is today more committed than ever in the safeguarding and promotion of these values which guide us to and guarantee us peace and prosperity. Through our active participation in every international and regional initiative that promotes the rule of law, human rights, democratic governance and civic society we aim to promote democratic practice and remain determined to continue doing so for many years to come.
Ukraine today
By Olexander Horin, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands.
I have honour and privilege to represent here Ukraine, one of the oldest countries in Europe with an ancient history starting from time of the formation of Kievan Rus when the capital city Kiev reached its apogee under Prince Volodymyr the Great (Vladimir II) and his son Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) who is also known as ‘Father in Law of Europe’. Ukraine had difficult history of struggle for independence with missing opportunities and chances. In 1991 the millennium quest for independence had been successfully sealed by the national referendum.
Today Ukraine as European country is making its civilizational choice, which is integration into the family of European Nations. This is a conscious choice and it is irreversible.
The institutionalization of Ukraine – EU political, legal and economic partnership based on the Association Agreement incl. DC FTA is an important factor for strengthening of the democratic and market institutions in Ukraine, modernization of state, reform of the economy and society, rule of law, expansion of the common values and acceleration of pro-European transformation processes in the region of the Eastern Partnership. It is directed towards full-fledged integration of Ukraine into European Economic Area.
Political association and economic integration between Ukraine and the EU will contribute to revealing full potential of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the Netherlands, boost mutually beneficial trade, investments, technological exchange and people-to-people contacts.
The Ukrainian citizens, who rightfully consider and perceive themselves as Europeans, see the Association Agreement with the EU as a beacon of welfare, stability, security and independence. This is indeed the moment of truth, the choice which will determine the vector of Ukraine’s development for the next decades.
Ukraine has achieved tangible progress in implementation of all the criteria for the signing of Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, which were outlined in the Conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council on Ukraine of 10 December 2012. At the same time Association Agreement incl. DC FTA is an important powerful tool of reform in Ukraine.
There is much work to be done on reforming the country with a view to approximating to EU standards, implementing democratic values and European norms of life. From this perspective, the signing and launching of the widest possible provisional application of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU will be the best incentive and guarantee for proceeding with implementation of wide-ranging reforms aimed at further strengthening of the democratic development, the rule of law and the development of a market economy.
Taking into account Ukraine’s progress as well as the geopolitical factors the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU should be signed this year. The conclusion of this strategic document between Ukraine and the EU will be a major success not only for the Ukrainian people, but also for the East European region, which is striving for support from the EU and count on its solidarity. The successful deliverables of Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit are important also for the EU as the proof of strengthening of its own foreign policy stand in regional and global policy.
At this historic stage of development of the Ukrainian state the support of the Netherlands for the conclusion of the Association Agreement with the EU during the Summit of the Eastern Partnership on 28-29 November 2013 is highly appreciated.
We are completely satisfied with the dynamic development of our political dialogue as well as bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands in all spheres. The recent visit of Mr. M.Azarov, the Prime-Minister of Ukraine to the Netherlands gives a positive impetus to strengthening our cooperation in all areas of bilateral relations.
Thus, we have an encouraging tendency towards serious growth of trade in goods beginning with January 2013. It is our important mutual responsibility to preserve that tendency in the run of the year. Given the current tendencies we believe that the Netherlands could really become the second largest investor in Ukraine’s economy to outrace Germany.
We welcome a growing interest of the Dutch companies to the Ukrainian market and the level of the Dutch investments in the Ukrainian economy. It is my pleasure to state that in 2012 we managed to overcome a $5 billion in the volume of the Dutch FDI in Ukraine’s economy. In this regard we welcome the presence at Ukraine’s market of such prominent Dutch companies as “Shell”, “ING”, “KLM”, “Philips”, “Unilever”.
Ukraine attaches great importance to the development of constructive and pragmatic dialogue with the Netherlands in all spheres of bilateral cooperation. We fully confirm our willingness to further develop mutually beneficial partnership and convergence of our friendly countries and peoples and count on continued active support by the Netherlands of Ukraine’s aspirations on its path to our common European home.
Hero Malala Yousafzai
By Peter Knoope.
