Public Diplomacy in Time of War. Israel's War on Gaza Case Study

Abstract

This paper aims to study the conflict between Israel and Hamas and its public diplomacy implications. In contemporary societies, war is viewed negatively as a phenomenon that destroys the peaceful life of society and dramatically changes people's lives. It has the potential to do great harm and spread systematic disruption, fear, and uncertainty in societies at war. It also produces profound changes in the perceptions of others in public opinion. These negative transformations affect all aspects of international political life at the regional or even global level. In such situations, there is an urgent need to take measures to remove such states of affairs. Public diplomacy can be one way to return societies to pre-war normality. It can lead to the restoration of trust in societies affected by war. It can also repair these misperceptions and reconnect people and societies to a normal life. All these are possible if public diplomacy informs a wider audience as objectively as possible. Many specialists argue that during wartime, states used public diplomacy in order to promote their subjective positions by influencing public opinion in national, regional, and global contexts. The main question is whether public diplomacy can achieve its aims and objectives during wartime.