Inducing Cosmopolitan Dialogue in the 21st Century: The Role of Web 2.0, Ideals and Practices of the New Public Diplomacy In the Case of the U.S. Mission to Denmark

Abstract: In carrying out foreign policy in the 21st century, it is indispensable for a global force such as the United States to focus on decisions made by the civil society. Particularly, by implementing foreign policy that balances between hard power and soft power diplomacy, the practices of the new public diplomacy enable nation-states to interact with the public culturally and personally by encouraging and facilitating participation in the global dialogue. The objective of this research paper is to analyze the ideals and practices of the new public diplomacy with the specific context of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, in its specific program that focuses on youth and the marginalized community. Particularly by using elite interviewing method, the findings of this research aim to present understanding about U.S. public diplomacy practices based on its policy and theoretical concepts such as the public sphere, cosmopolitan citizenship, mediapolis, deliberative democracy, participation, and the architecture of the web 2.0. Since the 21st Century Statecraft policy of the U.S. Department of State is implemented in the use of social media in its public diplomacy capacity, multi-site web analysis method is used to understand the levels of participation that take place on social media platforms and how the infrastructures impact the participation of the public. Furthermore, findings of this research also incorporate Dahlgren’s concept of the civic culture where the integrity of the circuit could indicate successful practices in developing an environment that is conducive for deliberative decision-making at the cosmopolitan level. Ultimately, considering that the focus of the new public diplomacy is inducing free participation of the global civil society, this research also discusses the underlying structural power relations between the state, society, and individuals.