Britain must rethink the way it communicates with public opinion overseas to rebuild trust after Iraq and bridge the disputes of an increasingly divided world, according to a striking new critique of British public diplomacy.
British Public Diplomacy in the 'Age of Schisms', by Mark Leonard and Andrew Small with Martin Rose, argues that a gap is emerging between how Britain sees itself and how it is perceived overseas. Its new public diplomacy strategy should focus on rebuilding long-term trust in it as a principled power committed to multilateralism, religious tolerance and economic justice. To do so it should rely on non-governmental actors like NGOs, companies and cultural organisations, and align its professed aims with actual policies.