The Nigeria Media and international diplomacy

What is international diplomacy?

Diplomacy is the means by which the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples are influenced through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war or violence (Britannica)

International Diplomacy is a process of communication with foreign publics in order to bring about understanding for one’s nation, its institutions and culture, as well as its national goals and current policies.

Diplomacy is most importantly used to complete a specific agenda. Therefore without diplomacy, much of the world’s affairs would be abolished, international organizations would not exist, and above all the world would be at a constant state of war. It is for diplomacy that certain countries can exist in harmony.

However, for Russian General and military theorist, Carl von Clausewitz, war is merely an extension of diplomacy by other means, another tool in the political game.

For him, the objectives of war are always political objectives, and that war must always be subservient to politics. In other words, wars should not be fought for their own sake, but only as an extension of politics.

Diplomacy entails many aspects; political diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, religious diplomacy, economic diplomacy etc.

History of Diplomacy

Modern diplomatic practices are a product of the post-Renaissance European state system. Historically, diplomacy is the conduct of official relations between sovereign states. By the 20th century diplomatic practices pioneered in Europe had been adopted throughout the world. Diplomacy had expanded to cover summit meetings and other international conferences, parliamentary diplomacy, the international activities of supranational and sub national entities, unofficial diplomacy by nongovernmental elements, and the work of international civil servants.

There has not been a documented start of diplomacy; however there have been instances ranging back to the 5th century where diplomacy arose in certain nations. Dating back to 432 B.C, the Congress of Sparta was an “illustration of diplomacy as organized by the Greek City States” (Nicolson 1). The origin of the word “diploma” comes from different sides of the earth. In Greece diploma meant “folded in two”, while in Ancient Rome the word was used to describe travel documents.

Originally diplomats were sent only for specific negotiations, and would return immediately after their mission concluded. They were usually relatives of the ruling family or of very high rank in order to give them legitimacy when they sought to negotiate with the other state.

Modern diplomacy's origins are often traced to the states of Northern Italy in the early Renaissance, with the first embassies being established in the thirteenth century. Milan played a leading role, especially under Francesco Sforza who established permanent embassies to the other cities states of Northern Italy. It was in Italy that many of the traditions of modern diplomacy began, such as the presentation of an ambassador's credentials to the head of state.

The practice spread from Italy to the other European powers. Milan was the first to send a representative to the court of France in 1455. Milan however refused to host French representatives fearing espionage and possible intervention in internal affairs. As foreign powers such as France and Spain became increasingly involved in Italian politics the need to accept emissaries was recognized. Soon all the major European powers were exchanging representatives. Spain was the first to send a permanent representative when it appointed an ambassador to the Court of England in 1487. By the late 16th century, permanent missions became the standard.

Many of the conventions of modern diplomacy developed during this period. The top rank of representatives was an ambassador. An ambassador at this time was almost always a nobleman - the rank of the noble varied with the prestige of the country he was posted to.

The elements of modern diplomacy slowly spread to Eastern Europe and arrived in Russia by the early eighteenth century. The entire system was greatly disrupted by the French Revolution and the subsequent years of warfare. After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 established an international system of diplomatic rank.

Disputes on precedence among nations (and the appropriate diplomatic ranks used) persisted for over a century until after World War II, when the rank of ambassador became the norm.

Why is diplomacy important?

At the present time, to maintain good political relations is more profitable than to be in war. For example, according to Boston Globe Online, 150 economists and a few Nobel laureates calculated the approximate cost of war in Iraq in 2003. A budget cost of this war was said to be to equal $100bn, but it is also included human cost of both sides. In 2007, as BBC put the price of war in Iraq at $500bn and 3,500 dead and 25,000 wounded only American soldiers. Therefore, it is better to promote the state’s interests using more peaceful means such as diplomacy and mass media.

Diplomacy is a peaceful method to solve conflict, maintain good relations, and advance interests of the state through conducting negotiations between representatives of states. According to Encyclopedia of Placement, work of diplomats is based on watching the events happened in the country, following reactions of world states on the main world events, reporting about them to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recommending what official position is better to a concrete case and, at the same time. Diplomats have official right to collect information about country where they work. According to the Russian site that is called The Independent Military Review, Secret Intelligence Service of Britain in 1970-1980s cooperated with military attaché in embassy. As a result, very often they are suspected in espionage and expelled from the country. For instance, the site Agentura.ru writes about expelling of 80 USSR diplomats by Ronald Reagan in 1986. According to the site of Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, information collected by USA ambassador always, first of all, goes to The Office of Intelligence and Investigations of State Department. Nevertheless, diplomacy is a very good means to reach peaceful solution of the problem.

