Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum
Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum (PD-PCF) is a multi- and inter-disciplinary research platform that unites leading experts and early-career researchers in a transnational network in their study of public diplomacy and political communication.
With the growth of soft power and new media and information technologies, public diplomacy is of growing importance in international relations. PD-PCF defines public diplomacy as efforts by state and non-state actors to influence opinion of the general public and key stakeholders in other countries. PD-PCF engages with study of public diplomacy tools and variants to improve international image and promote foreign policies. In focus are monologue, dialogue and collaboration modes of public diplomacy. PD-PCF also explores how political actors involved in international relations and foreign policy use the media to formulate and project soft and hard power messages, and how stakeholder and public opinion of domestic and international standing can be effected by media (traditional and new).
The key contact for the Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum is:
Natalia Chaban
Director - Public Diplomacy & Political Communication Forum
The Public Diplomacy and Political Communication Forum is made up of a core team of UC staff that collaborate on research with international experts. Our UC team and international researchers are listed below:
UC Team
Natalia Chaban
Professor
Department of Media and Communication / Forum Leader
Donald Matheson
Professor
Department of Media and Communication
Linda Jean Kenix
Professor / Head of School - LSAP / Anthropology Postgraduate Coordinator
Department of Media and Communication
Tara Ross
Senior Lecturer
Department of Media and Communication
Babak Bahador
Adjunct Senior Fellow
Department of Media and Communication UC / George Washington University, US
Researchers
Pankaj Raj
PD-PCF Research Intern, Masters in European Governance (M2), Sciences Po Grenoble, France
In June-September 2023, Pankaj undertakes his research under supervision of Professor Chaban on the project “Innovations in public diplomacy: How the EU and EU Member States diplomacy addresses security and democracy threats posed by the design of international tech companies” in collaboration with Professor Donald Matheson (UC Media & Communication/PD-PCF) and Associate Professor Jeremy Moses (UC Political Science and International Relations).
Shaylee Sinclair
The UC Aho Hīnātore | UC Accelerator Scholarship 2022-2023 research fellow
In 2022-2023, Shaylee undertook her research “Understanding TechPlomacy: A strategy for constructive dialogue between technology giants and states”, under supervision of Professor Chaban (lead supervisor) and Professor Donald Matheson (UC Media & Communication/PD-PCF) and Associate Professor Jeremy Moses (UC Political Science and International Relations).
John Irgengioro
Researcher, The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Belgium
In February-April 2023, John undertook his research fellowship at the PD-PCF to work on the project “Competing for hearts and minds in today’s multipolar world order: a comparative analysis of the soft power of China, Russia and the European Union in Central Asia” with Professor Natalia Chaban (project co-PI and research co-supervisor), working on the case study "Soft power of China, Russia and the EU. Perceptions of students at Kazakhstani top universities"
Sophie Hill
MA student, UC Department of Media and Communication
In December-January 2023, Sophie assisted Professor Natalia Chaban of PD-PCF UC and Associate Professor James Headley of University of Otago with research project “Responsibility not to be silent: Academic knowledge production about the war against Ukraine and knowledge diplomacy”
Dr Pauline Heinrichs
Method Lead, Project “External Perceptions of the EU and its policy: Update Study 2021”
In 2021, Pauline was a lead researcher within the study of EU external perceptions co-led by B&S (Belgium), PPMI (Lithuania) and PD-PCF UC (New Zealand) commissioned by the Service of the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission in collaboration with European External Actions Service (EEAS)
Dr Iana Sabatovych
Method Lead, Project “External Perceptions of the EU and its policy: Update Study 2021”
In 2021, Pauline was a lead researcher within the study of EU external perceptions co-led by B&S (Belgium), PPMI (Lithuania) and PD-PCF UC (New Zealand) commissioned by the Service of the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission in collaboration with European External Actions Service (EEAS)
International Experts
Emeritus Professor, University of Lund, Sweden
Areas of expertise in the Forum: role theory in IR, international political communication, public diplomacy, images and perceptions in IR
Deputy Executive Director, Regional Initiatives and Neighborhood Program Director, Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, Kyiv, Ukraine
Areas of expertise in the Forum: political process and public diplomacy on the post-Soviet space, political communication with civil society, policy communication in conflict (regional security, frozen conflicts), collaboration with Student Research Hub #3
[See Interview with Sergiy Gerasimchuk for the course COMS 420 “Public Diplomacy”]
Dr Pauline Heinrichs
Method Lead, Project “EU External Perceptions” - commissioned by the Service of the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission in collaboration with European External Actions Service (EEAS)
Associate Professor Irina Khayrizamanova
Department of Communication, Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona), Spain
Lecturer, University of Vic, Spain
Tutor, Master of International Affairs and Diplomacy (UOC-UNITAR)
Member of the Political Communication, Media and Democracy Research Group, Pompeu Fabra University
Areas of expertise in the Forum: images and perceptions within the IR context, EU-Russia relations, public opinion, political discourses and political communication.
Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Jean Monnet Chair ad personam
Director, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “EU in Global Dialogue” (CEDI)
Leader, EU Foreign Policy Facing New Directions (ENTER), COST Action, European Commission
Areas of expertise in the Forum: energy diplomacy, climate diplomacy, images and perceptions in IR, political communication in foreign policy. She is a member of the research team of the transnational project “EU External Perceptions Update Study 2021” commissioned by the FPI of the EC in cooperation with EEAS, co-led by PD-PCF, PPMI and B&S.
Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
President of the Vilnius Institute for Political Analysis (VIPA), Lithuania
Areas of expertise in the Forum: crisis diplomacy, public diplomacy in conflict, policy communication in foreign policy field, mis- and dis-information in international political communication, collaboration with Student Research Hub #1
[See Interview with Professor Šarūnas Liekis for the course COMS 420 “Public Diplomacy”]
Marie-Curie Fellow “European Diplomacy Practices post-Lisbon: Adding Value through Cooperation” (EuroDipl)”, University of Bristol, UK
Research Associate, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UK
Visiting Professor in European Diplomacy, College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium
Coordinator of NORTIA (Jean Monnet Network on Research & Teaching in EU foreign Affairs)
Areas of expertise in the Forum: foreign policy and public diplomacy (focus on the EU), collaborative diplomacy
[See Interview with Dr Heidi Maurer for the course COMS 420 “Public Diplomacy”]
Head of School, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast, UK
Areas of expertise in the Forum: strategic narrative theory, international political communication, public diplomacy, images and perceptions in IR
Austrian Diplomatic Academy
Vienna School for International Studies and University of Vienna, Austria
Co-Leader, EU Foreign Policy Facing New Directions (ENTER), COST Action, European Commission
Areas of expertise in the Forum: images and perceptions in IR, crisis diplomacy, public diplomacy, political communication in conflict and crisis
[See Interview with Professor Patrick Müller for the course COMS 420 “Public Diplomacy”]
New Political Communication Unit
Centre for International Security
Department of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Areas of expertise in the Forum: strategic narrative theory, international political communication, communication and technology, images and perceptions in IR
Jean Monnet Chair ad personam
Senior Researcher at the Simone Veil Research Centre for Contemporary European Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Co-editor of Europe and the World book series by Lexington Books
Areas of expertise in the Forum: perceptions and misperceptions in foreign policy, political communication in foreign policy, cultural diplomacy, celebrity diplomacy, ‘big data’ fusion and forecasting in international relations
Dr Iana Sabatovych
Method Lead, Project “EU External Perceptions” - commissioned by the Service of the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission in collaboration with European External Actions Service (EEAS)
Director at Simone Veil Research Centre for Contemporary European Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Areas of expertise in the Forum: images and perceptions in IR, cultural diplomacy, education diplomacy
Professor Svitlana Zhabotynska
Cherkasy National University, Ukraine
Fulbright Alumnus
Areas of expertise in the Forum: neuro-, psycho, and sociolinguistics in political and media discourse analysis and political communication.
