Conflict, power, and difference in dialogue: a conversation between public diplomacy and positioning theory

This paper explores the application of positioning theory to public diplomacy as a way to develop the theorization and empirical investigation of dialogue in the literature. First, it offers an overview of how dialogue has been conceptualized in the new public diplomacy. Secondly, it argues that there are two main problems with its current conceptualization: it is based on normative theories of communication and it does not take sufficiently into account the context where the communicative act occurs. In line with existing critical approaches to public diplomacy, the paper applies positioning theory to public diplomacy through the analysis of the case study of the Euro-Mediterranean intercultural dialogue. The preliminary conclusion is that positioning theory can enrich the theoretical foundations and empirical research of dialogue in public diplomacy and expand the use of social constructivism in IR by investigating the conditions of possibility for dialogue when relationships become mired with conflict, power, and difference.