Public Diplomacy through an Integrated Cultural-Economic Model and Bourdieu Theoretical Lens: A Case Study of Sister Cities International
Datum
2022-05-10
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University of Oregon
Zusammenfassung
This dissertation explores how the cultural-economic model (CEM) of public relations practice informs public diplomacy practice by focusing on the model’s three “moments”: regulation (e.g., laws, cultural norms), production (conditions surrounding how practices are enacted), and representation (how practices are created and packaged for campaign use). In addition, this dissertation also explores how Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice extends the cultural-economic model of public relations. Based on interviews with organizational members of Sister City International, this dissertation indicates that critical-cultural and postmodern perspectives better inform Sister Cities International’s public diplomacy efforts than do functionalist perspectives, which do not consider larger structural factors as well as agency. Thus, this dissertation not only contributes to the development of robust international public relations theory that informs practice but also contributes to theory building in the public diplomacy field.By using the CEM, the dissertation privileges the roles played by culture and other regulatory forces and the contributions of active audiences. It also removes the West as the dominant reference point in examining the relationships formed within the Sister City relationships. Moreover, this dissertation extends the CEM through Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice by indicating the role of social capital and economic capital in Sister City International’s public diplomacy efforts.