 Media and International Diplomacy – The CNN Effect

As the means of dispersing information have grown increasingly quicker and easier over the years, so also has the need for governments and nations to position themselves in a positive light in the media, grown more competitive.

The success or failure of public diplomacy through media, however, can only be judged by its intended audience. The most critical criterion is the media’s credibility, which can be achieved by the independence of media as well as freedom from editorial bias. Furthermore, only when such media activities are combined with cultural programs and people-to-people exchanges can its synergy effects be maximized. However, as seen in past cases of cartoons, photos and video clips, carelessness and negligence can seriously damage the public diplomacy efforts of major powers. To prevent these types of incidents, public awareness campaigns should be arranged to encourage every citizen to join in the public diplomacy activities.

Diplomatic scholars and practitioners have long realized the relationship between communication and diplomacy. This link suggests that prevailing methods of communication define future methods of diplomatic practice. By the 1990s, communication could determine diplomatic outcomes, under certain conditions.

Western diplomacy is marked by two prevailing methods of practice; old diplomacy and new diplomacy. Old diplomacy relied upon privacy and secrecy and defined Western diplomatic practice from the time of Renaissance until the World War 1 era. New diplomacy on the other hand relied upon openness and defined diplomatic practice from World War 1 until the 1980s.

This move was as a result of the prevailing method of communication; from handwritten notes to mass printing of newspapers. This method has undergone yet another shift; global television. Since we can all witness events that occur half a world away and in real time, the third shift tele-diplomacy emerged in the late 1980s.

Where communications earlier defined methods of diplomatic practices, under tele-diplomacy, communications can determine foreign policies that result from diplomatic decision making.

It was a series of events during the 1990s that elevated news media to the status of being potentially critical actors, with respect to humanitarian crisis and high-level foreign policy decision-making. Starting with the Kurdish crisis in 1991, and swiftly followed by Operation Restore Hope in Somalia (1992-93), a series of humanitarian crises were associated with an emerging doctrine of so-called humanitarian intervention. In Northern Iraq, media coverage of the Kurdish crisis appeared to lead to the first case of UN-legitimated humanitarian intervention whereby protected safe havens were created in Northern Iraq in order to shield Kurds from attacks by Saddam Hussein’s forces.

In Somalia, US news media coverage of famine during the civil war of the early 1990s appeared to persuade President George Bush (Snr) to deploy 28,000 troops in support of aid workers. For some, at the time, it appeared to be the case that news media were at the centre of an emerging doctrine of humanitarian intervention whereby sovereignty was no longer sacrosanct. The notion that media were driving foreign policy decision-making became widely known as the CNN effect. For liberals and those in humanitarian circles, naturally, these developments were warmly welcomed and seen as indicative of the way in which media could open up the traditionally conservative and non-interventionist (with respect to humanitarian crises) orientation of foreign policy communities.

For many, the proliferation of new communication technology, such as portable satellite broadcasting equipment and the emergence of digital cameras contained within mobile phones, appears to create a degree of transparency of events around the world that is unprecedented.

The recent and ongoing controversy over the Wikileaks website, which has disseminated online large quantities of secret US government documents regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well diplomatic cables, epitomizes the apparently limited capacity governments have to control information flows in the internet era. Most recently, during the so-called Arab Spring, social media have been implicated in the ability of people to organize and rise up against authoritarian governments throughout the Middle East.

The CNN effect of the 1990s highlighted the ability, under certain circumstances, for media to shape policy responses during international crises. The question of whether media continues to be able to drive high-level decision making, as was occasionally seen during the 1990s, is more open to questions.

As such, politicians go beyond the simple norm of public diplomacy and try to provide more detailed and comprehensive information through sophisticated techniques. This trend has encouraged big powers such as the U.S., China, Russia, and the EU to allocate increasingly larger budgets to their own global media. In short, they are now fully engaged in a war to win the hearts and minds of people of the world.

Nigerian Media and international diplomacy

While the developed nations of the world continue to use the media to further diplomatic ties and push foreign policies in their favour, the same cannot be said for the Nigerian media. The Nigeria media in this case encompasses all forms of communications through which information, entertainment, education and news are disseminated. This includes the mass media of radio, television , newspapers and the film industry, Nollywood. The Nigerian media is seemingly unaware of its power and ability to influence foreign policy by way of highlighting lapses in our diplomatic relations.

