Public Diplomacy as a Strategic Tool between India and Pakistan

Abstract

Harmony, peace, and regional integration are the new domains in which states are working for mutual diplomatic gains and strategic balance between states and regions. India and Pakistan, the two rival states since inception, have fought wars but they share cultural uniformity and colonial history, and look for reconciliation at the social level. The people of both countries strive for social understanding in culture, education, media, tourism, and other recreational activities to promote integration and harmony through public diplomacy but political differences disrupt the procedure. The study explores the relationship between public diplomacy, strategic interests, mitigation of political tensions, and indirect effects of public opinion in a mediation framework. We collected data from N=303 participants in Pakistan, by administering an online survey. Results indicated a positive relationship between public diplomacy, strategic interests, public opinion, and mitigation of political tensions. Findings indicated significant indirect effects for both models namely public diplomacy and strategic interests in mitigating political tensions between India and Pakistan through the relationship of public opinion. This study contributes that the impact of public opinion needs to consider in mitigating political differences through culture, education, sports, media, and tourism besides strategic interests by carrying out public diplomacy between India and Pakistan.