Public Diplomacy Effort Across Facebook: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S. Consulate in Erbil and the Kurdistan Representation in Washington

Abstract

Widespread communication tools such as Facebook and Twitter have become vital channels of public diplomacy. Today, policymakers must implement a successful Facebook diplomacy to enhance their nation’s branding, lobbying, and culture exchange and to expand and build good relationships. This article evaluates how Facebook has been used as a tool of public diplomacy by both the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in Washington by performing a quantitative content analysis of their posts and the responses of their users. The results of the content analysis suggest that the United States more successfully utilizes Facebook as a public diplomacy tool to communicate than does the KRG. This article presents a theoretical argument that assumes that public diplomacy can be practiced by nonstate actors and states. The Kurds are considered and targeted by the U.S. public diplomacy program across Facebook, and this helps the Kurds develop their relationship with the United States as a supporter of potential Kurdish statehood. This research also strongly recommends that the KRG improves its Facebook webpage and highlights the values of internationally promoting the KRG as a brand.