Asymmetry of cultural styles and the unintended consequences of crisis public diplomacy

This essay examines how intercultural communication differences among nations can inadvertently magnify tensions during a crisis when nations rely on their own cultural style of public diplomacy to communicate with foreign publics. Beginning with posing the question of how American efforts to intensify its public diplomacy efforts resulted in declining support, public diplomacy is examined as a communication phenomenon, as opposed to a purely political phenomenon.