The Soft Approach

Public diplomacy is a relatively new tool in foreign relations and the United States was late to the table when it came to using it. This thesis aims to investigate the public diplomacy tools deployed by the Bush administration during the War on Terror. Through performing a critical discourse analysis and focussing on Afghanistan and Iraq specifically, it answers the questions: What were the core objectives for the Bush Administration to start and continue the War on Terror? How were tools of public diplomacy deployed to reach these objectives? And which values were the most prevalent in this? It was found that the core objectives for the War on Terror were self-defense and the protection and promotion of human rights. In order to reach these objectives, the Bush administration used speeches and educational programs as a tool to spread their message abroad. Moreover, the values that drove the public diplomacy campaign were democracy and freedom, which have both been at the core of...Show morePublic diplomacy is a relatively new tool in foreign relations and the United States was late to the table when it came to using it. This thesis aims to investigate the public diplomacy tools deployed by the Bush administration during the War on Terror. Through performing a critical discourse analysis and focussing on Afghanistan and Iraq specifically, it answers the questions: What were the core objectives for the Bush Administration to start and continue the War on Terror? How were tools of public diplomacy deployed to reach these objectives? And which values were the most prevalent in this? It was found that the core objectives for the War on Terror were self-defense and the protection and promotion of human rights. In order to reach these objectives, the Bush administration used speeches and educational programs as a tool to spread their message abroad. Moreover, the values that drove the public diplomacy campaign were democracy and freedom, which have both been at the core of American society for centuries. Further research on the topic should focus on the reception of the tools by the Arab population and determine the effectiveness of public diplomacy by the Bush administration.Show less

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The Soft Approach