Course Description

Strategic communication refers to communication initiatives by a political entity (a state or party actor, or their surrogates in civic or public sectors) and a corporate entity (particularly transnational companies) to achieve predefined goals that advance broad national, partisan and commercial interests in times of war and peace. In this course,we undertake breaking news and real-time analysis case studies of issues such as the“perception warfare” deployed in the geopolitical conflicts; Xi’s Thought on Diplomacy,and Biden’s grand strategy to defend democracies worldwide, and corporate communication strategies deployed by such Chinese internet ‘unicorns’ Byte Dance and iFlytek. The course instructor combines decades-long professional experience in training government/corporate spokespeople, along with scholarly analysis of global messaging and media from across different political economy systems, to include great power and emergent power players, including China, Russia, European Union, and the United States. We examine what international actors are saying through different message sectors, how well the messages are resonating, and how target states and societies are responding. The overall course goal is to develop communication competencies associated with projecting influence using soft and smart power to shape public opinion, country/corporate reputation, and the new international order. All of this takes place in an information and media environment that is increasingly full of mistrust and misunderstandings. We address what state actors are saying to the world, how non-state actors in the world are responding, and how that plays into hawkish and dovish discourses in China, EU, and the US. Can global misperceptions and mistrust be overcome or just dampened? We will explore theories and methods of trust-building to develop strategies and tactics of mutual understanding that contribute to better international relations regionally and globally. Students will be introduced to classic and contemporary readings on strategic communication and influence, including keyterms, and influence campaign strategy trends and prospects. Students are also expected to learn how to use short video to achieve goals of strategic communication.

课程简介

本课程将以政府与企业的典型案例进行分析研究，如地缘政治冲突、中国、美国、欧盟与企业的公共外交和战略传播策略等。课程的总体目标是培养学生对于战略传播意涵的深入认识，能够在新的国际秩序下，了解运用软实力、巧实力等理念达到传播目标的路径和方法。在百年变局和世纪疫情交织的新全球化时代，如何在不同国家和社群之间建立相互信任和理解的关系，通过传播克服误解，解决分歧。本门课程将以此为出发点，通过理论研讨和案例分析探索建立全球信任的方法和优化战略传播的策略。老师将带领学生了解以战略传播为核心概念的原典文献和最新研究，把握战略传播的缘起、趋势和前景，并与一线从业者进行对话交流，掌握如何使用短视频等实践工具提升战略传播的效能。