Malala Yousafzai a hero in the West and how her impact was killed at home
On October the 12th CNN reported the impressive message of a 16 year old schoolgirl criticizing a world leader. She reflects the thoughts of many when The “Bravest Girl in the World” has stood up to President Barack Obama. Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old shot by the Taliban for promoting girl’s education in her native Pakistan, confronted Obama at the White House on Friday about U.S. drone strikes. Yousafzai challenged one of Obama’s premier counter-terrorism strategies saying, “I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact.” While expressing what many bystanders would feel as just, she may address and resonate with a different audience than she would have wanted. To what extent does she still reflect and speak for a constituency in her own country? While Malala gained fame in the West by addressing the UN in New York, by being honored with the Children’s Peace Prize for her work promoting education for girls in The Hague, by being nominated for the Nobel Peace prize and by criticizing the most powerful of world leaders, in the process she just may have lost her position, status and influence in her own homeland. The real question is what is her impact in Pakistan where it is most needed? We, here in the West, already agree with her work, promoting education for girls, promoting peace, fighting political violence and objecting to drones, because of its counter -productive impact and the killing of innocent people. She, just like us, would like to see education rather than drones. We agree. But the real question is what is the impact of what she says and does in Pakistan, what is her message for the Pakistani people and does that message reach her opponents?
If need be, let me be absolutely clear, I fully sympathize with everything that the young girl stands for. But anyone who is really concerned about what her message is and how that lands in the environment that tried to silence her in the most brutal way possible, should take a minute and check what is taking place in her country of origin. In Pakistan the debate about her is fierce. There are those that claim that the mere fact that a 16 year old was seriously considered for the honor of winning the Nobel Peace Prize is significant. Such global attention for a teenager would be cause for national celebration in almost any country of the world. But not in bitterly divided, conspiracy theory-prone Pakistan, because, as could have been expected, the Islamists in Pakistan and the hyper-nationalist Taliban claim that honoring a 16-year-old girl is part of a Western design to impose Western values on Islamic Pakistan. This led to some commentators exclaiming that the criticism from Malala’s Pakistani detractors highlighted the national malaise that young Malala has committed herself to fight!
While Malala is defended by some she is attacked on various fronts in Pakistan. Conspiracy theories about her in Pakistan abound, with one doctor claiming in the (Karachi based) Dawn newspaper that he has a DNA report proving she is not a Pashtun and not from Swat. Other outlets claim she is a CIA agent and one of the top five “most hated people in Pakistan”. Sherry Rehman, Jinnah Institute Executive President highlighted the vitriol she receives on both sides of the aisle. The right-wing Islamic militant who spews hatred on the internet, hates everything she stands for and for fighting back. While on the left, commentators resent her commodification by the West. The latter does not necessarily hate Malala, Rehman argues but, “[postmodern leftists] resent her identity as a poster child for resistance to coercion… because she has become a brand bigger than her authentic grassroots self.”
What all this shows us is that countering a narrative of violence and hate, promoting peace and human rights, in an environment that is heavily poisoned and in deep political turmoil, is a very complex issue. Countering such a narrative requires more than just enjoying hearing our own opinion reflected by a sympathetic individual. Malala and her side of the story may be right, but that is not enough. Being right is not the same as getting it right and requires more. Credibility is the other ingredient. And maybe she has lost some of her credibility by receiving the various Western accolades and being entertained by Western leaders and institutions. If that is the case we may have managed to save her life but kill her impact.
Counter-terrorism workshop
By Claudio Matera, Researcher T.M.C. Asser Instituut, Research Fellow International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) – The Hague
On 25 September, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and ICCT – The Hague in conjunction with the Club of Magistrates of Morocco convened a workshop on counter-terrorism legislation in Rabat, Morocco. The workshop was conducted alongside the MATRA South “Administration of Justice” trainings organised by the Asser Institute. Over 20 participants from the Moroccan justice sector participated in the event. The Asser Instituut, ICCT and the Club of Magistrates plan to continue their cooperation in the future to comprehensively address rule of law-related issues in an effective criminal justice sector response to terrorism.
The T.M.C. Asser Instituut is implementing the MATRA South Programme for Arab Countries – Supporting democratic transition in the Arab region on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period 2012-2014. This programme aims to stimulate and support the democratic transition in the Arab region and to strengthen relations between the Netherlands and the target countries by sharing the necessary knowledge and skills with policy advisors, members of the judiciary and other civil servants in order for them to lead and inspire the modernisation of the judicial systems in their home countries building from the Dutch experience. Following the first MATRA South trainings for participants from Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Jordan in the Netherlands, a follow-up workshop was delivered in late September in Morocco. The participants from Morocco requested the inclusion of a counter-terrorism session in the programme, which would address issues that are additional, but thematically related to the MATRA South training programme.
