Towards a theory of influence for twenty-first century foreign policy: The new public diplomacy in a globalized world
Global issues are diffuse and rest on the decisions and behaviour of millions, if not billions, of people. Governments must respond by changing the way they practise diplomacy, offer development assistance and deploy force. This means making the new public diplomacy a core foreign policy tool. For any issue, there will typically be three goals. The first is to build shared awareness, a common understanding of an issue around which networks of state and non-state actors can coalesce. With that in place, a shared platform can be built to campaign for change. The end point is a shared operating system: a framework for a collective response to a joint problem. These goals can be pursued through distinct public diplomacy strategies that sit on a continuum that runs from consensual and open at the one end to covert and controlling at the other. Together, these strategies form the kernel of a theory of influence for twenty-first-century diplomacy.
Strategic Narratives in US Public Diplomacy: A Critical Geopolitics
The United States has historically held a unique, complex, and dynamic relationship to international geopolitical space. From the Monroe Doctrine to Cold War demarcations such as containment and détente, the United States has sought to define its geopolitical position in relation to other nations through narratives which have served as popular reference points for interpreting shifts in international power relations. Why, then, is it unable to produce a compelling story of geopolitical space for the 21st century? This article examines historical examples of geopolitical discourse used by the United States in promoting its foreign policies in order to explore the question of why post-9/11 narratives have failed to successfully build upon narratives of popular struggle against the Soviet Union. There are, however, historical examples which suggest possible directions for rejuvenation.
Health-care practices of the rural aged.
1. One of the primary concerns of the rural aged is the maintenance of their physical health so that they may function independently and remain in their own homes. 2. The findings of this study indicate that most older rural adults do not regularly have positive health-care practices. This may be due to the unavailability of health-care providers or health promotion programs in isolated rural areas. 3. Implications of this study include the need to make health promotion programs relevant to the concerns of the rural aged rather than those of the urban elderly.