Presented by: Dr Valerie Cooper

Global governments are increasingly making use of public diplomacy, or direct communication from one government to a foreign public, to promote their interests abroad. While theories and practices of public diplomacy have progressed greatly since the term was first used in the 1960s some aspects of public diplomacy have changed little over this time.

Using discourse analysis of China Radio International and Voice of America broadcasts, this seminar introduces research on how traditional Cold War ideologies continue to be promoted to developing nations in similar but more subtle ways than in the past. This analysis also reveals how China and the USA want to be seen by foreign publics – and how blatantly they disregard many of those publics at the same time – in what appears to be 21st century propaganda campaigns.

Biography:

Valerie Cooper is a lecturer in Media and Communication at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.  She holds a PhD in Communication from Hong Kong Baptist University, where she analysed public diplomacy efforts from global superpowers to the African continent. Her research focuses on international power dynamics in communication, including communication for development, media representations and public diplomacy via media.