Dr Karine Lisbonne-Azais de Vergeron
Associate Director & Head of GPI Europe Programme at the Global Policy Institute
Vienna, Austria
Areas of expertise: international relations and issues relating to European politics, culture and identity, and the relationship between Europe and the Asian emerging giants (China and India). She initiated several research projects on non-European views of Europe – Chinese and Indian Views of Europe – jointly with Chatham House in the United Kingdom and the Robert Schuman Foundation. She is a member of the research team of the transnational project “EU External Perceptions Update Study 2021” commissioned by the FPI of the EC in cooperation with EEAS, co-led by PD-PCF, PPMI and B&S.
Prefessor Sonia Lucarelli
University of Bologna, Italy.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Forum on the Problems of Peace and War and of the Institute of International Affairs. She is responsible for Unibo of the Memorandum between the Unibo and NATO Allied Command Transformation, and the representative of Unibo in the Consortium Europaeum. Lucarelli has been Resident Member of the Bologna Institute for Advanced Studies, and Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute. Her areas of expertise include the EU foreign policy and external image, European security, NATO, European identity and Foreign Policy, Migration and Global Justice. She is a member of the research team of the transnational project “EU External Perceptions Update Study 2021” commissioned by the FPI of the EC in cooperation with EEAS, co-led by PD-PCF, PPMI and B&S.
Books
- Chaban, N. and O. Elgström (2021) The Ukraine Crisis and the Role of EU Foreign Policy: Framing the EU in the Context of EU-Ukraine Relations’, Cheltenham, UK/Northampton, US: Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Chaban, N., A. Niemann, J. Speyer (eds.) (2020) Changing perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global Perspectives, Abington and NY: Routledge.
Special Issues
- Chaban, P. Heinrichs, A. Miskimmon, B. O’Loughlin (eds.) (2021) Special Issue ‘Reimagining Europe: Youth narratives and perceptions. in Ukraine and the Baltic States”: Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 29 (4).
- Chaban and J. Headley (eds.) (2021) Special Section “Perceptions of the EU in its Eastern Neighbourhood, 30 Years on from the Collapse of the Soviet Union”, European Foreign Affairs Review, 26(4)
- N. Chaban and J. Headley (eds.) (forthcoming 2022) Special Section “Perceptions, Narratives and Attitudes: New Perspectives and Geographies in the Study of External Perceptions of the EU” European Foreign Affairs Review, 27(1).
- N. Chaban, J. Osicka, V. Zapletalová and P. Heinrichs (2020), Special Issue “Narratives and perceptions of the EU: Images of the EU in the EU”, Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies, 12 (3).
- N. Chaban, H. Mondry, E. Pavlov (eds.) (2020) Special Issue “The EU Baltic States, Russia and Ukraine: Mutual narratives and perceptions”, New Zealand Slavonic Journal.
- N. Chaban and M. Knodt (eds.) (2019) Special Issue “New Opportunities for the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership”. Australian and NZ Journal of European Studies 11(3).
- N. Chaban, A. Miskimmon, B. O’Loughlin (eds) (2019) Special Issue “Understanding the scope and limits of EU diplomacy - Connecting strategic narrative to EU external perceptions research”, European Security 28(3).
Articles in the refereed journals
- Chaban N. and Headley J. (2023) Responsibility not to be silent: Academic knowledge production about the war against Ukraine and knowledge diplomacy.Journal of International Relations and Development, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-023-00300-7
- Chaban, N. (2023) Collaborative Settings of Co-Creation: Knowledge Diplomacy and Pedagogical Thinking in Communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communicationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00472816231188652
- Chaban, N., Zhabotynska, M. Knodt (2023) What makes strategic narrative efficient: Ukraine on Russian e-news platforms. Cooperation and Conflict, first online https://doi.org/10.1177/00108367231161
- Chaban and O. Elgström(2023) Russia’s War in Ukraine and Transformation of EU Public Diplomacy: Challenges and Opportunities, Journal of European Integration 45(3), 521-537.
- Chaban, N. and O. Elgström(2022) “Critical Expectation Gaps: Advancing Theorization of the Perceptual Approach in EU Foreign Policy Studies”, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13445
- Chaban, N. and J. Headley (2022) “Introducing new perspectives and geographies in the study of external perceptions of the EU”, European Foreign Affairs Review 27(1), 57-60.