For instance, in the area of cultural diplomacy, the Nigeria media has mostly projected the negative aspects of our culture, leaving out everything positive about it. Aside from its role of information dissemination, the mass media also performs the role of educating and entertaining the public.

Cultural Diplomacy is a course of action, based on the exchange and utilization of ideas, values, traditions and other aspects of culture or identity, whether to strengthen relationships, enhance socio-cultural cooperation, promote national interests and beyond.

The mass media role of the transmission of cultural heritage makes the transmission of cultural diplomacy easier across national borders. Cultural diplomacy if well harnessed along other variables and factors in the society can result to the desired level of national security required for national development.

Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry which has been in the fore front of promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage through performance, arts and movies can project the ideals, values, aspirations of Nigeria’s culture to the world through deliberate efforts of conscious exchange.

However, other film industries, such as Bollywood projects the Indian culture as rich in family values, history and cultural heritage, in contrast Nollywood seems mostly focused on the negative aspects of Nigeria’s culture which they think would most likely be a commercial success.

For instance right from the 1970s till date, when Indian movies was brought to a Nigerian audience via cinemas and video recordings and satellite, all that was known about Indians was their beauty, their love for music and dancing and the simplicity of their lifestyle as was evidenced through modest homes and modest automobiles.

It wasn’t until 2012, that Nigeria and indeed the world became aware of a much deeper societal problem in India which is scarcely portrayed in their movies; that is the prevalence of sexual crimes against women.

A 23-year-old physiotherapy student, Jyoti Singh was gang-raped on a moving bus in New Delhi by six men. After the rape, she was thrown off the still moving bus. She later died in a Singaporean hospital on December 28, two weeks after being attacked.

The global outrage and nationwide protests in India which greeted the incident only served to throw more light on the extent of the crime and the collusion of Indian lawmakers and justice system, which usually treat rape crimes with levity.

However this did nothing to deter the Indian government from banning a documentary based on the event, titled Indian’s Daughter. Leslee Udwin, the filmmaker, despite attempting to balance the documentary by also interviewing the rapists and their lawyers, was accused by the Indian government of failing to secure the correct permissions before interviewing the suspects. They also added that she refused to abide by agreements to show authorities unedited versions of the interview. This was the extent India was willing to go to preserve their cultural diplomacy and the carefully crafted image the world had of them prior to the incident.

Every human being and by extension, nation has its flaws but we all try to put our best foot forward especially when we are in a new environment or meeting people for the first time. The same rule should be applied in the manner film makers in Nollywood craft movies based on societal and cultural issues.

Most of the movies we export outside our shores may be the only representation of Nigeria, these foreigners will ever have and it is in our best interest if we try as much as possible to make sure what goes into our movies are scenes that depict Nigeria at its very best culturally.

 References

http://www.academia.edu/5136801/Foreign_Policy_and_Diplomacy-Introduction_to_Diplomacy

http://www.e-ir.info/2011/07/20/the-functions-of-diplomacy/

http://www.britannica.com/topic/diplomacy

https://www.quora.com/Carl-Von-Clausewitz-said-that-war-is-merely-an-extension-of-diplomacy-by-other-means-What-would-Niccolo-Machiavelli-have-thought-of-the-sentence-above

http://www.ediplomat.com/nd/history.htm

https://belvina.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/the-role-of-diplomacy-and-media-in-international-relations/

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2014-01/11/content_17230295.htm

Global Television and the Shaping of World Politics: CNN, Telediplomacy, and Foreign Policy By Royce J. Ammon

http://www.e-ir.info/2013/09/17/media-as-a-driving-force-in-international-politics-the-cnn-effect-and-related-debates/

http://www.sonta.nico.gov.ng/index.php/papers/338-ekerikevwe-sunday-a-the-role-of-the-mass-media-in-repositioning-nollywood-for-the-promotion-of-nigeria-s-cultural-diplomacy-and-national-security

http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/jyoti-singh

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35115974

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/15/i_am_infuriated_by_india_right_now_delhi_gang_rape_documentary_director_lashes_out_against_government_ban_on_indias_daughter/

http://www.britannica.com/event/Tiananmen-Square-incident

https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/553423/zingarelliMeganElizabeth.pdf

http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/index.php?en_culturaldiplomacy