Lessons from the Past - USC Center on Public Diplomacy

30 Public Diplomacy
next round of surveys. The surveys proved an effective mechanism
for identifying discrepancies and local problems in <strong>the</strong> image of
Switzerland. It seemed, for example, that exactly <strong>the</strong> qualities which
Swiss valued about <strong>the</strong>mselves—<strong>the</strong>ir political system with its direct
democracy, <strong>the</strong>ir modernity, <strong>the</strong>ir humanitarian commitment—were
not understood overseas or not known about at all. There were
local problems too. A survey in 2002 segmenting opinion among
managers, politicians and <strong>the</strong> general population in selected countries
revealed an anomalous spike of anti-Swiss feeling among <strong>the</strong> British
political sample. Only 30% of <strong>the</strong> sample reported a positive
attitude towards Switzerland when <strong>the</strong> average was 65%. Presence
Switzerland investigated and found that <strong>the</strong> problem stemmed <strong>from</strong>
an identification between Switzerland and conservatism, which in
turn had grown <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> Swiss embassy’s continued sponsorship
of events for British Conservative Party-related groups for several
years into <strong>the</strong> era of New Labour government. The Swiss embassy
duly switched to funding organizations affiliated with <strong>the</strong> Labour
government such as <strong>the</strong> Fabian Society, and <strong>the</strong> polls fell into line
with <strong>the</strong> attitude towards Switzerland in o<strong>the</strong>r places.
Analysis:
PRS’s own data and independent research suggest that
Switzerland successfully moved beyond <strong>the</strong> crisis of <strong>the</strong> 1990s and
returned to a position of respect in <strong>the</strong> international firmament. The
relative contributions of PRS as against <strong>the</strong> genuine reforms and
work to set right wrongs dating back to World War Two remains
moot, but sound policy is <strong>the</strong> best public diplomacy in any case. It
seems that a major part of <strong>the</strong> success of <strong>the</strong> Presence Switzerland
approach has rested on careful selection of its targets. PRS operates
principally in <strong>the</strong> developed world, allowing <strong>the</strong> Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC) to take <strong>the</strong> lead elsewhere.
It has had some success in coordinating <strong>the</strong> international efforts of
stakeholders including business, local and regional government, and
public relations researchers. It has remained separate <strong>from</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r
actors in Swiss nation branding such as <strong>the</strong> state cultural agency