This research aims to establish public diplomacy models and policies towards Africa.With the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African region has rapidly ascended as an emerging region of the 21st century and has beco ...
This research aims to establish public diplomacy models and policies towards Africa.With the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African region has rapidly ascended as an emerging region of the 21st century and has become a target region for investment and diplomacy around the world, however it is still in its basic stage within the framework of South Korea's public diplomacy policies and research. The main purpose of this research project is to establish foundation information targeting and approaching African public diplomacy and implementation strategies through organic and in-depth research at the national and local levels of the research target countries. In this connection, the final purpose of research is to produce and provide academic and practical information that can contribute to policy establishment. It aims to overcome the limitations of foreign policy towards Africa, which is fragmented and oriented on short-term performance, and to establish a sustainable Korean type public diplomacy policy model towards Africa that corresponds to local environment and situation in Africa. The new diplomatic approach towards Africa is explained with important practical needs such as diversification of energy resource paths for Korea as a country with least natural resources to secure basic resources for the value-added industry and reinforcing collective power through strengthening relations with Africa.This research project corresponds to the normative proposition that "the beginning and end of public diplomacy are groups of inmates from other countries, and public diplomacy should directly or indirectly support projects and activities carried out by citizens/residents of the research country". Based on above mentioned, this research aims to maximize the effectiveness of sustainable public diplomacy projects based on the subjectivity and proactiveness of local residents by establishing a public diplomacy model that corresponds to the locality of the research countries. This research consists of two stages: first stage (2018-2021) “A Macro, Medium and Micro Analysis of National Characteristics and Policy Implications” and second stage (2021-2024) “An Analysis of Locality and Development of Public Diplomacy Network Platforms in research countries” and in-depth research is conducted step by step.
First stage focuses on research of national characteristics, and pursues a macro, medium, and micro-approaches from the perspective of public diplomacy. Through this, it identifies the historical change process, current characteristics, and future development prospects of important institutional, structural, and subjective characteristics and variables of the research country in the areas of political society, economy, and culture. For Africans, in order for South Korea to be effectively involved in the target country, it is necessary to organically grasp current, spatiotemporal characteristics leading to the future, major institutions and structures, actors' activities, subjectivity, and national strategies of the target country and local residents.This research accommodates both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative research methods include surveys and in-depth interviews with local residents of the target country, as well as the leaders in political, social and economic areas, for archive research, supplementation and update of local data. Quantitative methods aim to analyze international organizations such as the OECD and the IMF, data provided by public institutions and research institutes in Europe and the United States, local African organizations such as AfDB and AU, and information provided by African countries in order to conduct national foundation research and research related to urban categorization at the local level.
The research was largely conducted within two preceding tasks and four focus tasks, with the following results. Within the framework of preceding tasks, statistical analysis and categorization grouping of 55 African countries were conducted, whereas three countries (Nigeria, Algeria, and Tanzania) with significant political, economic, cultural, and diplomatic ties with Korea were selected from Northern, Western and Eastern parts of Africa. Moreover, through additional preceding tasks, the cases of public diplomacy in advanced countries such as the United States, Europe (UK, France), China, Japan and Korea were studied, compared and analyzed in time series to derive implications for the current status, approach, and development direction of Korean public diplomacy. In this process, it was confirmed that Korea's public diplomacy towards Africa was not only relatively small and insufficient in size, but also showed a tendency to focus on cultural public diplomacy represented by the Korean Wave (Hallyu). In this sense, it was suggested that a new direction needs to be established in terms of public diplomacy towards Africa with regards to the positive and negative features of specialized diplomacy of British social enterprises, cultural diplomacy of France, and economic diplomacy of China.Through the four key tasks, the political, social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the research target countries were analyzed respectively. Finally, a SWOT analysis model was constructed to synthesize, put together and reconstruct the data collected, analyzed, and produced in the economic, political, social, and cultural areas in the short, medium, long-term, structural, and subjective contexts to derive policy implications for public diplomacy. Target countries of research could be evaluated as having a basic public diplomatic environment in terms of local government autonomy, participation of civil society in political and economic areas, and the potential of the tourism industry based on culture and natural environment. Whereas the results of evaluations can be divided into four categories.
First, it was confirmed that the decentralization of the research target countries in the field of political society was insufficient, but the autonomy of local governments was systematically guaranteed. However, securing financial independence deems to be a major issue in establishing decentralization.
The research target countries demonstrated the foundation for such activities of civil society as political demands arising from the establishment of the election system. Second, in the economic area, it was confirmed that the research target countries systematically support market autonomy and participation of ordinary citizens in the market activities in order to establish a social solidarity economic system. In order to promote market transitions, Algeria supports free-market economic system and civil society participation, by means of the promotion of market stabilization policies. It is also worth noting that microcredit (unofficial finance) is being institutionalized and social solidarity and economic system is being established. Third, in the cultural area, it was examined that all research countries have cultural characteristics that combine tribal and religious cultural elements, and that support for related infrastructure development and industrial revitalization on the government level is increasing. Moreover, it is of particular interest that ethnic and religious cultures are well preserved and along with the natural environment can be used as resources for tourism advancement. Finally, through SWOT analysis conducted based on these research findings, socioeconomic stability, political and social inclusion, cultural cohesion, and social capabilities, it was possible to comprehensively present the possibilities and limitations of development of each target country. In addition it provided information foundation for establishing public diplomatic access strategies and policies for each country.
Based on the results of the first phase of the study, the second phase of the research shall present a public diplomatic networking platform model while establishing and applying a practical public diplomatic business model to the actual local society and its residents. Using various statistical indicators, we intend to establish a theoretical and practical platform by selecting key research cities with optimal conditions for public diplomacy and producing highly utilized knowledge through in-depth research and empirical surveys (survey, interview with ordinary citizens, focus group interview and etc.).Shall the purpose of this study be sufficiently achieved, it is expected that the proactivity, subjectivity, and participation of local residents can be promoted while sufficiently considering specificity and uniqueness at the local level. With the reference to the response of local residents, it is expected to increase the practical effectiveness of public diplomacy and at the same time establish a "sustainable" Korean type public diplomacy business model.