Contributions from the global network

In a move that could reshape the landscape of public diplomacy research and practice, the United States Department of State is taking steps to establish Federally Funded Research and Development Centres (FFRDCs) dedicated to supporting diplomatic practice and modernisation. This development, which marks a significant shift towards public-private research collaboration in US diplomacy, offers valuable insights for the UK and the broader community of public and cultural diplomacy researchers and practitioners.

In an increasingly complex and volatile global landscape, how are countries adapting their soft power strategies? Our latest research at ICR Research Ltd offers some intriguing insights.

In this blog, ICR Research network member Dr. Natalia Grincheva described the innovative approach to measuring the impact of South Korea’s Hallyu she has been working on for the Korea Foundation. This cutting-edge research is of interest to all involved in Digital and Public Diplomacy, and in Soft Power.

Image: Visualization (c) Natalia Grincheva | Data To Power application (c) Victoria Software

As we face complex challenges like geopolitical instability, the ongoing effects of the global pandemic, and the looming threat of climate change, policymakers need sound, evidence-based advice more than ever.

The notion of soft power, as originally conceived by Joseph Nye in the 1990s, is under scrutiny. At ICR Research we do both commissioned research and we contribute as far as we can to academic publications.

Image: Portrait of DoD Dr. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs. (U.S. Army photo by Mr. Scott Davis) (Released) (PC-192361)

Our new report for the British Council Soft Power at a Turning Point, dives into how countries are adapting to the world becoming more complex and competitive, with countries starting to rethink their sort power strategies.

Image attribution: Karl Schultz, Soft Power. Shared under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The first Knowledge Diplomacy Conference took place in Paris.

The first question I was ever asked by an academic about cultural relations was: “is international cultural relations a normative proposition?” In the last few days, I have been playing around with GPT4 and BingAI, to see what they would come up with, and to start to assess what the impact of these new AIs would be for a research consultancy such as ICR Research.

COP 27 raises many questions. Does COP work? Does it make any difference at all to global decision making? Does Cultural Relations have any role at all to play?