Research Article

Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century

Volume: 7 Number: 1 July 4, 2024
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Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century

Abstract

The attacks of 11 September 2001 led to a significant shift in the importance placed by the United States on the region of the Middle East in its overall foreign policy. The United States intervened in Afghanistan and Iraq in the wake of the attacks, and the resulting policies negatively impacted its image more than ever before. While combating terrorism, the United States also sought to engage with the people of the Middle East in order to promote democracy within the region. In addition, public diplomacy has emerged as an effective method for democracy promotion, with the objective of reaching the people of the region through the use of new communication channels. Some theories view this approach as a logical choice. However, in the first years of the 21st century, the image of the United States continued to be negative among the peoples of the region. The article discusses the role of public diplomacy as an important tool for democracy promotion and attempts to explain why the American image in the Middle East has not improved through this approach alone. To this end, it first defines the concept of democracy promotion and then analyses the potential role of public diplomacy in this context. Finally, it analyses the US public diplomacy efforts until 2005 and discusses the effectiveness of these strategies.

Keywords

References

  1. Alexander, C. R. (2021). Hegemony, Morality and Power: A Gramscian Theoretical Framework for Public Diplomacy. In The Frontiers of Public Diplomacy (9-24). Routledge.
  2. Amr, H. (2004). The need to communicate: How to improve US public diplomacy with the Islamic world. Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/amr20040101.pdf.
  3. Bieler, A., and Morton, A. D. (2004), ‘A critical theory route to hegemony, world order and historical change: neo-Gramscian perspectives in International Relations’, Capital & Class, 28 (1), 85-113.
  4. Bozdağlıoğlu, Y. (2003), Turkish Foreign Policy and Turkish Identity: a Constructivist Approach, New York; London: Routledge.
  5. Brooks, R. (2012), ‘Democracy Promotion: Done Right, A Progressive Cause’, Democracy, (Winter 2012), 18-25. Cox, R.W. (1983), ‘Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method’, Millennium- Journal of International Studies, 12 (2), 162-175.
  6. Cull, N. J. (2008). Public diplomacy: Taxonomies and histories. The annals of the American academy of political and social science, 616(1), 31-54.
  7. Dalacoura, K. (2005), ‘US Democracy Promotion in the Arab Middle East since 11 September 2001: a Critique’, International Affairs, 81 (5), 963-979.
  8. Dutta-Bergman, M.J. (2006), ‘U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East: A Critical Cultural Approach’, Journal of Communication Inquiry, 30 (2), 102-124.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

American Studies, Middle East Studies, International Relations Theories

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

June 30, 2024

Publication Date

July 4, 2024

Submission Date

June 9, 2024

Acceptance Date

June 24, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2024 Volume: 7 Number: 1

APA
Yukaruç, U. (2024). Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century. Uluslararası İlişkiler Ve Diplomasi, 7(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.51763/uid.1498429
AMA
1.Yukaruç U. Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century. Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi. 2024;7(1):53-69. doi:10.51763/uid.1498429
Chicago
Yukaruç, Umut. 2024. “Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate With the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century”. Uluslararası İlişkiler Ve Diplomasi 7 (1): 53-69. https://doi.org/10.51763/uid.1498429.
EndNote
Yukaruç U (July 1, 2024) Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century. Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi 7 1 53–69.
IEEE
[1]U. Yukaruç, “Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century”, Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 53–69, July 2024, doi: 10.51763/uid.1498429.
ISNAD
Yukaruç, Umut. “Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate With the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century”. Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi 7/1 (July 1, 2024): 53-69. https://doi.org/10.51763/uid.1498429.
JAMA
1.Yukaruç U. Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century. Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi. 2024;7:53–69.
MLA
Yukaruç, Umut. “Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate With the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century”. Uluslararası İlişkiler Ve Diplomasi, vol. 7, no. 1, July 2024, pp. 53-69, doi:10.51763/uid.1498429.
Vancouver
1.Umut Yukaruç. Democracy Promotion and Public Diplomacy: US Efforts to Communicate with the Peoples of the Middle East in the Early Years of the 21st Century. Uluslararası İlişkiler ve Diplomasi. 2024 Jul. 1;7(1):53-69. doi:10.51763/uid.1498429