Celebrity Diplomacy and the Challenges it Poses to Public Diplomacy

Rebecka Villanueva Ulfgard approaches the issue of so-called “celebrity diplomacy” in terms of the challenges it poses to public diplomacy. Although not an officially recognized form of diplomacy, celebrities have come to wield increasingly greater political clout in traditional diplomatic circles and in the eyes of international society. According to the author, some of the factors that can explain the emergence of this new type of “diplomacy of immediacy” include the rise of information and communications technology, which has made it easier for celebrities to take up the cause of global problems that have not been addressed by governments, international organizations or conventional diplomacy. The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy has developed with relative ease in the Anglo-Saxon world, but in recent years, it has become more popular in Mexico and Latin America, with celebrities like Lolita Ayala, Shakira, Miguel Bosé, Ricky Martin, Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and foundations like Televisa taking up the gauntlet. One of the reasons Mexico’s diplomatic authorities have been loath to venture into the terrain of celebrity diplomacy is because the agendas of celebrities and companies like Televisa do not always coincide with the formalities and strict principles of foreign policy. On a more positive note, well-organized celebrity diplomacy that takes a non-official form of cultural diplomacy could be used to exploit the influence of internationally known public figures in Mexican cinema, television, sports and culture who have helped create a positive perception of Mexico abroad in the past.