ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 discusses two primary case studies of this research. The first one is cultural diplomacy, the most visible component of public diplomacy (PD) with a national strategy approved by the party-state. It shows that cultural diplomacy is at the centre of Vietnam’s PD, with Vietnamese culture being considered Vietnam’s biggest soft power asset. Cultural diplomacy is arguably the most efficacious means to make the most of citizen participation to promote Vietnam’s national image actively. The second case study discusses PD efforts in relation to the South China Sea disputes. Many PD activities have been conducted by Vietnam for the sake of crisis management. Notwithstanding the effectiveness, in the context of national security and other interests, PD has been used to drum up support both internationally and domestically. For both case studies, the state can reinforce its performance legitimacy by playing to public sentiment.