This half-day counter-terrorism workshop, organised by Asser and ICCT, addressed policy, legal and organisational issues relevant to the prevention and prosecution of terrorism cases in Morocco. Specifically, it focussed on new methods of using of evidence, terrorist financing, coordination of counter-terrorism related mechanisms, and the rights of the defence as well as victims. ICCT Director Peter Knoope and Research Fellow Claudio Matera coordinated the workshop.
Peter Knoope looked forward to the event, stating that: “this is a unique opportunity to continue the well-established corporation with Moroccan authorities in such an important segment of administering criminal justice: terrorism cases. The event provided a platform to discuss and identify the issues and needs of Moroccan participants in the criminal justice sector”.
This workshop was designed to discuss the main challenges that operators within the Moroccan legal system face whenever investigating, trying and defending individuals and organisations linked to terrorist cases. Moreover, the workshop was designed also with a view to gain input for an ensuing 4-day training programme, to take place in Rabat in the coming months.
It is intended that 4-day training programme would build on the issues identified during the event of 25 September, and combine local knowledge with international expertise to identify gaps in current legislation and practices, and draw conclusions for supporting and enhancing the Moroccan judicial and security system in the participants’ respective areas of work.
The Netherlands is in our agenda
By Dr. Luis Arias Núñez, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
We are very pleased to be invited by Diplomat Magazine, in our capacity as Head of Mission to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to present a paper in this prestigious journal, where we have the opportunity to address some policy issues with regard to our diplomatic mission in The Hague.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic dates back to 1857 when the two countries signed the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation . In 2005 the permanent diplomatic mission of the Dominican Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created with the sending of a Head of Mission with the rank of Ambassador.
In considering the meaning of the interest of the Dominican Republic in the link exchange for cooperation with the Netherlands, we must start with what the Netherlands represents in terms of economic potential, as well as its active role in shaping European Union’s policy and cooperation with developing countries. The Netherlands and the Dominican Republic agree to observe the same principles to achieve legal equality, human rights and the fulfilment of bilateral commitments.
Both countries share the same concerns in an effort to obtain an international order that is more secure stable and strengthened – the fight against crime , illicit trafficking of drugs and people , protection of the environment – and above all, share the same political values , ideological and moral, such as democracy and solidarity.
While trade and investment in the Netherlands are relatively limited for us, the Dominican Republic offers attractive opportunities to Dutch companies, among others, in the fields of energy, environment, water, agribusiness and tourism .
Our current relationship with the Netherlands is excellent. However, we are in the process of coordinating regular business missions to the Dominican Republic to enhance foreign direct investments and bilateral trade programmes.
Cooperation in multilateral forums is also an important matter to take into account in the bilateral agenda. Sharing similar purposes and values is an important asset in achieving our goals.
The future of commercial diplomacy
By Dr. Huub Ruël, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences – Zwolle.
The future of commercial diplomacy in shifting global economy.
Advanced economies as well as emerging economies have placed commercial diplomacy high on their foreign policy agenda. Commercial diplomacy concerns the use of the networks of government and business representatives to support home country international business via the use of diplomatic channels and means. Embassies are key players in the execution of commercial diplomacy.
For many advanced economies, promoting home country business abroad, opening foreign markets for national business, and attracting foreign investments, is an important route to regain economic growth. Especially in a global economy with a shifting power balance, and emerging economies showing more and more economic self-confidence. Within this context it is interesting to know how the future of commercial diplomacy may look like?
We conducted a study aiming to picture future developments in commercial diplomacy. A group of thirteen commercial diplomats from 10 different countries, Argentina, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, United States, Canada, Mexico, and The Netherlands, all based in Canada, were interviewed in two rounds on the future of commercial diplomacy. The first round concerned open questions on expected developments regarding commercial diplomacy actors and activities. In the second round, the experts completed a questionnaire, in which they rated the developments mentioned in the first round with the use of a 5-point Likert scale.
The results showed that commercial diplomats interviewed expect that 1. actors will have to work faster, more professionally and efficiently in the future; 2. prominent political figures will be heading trade missions more often; 3. locally hired staff will substitute for diplomats more; 4. foreign ministers’ interest in commercial diplomacy will increase further; 5. Asia will become increasingly important as a region of interest for actors.
Concerning the activities of commercial diplomacy, the respondents expect that 1. commercial diplomacy will have a more central role in diplomatic policy and practice; 2. higher service levels will be expected if there are fees for the services; 3. commercial benefit will become a necessity of all embassy-wide activities; 4. Asia is becoming more important as a region of interest for activities; 5. the recession will lead to assigning priority to commercial diplomacy as a specific form of diplomacy.
The results provide indications for foreign policy makers in advanced economies as well as emerging economies.