Diaspora as a Communicating Actor in Public Diplomacy Compared to Public Government Diplomacy in the Case of Kosovo

Abstract

During the past two decades Kosovo has often been a subject of the news, and taken airtime in the most powerful international media through which it became known to the world public opinion. The highest presence was during the 1998-1999 war and especially during the period of the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia when almost everything was broadcast live. This picture of Kosovo still prevails in the world's public opinion and it identifies Kosovo with the war, thus as a post-conflict society. Ever since the proclamation of independence of 17th of February 2008 its governments have tried to change and improve this image through public diplomacy, but despite these attempts the tone of the stories in the world media, which as we know is more attracted to negative than to positive news, especially when it comes to small countries like Kosovo has not changed. This article deals with the attempts of the public diplomacy of Kosovo and the news it has produced during 2014-2015 for the international media and the world public compared to the news and the image that was projected by the members of Kosovar diaspora for the world opinion. These arguments that the potential of the diaspora is many times greater while the image is completely positive when compared to the potential and the image that comes from within Kosovo, which is completely negative.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2p269