Description

Introduction

The objective of this essay is to explore the main differences and similarities regarding cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy, two emerging fields of research study, which are progressively being used in the same context. Public diplomacy can be seen to have gone through a paradigm shift in the commutation era, while cultural diplomacy continues to be identified as a section of public diplomacy. Despite public policy having its diverse origins from the United States, various nations have also started to pay attention and are trying to use public diplomacy as a major part of contemporary diplomatic practices in order to reinforce their soft power.  Europe is one of these countries which are using public diplomacy to capture the minds and hearts of foreign people. The combination of both soft power and the current public diplomacy is turning out to be the procedure for how global programs and cultural exchanges work in recent diplomatic events, thus bringing a new perception of culture and arts as a way of soft power.

With the increasing concern for soft power, cultural diplomacy is becoming the linchpin for public diplomacy in the sense of connectivity in cultural and economic life globally. Hence, no doubt regarding the useful influence brought up by cultural diplomacy to European's national image, social cohesion, and branding, hence, making cultural diplomacy being viewed as a subsection of public diplomacy by various researchers of public diplomacy (Kim, 2017). 

The rationale of this essay is to try to evaluate what should the United Arab Emirates do to establish itself as an educational hub by analyzing the main similarities and differences between public policy and cultural policy. Motivated by numerous academic goals, governments from various nations are implementing programs and policies aimed to spur internationalization of higher levels of learning. When successfully leveraged international education becomes a prime vehicle that contributes to a country’s foreign policy interests and priorities, containing its soft power profile. For this to take place, various regional and national government bodies must instigate and implement these policies. In most nations, the ministry of education and any other relevant office related to internalization policies are the primary players. In this case, the establishment of UAE as an educational hub has drawn special attention to MOFAIC (Ministry of Foreign affairs and International cooperation), and other concerned ministries, leading to the formation of various committees that are responsible for assessing the whole process (Johnson, 2018).[SN1]