Higher Education in Southeast Asia and Beyond #Issue 06

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Public Diplomacy and
the Internationalisation
of Higher Education
Fazal Rizvi
In its traditional registers, the idea of
diplomacy has mostly been associated
with relations between nations through
their appointed representatives. In recent
decades, however it has increasingly become
evident that the relationships that ordinary
citizens are able to forge across national
borders are equally important in the exercise
of diplomacy. In the context of globalisation,
as more people become globally mobile,
they are able to develop and sustain close
links transnationally. Through these links,
positive international relations can now
be advanced by a wide array of actors and
activities and not only by government
representatives. Not surprisingly, nations
have begun to consider how people-to-people
relations can be used to influence others
and promote national interests. The idea of
public diplomacy captures this possibility.
Of the many institutions through which public
diplomacy can be enacted, higher education
has the potential to play a pivotal role. It is a
site where academic exchange can promote
“Of the many institutions
through which public
diplomacy can be enacted,
higher education has the
potential to play a pivotal role.
It is a site where academic
exchange can promote
intercultural dialogue over
complex ideas and contrasting
interests and build effective
international relations through
the exercise of what is referred
to as 'soft power'.”
intercultural dialogue about complex ideas
and contrasting interests and build effective
international relations through the exercise of
what is referred to as “soft power”. Soft power
HESB | SEPTEMBER 2019 | ISSUE #06 | PAGE 7