Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, winter 2009/10
Prof. Dr. Oliver Zöllner

Course title: 'Noopolitik': Soft power and international communication
Course module: European & international studies
Language of instruction: English
Dates: 16 Oct, 23 Oct, 13 Nov, 27 Nov, 11 Dec, 22 Jan, 29 Jan
Fridays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., (mostly) bi-weekly
Venue: 23.02.U1.61
Electronic document server (Semesterapparat):
http://docserv.uni-duesseldorf.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=12856

About this course:

The term 'noopolitik' goes back to the concept of a 'noosphere' (from the Greek νους: soul, thought, spirit, mind, consciousness), which in turn is based on ideas by philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). Recently, the term 'noopolitik' has been used to describe network-centered mechanisms of civil society for generating knowledge, managing issues, and resolving conflicts—entailing new approaches to information policy, public diplomacy, nation-branding, and communicative 'soft power' in general. "Noopolitik is foreign policy behavior that emphasizes the primacy of ideas, values, norms, laws, and ethics" (Gilboa 2008: 61).

Terms such as 'noopolitik', 'soft power' et al. are obviously still relatively fuzzy and under debate. Is 'noopolitik' really a "new paradigm" for public diplomacy, for instance, as Ronfeldt/Arquilla (2009) postulate? Or is it old wine in new bottles? In this seminar we will try to make such terms adaptable to the field of international communication research and see how they are put into practice.

Requirements for a 'Beteiligungsnachweis' (BN) are regular attendance plus a presentation; those wishing to take an 'Abschlussprüfung' (AP) will need to write an additional term paper. This will be a course for an active, research-loving audience with a certain inclination towards reading academic literature.



Reading list:

Arquilla, John / Ronfeldt, David (1999): The emergence of Noopolitik: Toward an American information strategy. Santa Monica [Free, chapter-by-chapter downloads available at http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1033/].
Castells, Manuel (2008): The new public sphere: Global civil society, communication networks, and global governance. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, No. 1, 78-93.
Fortner, Robert S. (1993): International communication: History, conflict, and control of the global metropolis. Belmont.
Gilboa, Eytan (2008): Searching for a theory of public diplomacy. In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 616, No. 1, 55-77.
Hepp, Andreas (2006): Transkulturelle Kommunikation. Konstanz.
McPhail, Thomas L. (2006): Global communication: Theories, stakeholders, and trends. 2nd ed. Malden.
Melissen, Jan (2005): The new public diplomacy: Between theory and practice. In: Jan Melissen (ed.): The new public diplomacy: Soft power in international relations. Basingstoke, New York, 3-27.
Nye, Joseph (2004): Soft power: The means to success in world politics. New York.
Nye, Joseph (2006): Think again: Soft power. In: YaleGlobal Online. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/think-again-soft-power, accessed 15 October 2009.
Ronfeldt, David / Arquilla, John (2009): Noopolitik: A new paradigm for public diplomacy. In: Nancy Snow / Philip M. Taylor (eds.): The Routledge handbook of public diplomacy. New York, London, 352-365.
Thussu, Daya Kishan (2006): International communication: Continuity and change. 2nd ed. London.
Snow, Nancy / Taylor, Philip M. (eds.) (2009): The Routledge handbook of public diplomacy. New York, London.


» Helpful Internet resources for locating relevant books and articles:
» Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf
» Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog
» Jahres-Aufsatznachweise der WDR-Bibliothek zu Hörfunk und Fernsehen
» Directory of Open Access Journals
» Thematische Bibliografie der Bibliothek des Instituts für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Stuttgart
» Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California (USA)
» The Foreign Policy Centre (UK)
» IdentityLab (Germany)
» Association for Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (Germany) » Section "In the Media"
» Journal: 'Place Branding and Public Diplomacy" (ISSN 1751-8040)
» 'Nations Brand Index' methodology overview (Anholt GfK-Roper USA)