Abstract
The process of diplomacy and public diplomacy activities is known as ensuring communication from state to state or from state to public. However, with the global world formed with the increase in technological developments, diplomatic relations have started to be carried out between cities as well as states. The organization of activities to ensure the interests of cities in the international arena and to increase the recognition of their countries is explained as city diplomacy. It carries out activities through local governments and municipal organizations to establish and develop permanent relations between cities and other countries. In this study, the activities carried out by Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality are examined in the context of public diplomacy and city diplomacy.
TopPublic Diplomacy And City Diplomacy
Public diplomacy first emerged in the United States during the Cold War. Prof. Edmund Gullion, Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, addressed it as a scientific subject (Sancar, 2012).
According to Szondi, public diplomacy is defined as the promotion of developed countries' political and ideological views to the citizens and intellectuals of other countries. Through these promotions, developed countries create a public opinion in rival countries that is culturally and ideologically foreign to that country (2008).
Public diplomacy is explained as the implementation of a country’s own ideas as a communication process in accordance with the interests of other countries (Doğan, 2012). Although countries that suffered economic and social losses after World War II could not gain economic and military superiority over other countries that entered the war, they attempted to establish a relationship with public diplomacy tools (Erzen, 2012). Public diplomacy application areas are known as non-governmental organizations, international organizations, universities and schools, and municipalities. Public diplomacy is practiced through tools such as traditional and new media and international events. City diplomacy is considered as one of the sub-branches of public diplomacy.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Political Communication: It is defined as the transmission of messages with political content to the source through communication studies.It deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through mass media and interpersonally, within a political context. This includes the study of the media, the analysis of speeches by politicians, those that are trying to influence the political process, and the formal and informal conversations among members of the public, among other aspects. The media acts as a bridge between government and public. Political communication can be defined as the connection concerning politics and citizens and the interaction modes that connect these groups to each other. Whether the relationship is formed by the modes of persuasion, Pathos, Ethos or Logos.
Public Relations: Public relations (PR) are the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Public relations and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, whereas publicity is not controlled and contributed by external parties. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The exposure mostly is media-based. This differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications. Public relations aims to create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also known as earned media, rather than paying for marketing or advertising also known as paid media. But in the early 21st century, advertising is also a part of broader PR activities. Public relations specialists establish and maintain relationships with an organization's target audience, the media, relevant trade media, and other opinion leaders. Common responsibilities include designing communications campaigns, writing press releases and other content for news, working with the press, arranging interviews for company spokespeople, writing speeches for company leaders, acting as an organization's spokesperson, preparing clients for press conferences, media interviews and speeches, writing website and social media content, managing company reputation (crisis management), managing internal communications, and marketing activities like brand awareness and event management. Success in the field of public relations requires a deep understanding of the interests and concerns of each of the company's many stakeholders. The public relations professional must know how to effectively address those concerns using the most powerful tool of the public relations trade, which is publicity.
Public Diplomacy: Public diplomacy, deals with the influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of foreign policies. It encompasses dimensions of international relations beyond traditional diplomacy; the cultivation by governments of public opinion in other countries; the interaction of private groups and interests in one country with another; the reporting of foreign affairs and its impact on policy; communication between those whose job is communication, as diplomats and foreign correspondents; and the process of intercultural communications.
Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality: It is the public institution responsible for the execution of municipal affairs within the metropolitan borders of Eskisehir. Eskisehir became Metropolitan in 1993.
Municipalism: Local governments established in settlements with a population of more than 5 thousand are defined as municipalities. They are organizations with legal personality, in which managers elected by the votes of the people of the town serve in order to solve the problems of the town and provide some services. Municipalism is the political system of home rule at the local level, such as of a city or town, thus a municipality with its own governing authority as an administrative division of a sovereign state. Municipalism is more than simple support for municipalities in that it supports the primacy of municipalities as a means of enacting political change locally, and by extension grassroots movements to enact political change at higher levels of government. It is an approach to implementing social change which focuses on using the municipality as the vehicle for implementing change. Although, as an approach, it has been adopted by such diverse political groupings as Catholics, Protestants, liberals, Marxists, and anarchists, it emerged in Europe as something which developed in the socialist parties. In 1881 the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (a predecessor of the modern French Socialist Party) won control of Commentry. In subsequent municipal elections, socialist candidates and parties increased the number of municipalities they controlled to 70 in 1892, and then over 100 in 1896. Meanwhile, in Italy, changes in electoral laws enabled the Italian Socialist Party to gain its first municipality, Imola, under the leadership of Andrea Costa.
City Diplomacy: City diplomacy refers to cities using institutions and processes to engage relations with other actors on an international stage, with the aim of representing themselves and their interests to one another. Especially today, city administrations and networks are increasingly active in the realm of transnationally relevant questions and issues ranging from the climate crisis to migration and the promotion of smart technology. As such, cities and city networks may seek to address and re-shape national and sub-national conflicts, support their peers in the achievement of sustainable development, and achieve certain levels of regional integration and solidarity among each other. Whereas diplomacy pursued by nation-states is often said to be disconnected from the citizenry, city diplomacy fundamentally rests on its proximity to the latter and seeks to leverage these ties “to build international strategies integrating both their values and interests.”