中国公共外交的效果及其影响因素——基于对国外学者研究的批判性综述

The Effectiveness and Influence of Chinese Public Diplomacy:A Cri-tical Review of Overseas Scholarship

长期以来,中国公共外交研究存在着一个严重的盲区,即缺乏对中国公共外交效果的实证评估以及对影响中国公共外交效果因素的严肃研究。与此形成鲜明反差的是,国外学者对中国公共外交的研究普遍将中国公共外交的效果作为核心内容。有鉴于此,文章对国外学者近年来有关中国公共外交的研究进行了全面梳理,发现国外学者的研究最为突出的特点是其强烈的实证意识和对实证方法的普遍使用。实证研究的结果显示,中国公共外交的效果远不像国内学者所认为的那样理想。基于对现有国外研究成果的批判性回顾,文章还讨论了公共外交效果的评估方法和影响公共外交效果的因素。其中,公共外交效果的判断标准应是看其是否改善或者提高了目标国民众对实施国某一方面的评价,而民意测验和访谈则是公共外交效果评估的两种主要方法。影响公共外交效果的因素包括外在的不可规避的负面因素和内在的可规避的缺陷与不足。借鉴和参考国外学者的研究,有助于中国更有效地开展公共外交的实践和研究。

There have long been blind spots in the study of Chinese public diplomacy,including its failure to assess practical effectiveness,and its lack of serious research on the factors influencing effectiveness.In stark comparison,overseas scholarship on Chinese public diplomacy universally focuses on effectiveness.Towards filling these gaps in the domestic literature,this article conducts a comprehensive review of recent overseas scholarship on Chinese public diplomacy.It finds that the most prominent feature of overseas scholarship is strong emphasis on empirical evidence and its widespread application of empirical methodology.Empirical studies universally demonstrate that the effectiveness of Chinese public diplomacy falls significantly short of the idealistic view presented by domestic scholars.Based on this critical review of overseas scholarship in this area,the article proceeds to discuss methodologies of assessing the effectiveness of public diplomacy and the factors that influence effectiveness.Two key methods for measuring effectiveness of public diplomacy are monitoring public opinion and conducting interviews.Referencing overseas research in this area can help China more effectively conduct research on and practice public diplomacy.