Public diplomacy practitioners: a changing cast of characters

Purpose The purpose of this article is to illuminate the role of multiple non‐governmental players in the practice of public diplomacy. Design/methodology/approach Public diplomacy has become a crowded and competitive field in the US in terms of who speaks for the country and who in fact has the most impact and influence on overseas public perceptions of it. Reviewing the history of public diplomacy as primarily the practice of government agencies leads on to the new reality of multiple non‐governmental players in the field today, including mainly media, business and NGO's. This new reality parallels the fact that America no longer has the field of public diplomacy largely to itself; many governments have their own public diplomacy activities with mixed influence and effect. Findings While governments initiated the official practice of public diplomacy during the cold war, there are a host of new unofficial players in the field today – in the US and other countries – with competing national and international interests. Originality/value This article highlights the particular role played by media, multinational corporations, and NGO's in public diplomacy today, in the context of the contemporary history of the field.