Much has been made of the recent rise of celebrity diplomats. The emergence of independent celebrity actors – including the likes of Bono, Richard Gere, Angelina Jolie and Dennis Rodman – onto the diplomatic scene has enabled new areas of academic debate to emerge. One such question, that is the focus of this blog, is as follows: has this emergence of celebrity diplomacy or activism, which can be viewed as being associated with a system whereby “politics is transformed [by celebrities] into a media spectacle” (Liu et al, 2015, 272), resulted in the emergence of a diplomatic culture whereby such celebrities are manipulated for the profit-making interests of international organisations and multinationals?
The notion of a celebrity can be seen as being closely entwined with the concept of profit. Although profit is regularly considered in financial terms, it can also be considered – particularly in relation to the utilisation of celebrity diplomats by corporations and organisations – in relation to the ideological, political and social benefits that may be experienced by an individual or group. For example, the activist role played by United Nations Global Ambassadors can be seen as profiting the United Nations in many ways. Most notably, the position of power and social influence celebrities can bring with them to such roles, particularly due to their ability to attract the interests of the mass media, profits the United Nations by way of providing them an increased international leverage to proliferate their ideological assertions to the global public. In such a context, the role of the mass media, as Louw (2005, 18) considers, is to influence the political outsiders – the politically disinterested consumers of information – through the dissemination of ideologically-oriented “myths, hype and images”.
The utilisation of such celebrities also benefits international organisations financially, most notably in the long term. For example, international organisations like UNICEF can benefit significantly in the long term from the inclusion of celebrities in their advertising and global campaigns. The celebrity activism of the likes of Ewan McGregor – through television advertising – may encourage existing or future donors to actively campaign and/or fundraise for the organisation or directly donate to either the organisation as a whole or a specific cause, although the messages communicated by such celebrities will have been shaped significantly by the organisation they are representing.
When we consider the case of the often cited Live Aid concert, organised by the musician turned celebrity diplomat Bob Geldof, it becomes noticeable that some celebrity diplomats are motivated by their quest for profit. At the same time, this depends on the purpose of the diplomatic case considered. For example, the establishment of Live Aid by Bob Geldof was motivated by the human crisis in Ethiopia in relation to the famine of 1983-85, and so Geldof’s aim will have been to both raise awareness of and funding for the famine. In comparison, the diplomatic efforts of the actor Richard Gere in promoting the struggle of Tibetan Buddhists in relation to their efforts to retain their culture in the face of what he suggests are efforts by the Chinese government to “completely eradicate it” (Barraclough, 2015), will likely consist of only diplomatic activism rather than any attempts at financial or political profiteering, although Gere may aim to profit ideologically in the sense of promoting the ideals of the Tibetan Buddhists.
One of the great strengths of celebrities in a diplomatic context, as Cooper (2009) suggests, is that they have the ability to establish a “close personal interaction” with both world leaders and the global public. However, this interaction may result in the targeted audience being manipulated by the ulterior motives of the celebrity – and the organisation they are representing – concerned. Since the global public appears unaware of this targeted manipulation, the use of celebrities as tools for profit seems set to continue.
References
Barraclough, L. (2015). Richard Gere: ‘There Will Be a Tibetan Spring Eventually,’ ‘We Have to Be Patient’. Available: http://variety.com/2015/film/news/richard-gere-there-will-be-a-tibetan-spring-eventually-we-have-to-be-patient-1201534002/. Last accessed 15/03/16.
Cooper, A.F. (2009). Taking Celebrity Diplomacy Seriously in International Relations. Available: http://www.e-ir.info/2009/09/14/taking-celebrity-diplomacy-seriously-in-international-relations/. Last accessed 15/03/16.
Liu, S et al (2015). Introducing Intercultural Communication: Global Cultures and Contexts. London: SAGE Publications. 272.
Louw, P.E (2005). The Media and Political Processes. London: SAGE Publications. 18.
Public Diplomacy and Global Communication 2015a 