Making foreign policy matter

A positive public opinion is important for states to realize foreign policy objectives and ambitions. Therefore, they strive to communicate foreign policy strategically in public diplomacy efforts. However, states cannot control how publics view their foreign policy. This thesis, therefore, problematizes the notion of control. By asking how meaning of foreign policy is actively co-produced by the government, public diplomacy practitioners, and publics, the thesis explores how we can understand strategic communication of foreign policy as a dynamic process. A discourse approach is adopted to examine how various actors co-produce the meaning(s) of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy in different communication settings. By illustrating how publics debate this policy in unforeseeable ways and how their (imagined) opinion guides public diplomacy practitioners in downplaying its disruptive potential, the thesis shows that foreign policy is ongoingly constructed and negotiated. Therefore, its meaning changes over time. The thesis argues that the dynamics of strategic communication contribute to structuring international relations in a consumer-oriented way. Making foreign policy matter, therefore, means communicatively synchronizing it with global discourses. Isabelle Karlsson is a communication researcher interested in international relations, gender dynamics, and diplomacy. She is particularly interested in theories of discourse and power. She has a background in communication studies, sociology, and strategic communication.