12 October 2023
THE DILEMMA OF PROPAGANDA AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Propaganda, by its nature, aims to make the targeted individuals, societies and groups obedient and harmonious. Thus, the target will be made harmless, controllable and able to serve the interests of the person using the propaganda. In other words, public opinion will be created through propaganda and the targeted society will be shaped to serve the interests of the person applying the propaganda.
Nowadays, states, taking advantage of the rapid development of communication technology, carry out influence operations against countries they have determined as friends or enemies in line with their national interests. Propaganda is another name for disinformation in these operations. In particular, gray and black propaganda methods mixed with lies harm the relations between nations.
According to academic Jacques Ellul (1912-1944),* who served as a French resister against the occupation during the Second World War, public relations should also be considered within the scope of propaganda (Ellul, 2021:11). Is it possible to put forward the same view for public diplomacy? At this point, it should be said that we are actually faced with a dilemma. Undoubtedly, there are some discourses that feel like propaganda among public diplomacy activities. However, public diplomacy, by its nature, aims to better understand each other between different parties and to achieve good relations through a dialogical relationship. It is not right to reconcile public diplomacy with propaganda, which involves directing its addressees in line with their interests through deceptive methods and inaccurate statements. In fact, it should not be forgotten that the effect of propaganda is decreasing due to the increasing speed of global communication.
*Jacques Ellul (2021), Propaganda. Aus dem Französischen von Christian Driesen. Wie die öffentliche Meinung entsteht und geformt wird. Westend Verlag. Frankfurt a. Main.
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