- Chaban, P. Heinrichs, A. Miskimmon, and B. O’Loughlin (2021) “Introduction to the Special Issue: Reimagining Europe? Youth Narratives and Perceptions in Ukraine and the Baltic States”, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 29(4), 281-302
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Chaban, and V. Velivchenko (2021) “Friends, Supporters, and Allies? Understanding IR Roles through Metaphor Scenarios”, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 29(4) 381-408, first online https://muse.jhu.edu/article/803376/pdf
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Matheson, D. L. J. Kenix, Chaban (2021), “Ukraine through a Baltic Lens: Regional Networks of Meanings”, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 29 (4), 353-380, first on line https://muse.jhu.edu/article/797919/pdf
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N. Chaban and O. Elgström (2021) “Politicization of EU development policy: The role of EU external perceptions (case of Ukraine)”, Journal of Common Market Studies (in the Special Issue “Politicization of EU external action – European development policy at the crossfire”), 59(1), 143-160.
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Chaban and S. Lucarelli (2021) “Reassessing external images of the EU: Evolving narratives in times of crisis” European Foreign Policy Review (in the Special Issue dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EEAS), 26(1), 177-196.
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N. Chaban and L. Whitten (2021) “Youth Perceptions of the EU and the Baltic States in Ukraine: Emotive Attitudes and Images”, European Foreign Affairs Review 26(4), 599–628.
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N. Chaban and J. Headley (2021) “Perceptions of the EU in its Eastern Neighbourhood, 30 Years On from the Collapse of the Soviet Union”, European Foreign Affairs Review 26(04).
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Chaban and O Elgström (2020) “A Perceptual Approach to EU Public Diplomacy: Investigating Collaborative Diplomacy in EU-Ukraine Relations”, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 15(4), 488-516.
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Heinrichs, P., Chaban, Osicka, J., Zapletalova, V. (2020) Changing realities, changing narratives? A narrative reading of EU perceptions in a changing Europe”, Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies 12(3), 553–558.
- Chaban, N., H. Mondry, E. Pavlov (2019-2020), “30 Years after the Breakup of the USSR: Russia and Post-Soviet Europe, Narratives and Perceptions. Special Issue Introduction”, New Zealand Slavonic Journal, 53-54, 5-18.
- Chaban, N., S. Zhabotynska, A. Chaban (2019-2020) “Visual and Emotive: Russian E-news Coverage of Ukraine's No-visa Entry into the EU”, New Zealand Slavonic Journal, 53-54 147-173.
- N. Chaban (2019) ‘Perceptions, expectations, motivations: Evolution of Canadian views on the EU’. Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies 11(3), 45-62.
- M. Knodt and N. Chaban (2020) "New Opportunities for the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership" Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies 11(3), 3-17.
- N. Chaban, Miskimmon A. and O'Loughlin B. (2019) “Strategic Narratives and Perceptions of the EU in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine”. European Security 28(3), 235-250, https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2019.1648251
- N. Chaban, M. Knodt, S. Liekis, I. NG (2019) “Narrators’ Perspectives: Communicating the EU in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine in Times of Conflict”. European Security 28(3), 304-322 http://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2019.1648256
- N. Chaban, O. Elgström, M. Knodt (2019) 'Perceptions of EU mediation and mediation effectiveness: Comparing perspectives from Ukraine and the EU', Cooperation and Conflict, 54 (4): 506-523 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0010836718823813
Chapters in edited volumes
- Chaban, N. and S. Zhabotynska (forthcoming) Narratives of Ukraine on the information battlefields of global media”, in Knodt and C. Wiesner (eds) The War Against Ukraine and the EU - Facing New Realities. Palgrave Macmillan.
- N. Chaban, L.J. Kenix, S. Betlyukova 2023 Framing Foreign Policy in Media: The Impact of Local vs. International News Sources (case-study of the EU’s Migration Crisis), F. Ostermann and P. Mello (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Foreign Policy Analysis Methods.
