A Assessment of the Practices and Challenges of Public Diplomacy Reciprocated between Ethiopia and Eritrea

Abstract

Over the last few years, public diplomacy has become a conduit of transformation in the international relations. As states are competing on every front, public diplomacy is helping them build and project their nation’s soft power, viz. attractiveness and persuasiveness. In the same fashion, many countries have engaged in public diplomacy to promote their country’s unique national identity. They are striving to leverage the unprecedented opportunities public diplomacy presents and address the challenges it poses to create, project and evaluate their country’s national interest. Against this backdrop, this paper argues that the capacity of both states on bargaining of public diplomacy for future development. Public diplomacy has severely hampered the two states’ branding endeavour. By employing the qualitative research approach this study has tried to address the problem stated to assess the public diplomacy that plays vital role in building the image and reputation. This study also identifies both internal and external challenges between the lingering contradictions between TPLF and EPLF, the absence of a clear agreement between EPP and OLF at moment. Furthermore, the finding of this research attested that the natures of Eritrean government that never allow the presence of free press and high censorship of media and restriction on human rights are hindering the efficiency of public diplomacy to practice in full range in Eritrea. Considering these challenges and predicating on the literature available on the role of public diplomacy in citizen-to-citizen diplomacy. If not transformed to be more open and dialogue-driven, it is ill-suited to the proper articulation and projection of both.