ABSTRACT
Public diplomacy (PD) commonly refers to efforts by nation states to engage, inform and influence foreign publics in service of foreign policy goals. The relationship between public diplomacy, the media and human rights is complex and multifaceted. This chapter explores the theory and practice surrounding PD and human rights. It shows how the media activities of advocacy organizations have complicated human rights PD. The chapter then examines the evolution of PD surrounding freedom of expression and communicative rights. Public diplomacy, strategic communication, global engagement or propaganda, depending upon your preferred moniker, is an ever increasing part of international diplomacy. Every new advancement in communication technologies, from parchment, to the telegraph, to social media, has propelled changes in the conduct of diplomacy, particularly public diplomacy. For nation states and scholars of international communication alike, the critical and perhaps distinct feature of new and old media is that communication resources play a dual role.
