21 February 2025
Public Diplomacy in the Academic Curriculum
Today, public diplomacy is rapidly transforming from a practice-oriented field to a scientific discipline with a focus on international relations. However, public diplomacy gains its real importance with its interdisciplinary character. It has close ties with a wide range of scientific disciplines from anthropology to sociology, social psychology, communication science, history, political science and cultural studies, geopolitics and economic relations. It would be surprising if such a multidimensional and multidisciplinary field is considered only within the framework of practices and does not find a scientific place in university curricula. Public diplomacy courses are included in the faculties of political science, international relations and communication sciences at universities around the world. Moreover, it is observed that public diplomacy is attracting more and more attention in postgraduate programmes. This situation is no different in Turkey. In recent years, beyond undergraduate courses, a large number of master's and doctoral theses have been written. This is considered to be an important advantage for Turkey's developing public diplomacy.
As a result, it can be assumed that in the near future, public diplomacy will no longer be a sub-discipline of international relations or communication sciences, but will have a unique theoretical background. In particular, it can be expected to become a field of its own in relation to conflict resolution and peace research in the world.
Latest articles
Public Diplomacy or Lobbying?
02 October 2025
The relatively new concept of public diplomacy is often used interchangeably with lobbying. However, lobbying has emerged particularly in the context of negative propaganda faced by Turkey in Western countries and has stood out as a method carried out through private commercial organizations operating in the United States for this very purpose. Yet, it is difficult to argue that this method has made a significant contribution to improving Turkey’s image in the past.
In contrast, public diplomacy is an approach that aims to provide civilian contributions to a country’s foreign policy objectives. In this sense, civilian support encompasses activities carried out not by state diplomacy, but by civil society organizations, academia, opinion leaders, or prominent figures of society. For instance, activities conducted through official lobbying lists in the U.S. Congress or the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) should not be confused with today’s dialogue-based modern public diplomacy. When evaluated in all its sub-fields, public diplomacy offers opportunities far beyond the narrow framework of lobbying, providing much broader and virtually unlimited possibilities.
Therefore, benefiting from the opportunities of public diplomacy in diverse fields such as culture, arts, science, sports, politics, economy, trade, humanitarian aid, and diaspora diplomacy to build, reshape, and reinforce a nation’s image is far more effective and beneficial than the limited lobbying efforts conducted through commercial entities.
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The Traitorous Coup Attempt of 15 July and Turkish Public Diplomacy
16 July 2025
In this special issue, on the ninth anniversary of the treacherous coup attempt on 15 July 2016, Turkey's fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ) is discussed within the framework of public diplomacy.
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