- J. Speyer, N. Chaban, A. Niemann (forthcoming 2021) International Perceptions of Brexit in Benjamin Leruth, Stefan Gänzle and Jarle Trondal (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Differentiation in the European Union, Routledge.
- Chaban and O. Elgström (2021), “Theorizing External Perceptions of the EU”, in S. Gstöhl and M. Schunz (eds.), Studying the EU's external action: concepts, approaches, theories, Palgrave, 265-277
- N. Chaban and Bain J. (2021) Sustainable Europe: Narrative Potential in the EU’s Political Communication. In: Knodt M., Kemmerzell J. (eds) Handbook of Energy Governance in Europe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73526-9_52-1
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N. Chaban, A. Niemann, J. Spreyer (2020) “External Perceptions of the EU at Times of Uncertainty Post-Brexit Referendum: Conclusions” in Chaban, N., A. Niemann, J. Speyer (eds.) Changing perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global Perspectives, Abington and NY: Routledge, 281-296.
- N. Chaban and M. Knodt (2020) “Perceptions of the EU in Ukraine after “Brexit” referendum: Images of capabilities and opportunities” in Chaban, N., A. Niemann, J. Speyer (eds.) Changing perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global Perspectives, Abington and NY: Routledge, 78-95.
- J. Speyer, N. Chaban, A. Niemann, (2020) “The EU as an international actor after Brexit”, in Chaban, N., A. Niemann, J. Speyer (eds.) Changing perceptions of the EU at times of Brexit: Global Perspectives, Abington and NY: Routledge, 1-24.
- N. Chaban and I. Sabatovych (2020) “The past and the future of Ukraine’s Europeanisation: Tracing images of the EU as a normative actor and influence in Ukraine post-Maidan”, in Alessandro Achilli, Serhy Yekelchyk and Dmytro Yesypenko (eds.) Cossacks in Jamaica, Ukraine at the Antipodes: Essays in Honor of Marko Pavlyshyn. Academic Studies Press.
- Kelly, S., F. Doser and N. Chaban (2021) “Shifting frames: images of Brexit in NZ and possible consequences” in K. Haba and M. Holland (eds.) Brexit and After, Springer, pp.159-179.
- N. Chaban, S. Kelly and A-M. Brady (2019) “Small States in a New Era of Public Diplomacy: New Zealand and Digital Diplomacy” in A.-M. Brady (ed.) Small States and the Changing Global Order. Springer, Cham: 75-89.
PD-PCF tests innovative formats in the teaching-research-practice nexus. Student Research Hubs are interdisciplinary cross-level research groups of under-and post-graduate students who apply skills and knowledge learnt in the classes on political communication and public diplomacy to work stakeholders who work in international political communication sphere.
Student Research Hubs 2023
| Digital Diplomacy of the EU
With Delegation of the EU to New Zealand.
