Paul Sharp Ordre des livres (chronologique)

After September 2001, which triggered a global debate on public diplomacy, "PD" has become an issue in most countries, ranging from Canada to New Zealand and from Argentina to Mongolia. Many ministries of foreign affairs now develop a public diplomacy policy of their own. Their association with public diplomacy can be seen as a symptom of the rise of soft power or, at another level, as the effect of broader processes of change in diplomatic practice. The new public diplomacy has in fact become part of the changing fabric of international relations. Foreign publics now matter to practitioners of diplomacy that was unthinkable as little as twenty-five years ago. This book joins the debate on public diplomacy. Experts based in five different countries and from a variety of fields analyze the theory and practice of public diplomacy. They also evaluate how public diplomacy can be successfully used to support foreign policy.

What role, if any, does the foreign ministry perform in contemporary world politics? Is the argument that it is in a state of terminal decline accurate or rooted in only partial understandings of its changing character? Foreign Ministries in the European Union explores this theme in the context of the EU where foreign ministry has played a key role in the development of integration but where its role is increasingly questioned. The contributors examine the foreign ministry in thirteen member states and draw conclusions that challenge some conventional wisdoms.