Digital Diplomacy – 21st Century Statecraft and Australia

ASPI-UNISYS Defence and Security Luncheons 09 November, 2010
Prakash Mirchandani

What does it say about modern public diplomacy when a foreign Government enables the internet to spread pictures of protest and crackdowns in Iran? When a single tweet message brings hundreds of thousands onto rooftops to shout out “Allah O Akbar”? When secret videos out of Myanmar provoke the junta to describe satellite television as “a skyful of lies”? When, without boots on the ground, a recent poll showed that ordinary Afghans view India more positively than any other country? These topics, along with suggested ways ahead, were explored at this ASPI-Unisys Defence and Security Luncheon.

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EXCERPTS

What appears to be happening in India and China underscores the Al Jazeera model as pointing to the future of media-transmitted soft power. Al Jazeera exercises soft power because Arabs in the region and around the world are hooked on to it for what it offers: controversial and candid views on the burning issues of the day and the breaking of taboos on what should be discussed.

The ‘trustworthiness’ of India in global eyes lies in its being a reliable country to outsource to— for call-centres, software-code development and recruitment of Western journalists in its media. An increasing interest in public diplomacy and a looseness in its economic development which allows new entrepreneurs to engage in new business, rather than have established monoliths swallow new businesses as happens in the West, are further attractions.


Let’s consider where India is heading. Even without a formal public diplomacy policy, a recent poll conducted for Western broadcasters by the Afghan Centre for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research showed that ordinary Afghans view India more positively than any other country. A large part of this attitude could well stem from what happens at 8:00 pm every night in Kabul,when the city stops to watch a Hindi soap opera. And India has expanded this soft power through the three pillars of Bollywood, cricket and mass media. Magazines like Vogue, Rolling Stone, Hello, People, Housekeeping and Marie Clare have Indian editions while Conde Nast publications has set up an Indian office to write its own titles. In 2008, the Times of India group acquired Britain’s Virgin Radio in the first such overseas acquisition by an Indian media
corporation