In 2023, PD-PCF continues its collaboration with the Delegation of the EU to New Zealand. The main objective is to observe digital diplomacy by the EU Delegation towards New Zealand and track its evolution vis-à-vis findings from 2021 and 2022. In focus are the Delegation’s communications through a number of social media platforms. The 2023 team includes nine students – under-and post-graduates. Student Research Hub reports its findings to the EU Delegation diplomats in Wellington in person on December 8, 2023.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members:
Senior Hub Researchers: Shaylee Bright (Accelerator PhD, Media and Comms), Samuel Brett (PhD, Media and Comms), Oebe Roelant (UG, Political Science)
Hub Lead Researcher: Margret Vernygora (Honours)
Hub Researchers: Megan Roberts (MStratCom), Loredana Unsworth (Political Communication major, Media and Comms), Olivia Hundleby (Political Communication major, Media and Comms), Tarek Patchett (Political Communication major, Media and Comms), Roald Antill (Media and Comms)
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| Communicating France in New Zealand
With Embassy of France to New Zealand
In 2023, PD-PCF secured support from the Embassy of France to New Zealand to conduct a student-led research project on communicating France towards New Zealand. The team of five students works with the Embassy in 2023.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members:
Ella Bond (MStratCom), Sophie Hill (MA in Media and Comms), Anne Joseph (MIRAD), Alex Short (UG), Monika Dhakal (UG)
Student Research Hubs 2022
| Communicating Sports Diplomacy of France in New Zealand
With Embassy of France to New Zealand
In 2022, PD-PCF secured support from the Embassy of France to New Zealand to conduct a student-led research project on communicating sports diplomacy of France towards New Zealand. The project’s context is France’s preparation to the Rugby World Cup 2023 and Olympics 2024. These large-scale global-visibility sports events will take place in France and they will serve yet another powerful link between the two countries. The team of five students – under-and post-graduates – examines media images of France in New Zealand in the issue-area of sports. The team analyses the framing of France as a sports actor on a leading New Zealand e-news platform Stuff.co.nz, compares it over time vis-à-vis the 2021 finding by the previous Hub, and monitors audience’s reactions. The team also compares Embassy’s digital communications in the area of sports vis-à-vis other embassies’ online channels. Student Research Hub reports its findings and recommendations to the French Embassy in Wellington in person on November 28, 2022.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Ella Bond (MStratCom), Hannah Brown (MStratCom), Miriam Carr (MStratCOm), Anthony Orr (UG), Sophie Hill (UG).
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| Digital Diplomacy of the EU
With Delegation of the EU to New Zealand.
In 2022, PD-PCF secured support from the Delegation of the EU to New Zealand to conduct the follow-up analysis of the digital diplomacy outreach by the EU Delegation in New Zealand. The team of six students – under-and post-graduates – examines social media and other online channels of diplomatic communication and compares them over times using the findings of the 2021 Research Hub with the EU Delegation. Student Research Hub reports its findings to the EU Delegation diplomats in Wellington in person on November 25, 2022.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Shaylee Bright (Accelerator PhD, Media and Comms), Samuel Brett (PhD, Media and Comms), Aspen Berry (MStratCom), Margrete Bendsen (MA, Political Science), Oebe Roelant (UG), Margret Vernygora (UG).
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| Diplomatic Series 2022 in COMS 420 Public Diplomacy
In 2022, COMS 420 Public Diplomacy (coordinated by Professor Natalia Chaban) featured a series of diplomatic visitors and events:
Diplomatic guest speakers in 2022 included:
- Dr Alessio Guarino, Attaché for Education and Research of the Embassy of France to New Zealand;
- Kevin O’Connell, Counsellor (Political) / Deputy Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand
- Amy Norris-Hibbert, Public Diplomacy and Enquiries Adviser at High Commission of New Zealandto the UK
- Andrew Cutler, the Director of Communications of NZ MFAT
Public Diplomacy Campaign Presentation 2022
Students reported their original public diplomacy campaigns (the final assessment in the course) to the diplomatic jury – Dr Alessio Guarino, Attaché for Education and Research of the Embassy of France to New Zealand and Amy Norris-Hibbert, Public Diplomacy and Enquiries Adviser at High Commission of New Zealand to the UK, an MStratCom and Public Diplomacy course alumnus. The winning team – MStratCom students Ella Bond, Clair Gullidge and Fei Li – will present their campaign focused on the French sports diplomacy towards NZ to the Communication Team of the Embassy of France to NZ and attend reception organised by the Embassy of France at the UC.
Student Research Hubs 2021
| Images of France in New Zealand Mainstream Media
With Embassy of France to New Zealand
In 2021, PD-PCF secured support from the Embassy of France to New Zealand to conduct student-led research on media framing of France in New Zealand. The team of seven students – under-and post-graduates -- examines images of France in the reports by New Zealand leading newspapers (The New Zealand Herald, the Dominion Post, The Press and the Otago Daily Times) as well as by Stuff.co.nz, NZ TV1 and Radio NZ. Research Hub will report its findings to the French Embassy in Wellington in person by the end of 2021.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Sree Nair (team leader, MA in Media and Communication), Nicholas Hudson (MStratCom), Aspen Berry (UG), Caitlyn Penney (UG), Margrethe Bendsen (UG, Emma Hartshaw (UG) and Margaret Vernygora (UG)
| Digital Diplomacy of the EU
With Delegation of the EU to New Zealand.
