| 摘要: | 「公共外交」一詞最早由古艾蒙（Edmund A. Gullion）在1965年時所提出。雖然確切的公共外交定義仍有爭議，但所有的學者都同意，公共外交必須由政府主導，最終希望達成對自己國家有利的目標。為此，一國在推動公共外交時，可以透過非政府組織、非營利組織、大眾傳播媒體、學術機構、民間團體和廣大的民眾，去影響他國民眾，然後再由他國民眾去影響他國政府，以制訂出符合本國規範及價值的友好政策。
公共外交的手段雖然普遍為各國所採用，但一般人咸信，具有現代意義的「公共外交」概念，最早出現在美國、而且也以美國實踐的最好。雖然，以前大陸在國際關係上比較強調硬實力概念，對公共外交沒有興趣，但，從最近其外交政策可以看出，大陸在對外關係上已經有明顯的轉變，其中，孔子學院的設立，即為海外提供漢語教學和推廣中華文化。本文的研究主題為孔子學院，它是大陸運用公共外交手段，企圖提升其軟實力的具體行動例子。
2004年開始，中共在全球設立孔子學院，由中共教育部轄下的《國家漢辦》管理，與外國展開各種學術活動和促進文化交流。大陸的語言老師、志願者和表演的學生，化身為公共外交的參與者。孔子學院的兩大外交目標是：達成大陸「走出去」的國家戰略，與國外建立友好關係；在海外推廣中華文化，吸引外國人注意，建立新的友誼關係。
本文觀察到孔子學院彈性辦學的特色，取得第一手具有長期研究價值的原始可信資料。為證明實觀察所得，本文以日本「研究型」的「早稻田大學孔子學院」、「教學型」的「櫻美林大學孔子學院」，以及德國「綜合型」的「法蘭克福孔子學院」為田野調查案例。本文認為，孔子學院透過推動漢語教育和跨國文化交流，為大陸開闢了一條公共外交的新管道，並提供給我國「臺灣書院」作為未來發展的參考。
本文研究有兩個重要發現：首先，大陸啟用孔子學院作為大陸推動共外交的平臺，主要是孔子「和諧」的價值觀，符合中共現今政治形勢的需要。大陸強調和諧的價值觀，對內，可以穩定中共的統治基礎；對外，可以展現大陸是一個愛好和平和負責任的崛起國家。不過，本文發現，大陸在提升其軟實力方面有其侷限，主要是外人覺得孔子的價值觀，在大陸國內並沒有得到很好的實踐，而且，大陸也缺乏政治改革。其次，經由孔子學院的研究調查顯示，孔子學院主要集中在語言教學，對於中華文化的推廣仍有待加強，這也連帶使外人對大陸的政治和中華文化無法更深入的認識。
The term “public diplomacy” was first proposed in 1965 by Edmund A. Gullion. Although the precise definition of public diplomacy is debated, all scholars agree that it is led by the government. According to the commonly accepted definition, benefits of public diplomacy are achieved when other countries institute policies that are advantageous towards the country engaging in public diplomacy. To promote such favorable governmental policies, countries use public diplomacy to create links with non-government organizations, non-profit organizations, public media, academic institutions, private associations, and the general public in the neighboring state. In turn, this positive feedback influences government policies, which become friendlier to the state disseminating its norms and values.
Although public diplomacy has become a common policy utilized by many states, it is commonly accepted that the conceptualization of “public diplomacy” and its modern intuitions were first pioneered and most actively promoted by the United States. While Mainland China has historically embraced realist conception of interstate relations and showed limited interest in public diplomacy, its recent foreign policy initiatives indicate a major shift in Mainland China’s thinking about its foreign relations. Among Mainland China’s recent initiatives is the establishment of “Confucius Institutes”, which provide courses in Chinese languages and promotes Chinese culture outside of China. The study of Confucius Institutes is a major example of Mainland China’s soft power in action and is the subject of the present dissertation.
In 2004, Mainland China began to establish Confucius Institutes around the world and administers them through The Office of Chinese Language Council, under the Ministry of Education. The purpose of these Institutes is to carry out various academic activities and promote cultural exchanges between Mainland China and the host states. Closely tied to these Institutes are Chinese language teachers, volunteers, and performing students, who are public diplomats and representatives of these institutes. As will be demonstrated in this dissertation, these Institutes serve two diplomatic goals: they promote China’s strategy of “reaching out” to its neighbors to establish friendly relations and attract new friendships by promoting China’s culture abroad.
This dissertation observes the flexible character of Confucius Institutes to gain firsthand information that has great long-term research values and implications. To support the observations of this study, field research is conducted at Confucius Institutes at Japan’s Waseda University, J.F. Oberlin University and Germany’s Frankfurt University . This dissertation argues that the establishment of Confucius Institute carves out a new path of public diplomacy that contributes to the enhancing of China’s soft power through promotion of Chinese language teaching and intercultural interactions. Confucius Institute also serves as a reference for “Taiwan Academy’s” future development.
The present research has two important findings. First, Mainland China has adopted a well plan and conscious effort to adopt the Confucius Institute as its main public diplomacy platform. The main reason for selecting the Confucius Institute lies in the political and symbolic value of “harmony” which the Confucius Institute promotes. By promoting the idea of harmony, the government can solidify its ruling power at home and abroad by portraying China as a peace loving and responsible rising power. However, the thesis argues that the impact of this soft power initiative is not major one since other countries have limited confidence in China’s ability to follow the values it promotes due to its domestic conditions and a lack of political reform. Furthermore, the survey of Confucius Institutes reveals that the scope of these institutions remains limited to language training and does not extend further into a comprehensive study of China’s culture, thus hindering a deeper understanding of its political and cultural values. |
