Past Events – Page 2 – The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

April 5, 2023July 12, 2023

Soft Power through Museum Diplomacy

April 5, 2023, 1 – 2pm EST…

Visiting Scholar Dr. Tran Khang from University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Soft Power through Museum Diplomacy: The case study of Vietnam, USA and Japan in telling the story of wars.

Abstract: Soft power, according to Professor Joseph Nye (Harvard University), is the ability to get what you want by shaping the preferences of others through attractiveness and charisma. In contrast to the coercive nature of hard power, soft power focuses on persuading or telling compelling stories that make countries attractive to the world. Thus, soft power is the ability to use attraction and persuasion to achieve desired goals, with resources coming from cultural characteristics, political ideals, and foreign policy. Using the concept of soft power as a theoretical research orientation, the study analyzes the case studies of Vietnam, USA and Japan in achieving soft power through Museum diplomacy. Museum diplomacy is a way in which countries, through the display of historical artifacts in museums, introduce and promote the images and values of their national identity and culture to the international public. The three museums selected for the talk are the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C, USA; and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima, Japan which are the outstanding museums about war and the violent past. Although the three museums are symbols of hard power and war trauma, but through effective storytelling, they have helped to increase the soft power and improve the sympathy for the three countries in international public.

Please join us for the presentation and discussion.

Event Details
Date: April 5, 2023; 1 – 2pm EST
Venue: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, 1957 E St NW,, Washington, D.C. 20052.

Lunch will be provided.

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April 4, 2023April 11, 2023

Narrating peace in Ukraine-Russia

April 4, 2023; 11:30am-12:30pm [note time change]

The Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication (IPDGC) is pleased to host Visiting Scholar Ben O’Loughlin from Royal Holloway, University of London.

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Ben will present his paper on Narrating peace in Ukraine-Russia: The presence of peace journalism in international news reporting.

Abstract: The war in Ukraine will end, and a settlement will have to be reached. How is this imagined, if at all? Does news media get close to the peace journalism prioritization of negotiated peace and stability, or remain focused on an end point: victory? This paper asks how peace was framed during the first year of the Russia-Ukraine war by conducting media content analysis regarding peace by the leading news sources of the combatant countries (Russia and Ukraine), Western countries that supported Ukraine (US, UK, France, Germany, and New Zealand) and a number of countries that took a more neutral position towards the war (India, South African and Malaysia). It attempts to understand how the narration of peace changed over the first year of the war, what factors and events contributed to these changes, and potential differences in these changes in each country. Finally, the paper examines the framing of the war from a peace journalism angle, which seeks to reframe traditional war reporting by focusing on non-violence (vs violence), the voice of ordinary people (vs elites), truth (vs propaganda) and solutions (vs victory framing). It considers whether peace journalism can contribute in any meaningful way towards finding common ground between the combatants and different actors observing the war, or offer a different narrative altogether that could serve as common ground for resolving the conflict. At the same time, we consider some of the potential pitfalls and limitations of peace journalism in covering such a highly contentious conflict marked by international aggression, war crimes, and disinformation.

Please join us for the presentation and discussion.

Event Details
Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023; 11:30am-12:30pm ET
Venue: Room 429, School of Media and Public Affairs, 21st Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20052.

Refreshments will be provided.

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March 30, 2023July 25, 2023

Korean Public Diplomacy and Peace Building in Northeast Asia

Thursday, April 27, 2023, 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET

Dr. Seung-Keun Lee is a professor in the Political Science Department at Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea and a Visiting Scholar at IPDGC.

The event will be hosted at the GW Institute for Korean Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

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Abstract: In Northeast Asia, no region-wide security regime was created, mainly due to the diverse histories, cultural roots and the peculiar local patterns of rivalry and enmity among the four regional Powers – the United States, China, Japan and Russia. Northeast Asia still contains possible causes of disputes such as the Korean Peninsula issue, China-U.S. conflicts in many fields, etc. Public Diplomacy – as a practice of foreign policy amid the changes of global diplomatic paradigms will be an answer to build peace especially in Northeast Asia which is the battleground of major powers. Facing uncertainty of its security, South Korea as a middle power has performed its public diplomacy to build international support for sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia by sharing its history, traditions, culture, arts, values, etc. with foreign nationals. At this talk, Dr. Lee will attempt to forecast the kind of diplomatic relations that should be enhanced by South Korea to build peace in Northeast Asia, especially through its public diplomacy.

Thursday, April 27, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET

Suite 503, Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, GW Institute for Korean Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St NW , Washington, DC 20052

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March 21, 2023March 22, 2023

On Strategic Ontologies

Visiting Scholar Ben O’Loughlin spoke on

On Strategic Ontologies: Narrative and Meso-Level Theorizing in International Politics

Tuesday, March 21st 2023, 12-1 pm | Room 505, 1957 E St

About the Speaker
Ben O’Loughlin is a Visiting Scholar hosted by the Elliott School Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, from the University of London. He is a Professor of International Relations at Royal Holloway and the Director of the New Political Communication Unit. His research focuses on the role of communication and technology in which power and influence operate.

About the Talk
In his recent paper titled Strategic Ontologies: Narrative and Meso-Level Theorizing in International Politics, Dr. O’Loughlin offers a new theory of incremental theoretical evolution that connects the practice of international politics with disciplinary IR. This research theorizes how international political actors participating in tactical local decision-making influence scientific ontologies in the global system subtly. Recognizing ontology strategies opens a path for IR scholars to better appreciate practitioners’ theoretical contributions, bridging the gap between the academy and policymaking in new dynamic ways.

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March 9, 2023April 23, 2024

VIDEO: Celebrating International Women of Courage. A GW Conversation

By Yvonne Oh, IPDGC Program Coordinator

During Women’s History Month, the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs is honoring and celebrating exceptional women from around the world who have showed fortitude and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and much more.

In partnership with GW’s Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs and GW’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, the Elliott School hosted a panel discussion March 10^th with the U.S. Secretary of State’s 2023 International Women of Courage Awardees.

The Secretary of State’s IWOC Award honors women who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in acting to improve the lives of others. It is an extraordinary opportunity to bring international attention and support to women who have put their lives and/or personal safety at risk to improve their communities. The IWOC awardees will be announced March 8^th in a live streamed ceremony with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden.

WHO:

Hosted by: Shirley Graham, director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs and Dr. Mary Ellsburg, founding director of the Global Women’s Institute
Moderated by: Elliott School students Beatriz Silva de Almeida Barros, Maya Nair, and Alka Pant
Awardees of the 2023 International Women of Courage

March 8, 2023March 8, 2023

VIDEO: Capturing The Legacy Of Public Diplomacy. ADST’s Oral History Program

The first installment of the First Monday Forum…

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training’s Oral History Program.

Speakers
Susan Rockwell Johnson, President of ADST; Donald M. Bishop, holder of the Donald Bren Chair of Strategic Communications at the Marine Corps University and President Emeritus of the Public Diplomacy Council; and Judith R. Baroody, former Executive Director of ADST, will discuss the oral history program and its relevance for Public Diplomacy.

https://youtu.be/8c2dQH8sBS4

12 PM EST
March 6, 2023

Lindner Family Commons Room 602.
the Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St NW, Washington, DC,

The event is part of THE FIRST MONDAY FORUM series, a collaboration between IPDGC, The Public Diplomacy Council of America and the USC Annenberg Center for Communication, Leadership, and Policy. .

Additional information is available here