In 2021, PD-PCF secured support from the Delegation of the EU to New Zealand to conduct analysis of the digital diplomacy outreach by the EU Delegation in New Zealand. The team of six students – under-and post-graduates – examines social media and other online channels of diplomatic communication. Research Hub will report its findings to the EU Delegation diplomats in Wellington in person by the end of 2021.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Shaylee Bright (MStratCom), Samuel Brett (PhD, Media and Comms), Zahra Emamzadeh (PhD, Media and Comms), Oebe Roelant (UG), Amy Morahan (MStratCom), Matt McPherson (MStratCom)
Student Research Hubs 2020
| Digital diplomacy of France to New Zealand
In 2020, PD-PCF secured competitive support from the Embassy of France to NZ and conducted research of the digital diplomacy outreach by the Embassy to New Zealand. In focus are social media channels run by the Embassy – Twitter and Facebook – as well as the Embassy’s website and e-newsletter. The team also compared its findings with the data from German and Italian embassies to NZ.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Shaylee Bright (MStratCom), Zahra Emamzadeh (PhD Candidate, Media and Communication), Amy Norris-Hibbert (MStratCom), Ian Blythe (MStratCom). Cathy Joshua (MStratCom)Davide Garello (BA Honours, Media and Communication)
| Political Communication and Information Warfare: Dis- and Mis-Information
with Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis (VIPA), Lithuania
The focus of this research hub was on assisting the VIPA with research report on information tactics employed by the Russian Federation in communication flows towards the Baltic States.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Bipulendra Adhikari (PhD Candidate, Media and Communication), Declan Lowe (MStratCom), Anthony Orr (UG)
| International relations political communication
with Foreign Policy Council "Prism", Ukraine
This research hub works on political communication assignments in collaboration with the Ukrainian Foreign Council “Prism” – a think tank that engages in its activities with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and National Diplomatic Academy.
Research Leader: Prof Natalia Chaban
Students Research Hub members: Dr Suvojit Bandopadhyaya) Media and Communication; Fathima Jaleel (MStratCom)
| Diplomatic Series 2021 in COMS 420 Public Diplomacy
Ensuring a regular link between teaching and practice, COMS420 Public Diplomacy introduced its students to the diplomacy practitioners who shared their expertise in public diplomacy and communication. The Diplomatic Series in Public Diplomacy featured H.E. Peter Ryan, Ambassador of Ireland to New Zealand, Kevin O’Connell, Counsellor (Political)/Deputy Head of Delegation of the EU Delegation to New Zealand, Alessio Guarino, Science and Higher Education Attaché at the Embassy of France in New Zealand, Eric Soulier, Head of Culture, Education and Science of the Embassy of France New Zealand, Dr Simon Mark and Caroline McDonald of NZ MFAT.
| MStratCom students present to Public Diplomacy Communications Division of NZ MFAT
MStratCom students Laura Tretheway, Kelly Dorgan, Lucy Weddell, Shaylee Bright and Amy Morahan presented their original cultural diplomacy campaigns to Adrienne Bonell and Bhavan Bhim of the Public Diplomacy Unit of NZ MFAT on October 29, 2021. The campaigns designed by student – the final assessment in COMS 420 Public Diplomacy (coordinated by Prof Chaban) -- were selected as winners by the diplomatic jurors: H.E. Peter Ryan, Ambassador of Ireland to NZ, and Dr Simon Mark, Massey University. Following the briefing, the reports will be passed to the MFAT’s wider Communications team as well as New Zealand’s Dublin Embassy and Fijian High Commission to showcase MStratCom students’ work.
PD-PCF Director Professor Chaban interviews Gerard de Graaf, the EU’s Senior Envoy for Digital to the US.
On August 30, 2023, Professor Natalia Chaban interviewed Gerard de Graaf, Senior Envoy for Digital to the US of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. This interview is a key input into the PD-PCF’s research project “Innovations in Public Diplomacy: Constructing dialogue and mitigating security risks between technology giants and governments”, and specifically its Part II, with the focus on the EU and EU member states. The interview took place at the EU Delegation to New Zealand in Wellington. Research team will report the final findings to the Senior Envoy and his team upon the project completion.
Media & Comms student Olivia Hundleby as a “shadow Ambassador” of HE Nina Obermaier, Head of EU Delegation to New Zealand
Olivia Hundleby, BC Political Communication major and a member of the PD-PCF Student Research Hub 2023, was invited by the EU Delegation to New Zealand to be a “shadow Ambassador” and experience a day in the life of an EU Ambassador, HE Nina Obermaier. On August 28, Olivia participated in meetings at the Christchurch City Council, including a meeting with the Mayor of Christchurch Phil Mauger, met with secondary school teachers who participated in the workshop on the EU at the UC, attended the Ambassador’s keynote address to Model EU participants at the UC, met with local MPs, and visited Lincoln University where she met with NZ academics collaborating with academics from the EU.
Launching PD-PCF Students Research Hub 2023 “EU Digital Diplomacy to New Zealand”
On August 28, 2023, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to New Zealand Kevin O’Connell visited the UC where he met with the members of the new PD-PCF Student Research Hub 2023. The meeting launched the work of the Student Research Hub which will explore EU Digital Diplomacy to New Zealand. Members of the Hub will report findings to the EU diplomats in Wellington on December 8, 2023.
John Irgengioro, PD-PCF visiting researcher from Gent University (Belgium), presents results of the joint project in New Zealand
Within the framework of the joint PD-PCF and University of Gent project “Competing for hearts and minds in today’s multipolar world order: a comparative analysis of the soft power of China, Russia and the European Union in Central Asia” supported by the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO), a visiting researcher John Irgengioro presented a series of research seminars reporting the main results of the project across New Zealand. The seminars took place at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Canterbury, Christchurch (8 March, 2023), at the Department of Political Science, University of Otago, Dunedin (15 March 2023), and at joint event organised by the NZ Asia Institute of University of Auckland, Centre for China Studies of the University of Auckland, and Massey University, New Zealand (5 April 2023).
PD-PCF UC Roundtable “Navigating the Uncertain World: Mapping Future Directions in Political Communication”
On March 24, 2023, PD-PCF UC and the UC Department of Media and Communication organised and ran Roundtable “Navigating the Uncertain World: Mapping Future Directions in Political Communication”. The Roundtable discussants included Professor Ralph Schroeder, UC Erskine Fellow, Internet Institute, Oxford University, the UK; John Irgengioro, FWO Research Fellow at PD-PCF, Ghent University, Belgium; Emanuel Stoakes, MA candidate, UC Media & Comms, international news writer, and Professor Natalia Chaban, UC Political Communication Lead/Director, PD-PCF UC. Professor Chaban was the Chair and the Organiser of the Roundtable which involved Political Communication majors (Bachelor of Communication), as well as post-graduate students and academics. The presenter and the audience discussed the directions, opportunities and challenges the changing world presents to those who focus their study, research and practice on political communication – domestic and international – in the 21st century.
PD-PCF hosts a renown international academic: Professor Thomas Christiansen, LUISS, Rome
In December 2022, supported by the COST Action ENTER “EU Foreign Policy Facing New Realities”, within the COST – PD-PCF collaboration in the COST Work Package 2 “Communication and Perceptions” co-led by Professor Chaban, Professor Thomas Christiansen of LUISS, Italy, visited the PD-PCF UC for research exchange and presented two seminars for the UC Department of Media and Communication and wider UC’s academic community: The New Geopolitics after the Ukraine War: Challenges and Opportunities for the EU (December 16, 2022) and Academic Publishing: Managing the Peer Review Process of Journal Articles and Book Manuscripts (December 14, 2022). In the latter seminar, Prof Christiansen reflected on his experiences as an Executive Editor of the Journal of European Integration and a co-editor of the ‘European Administration Governance’ book series at Palgrave Macmillan publishing house.
