Title: Radio Sawa and the US public diplomacy in the Middle East: entertaining the Arab youth or 'winning hearts and minds'?

Authors: Mahmoud M. Galander

Addresses: Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar

Abstract: This is an exploratory study of the Arab youth perceptions of Radio Sawa, a US public diplomacy radio broadcast channel. Univariate analysis of a convenience sample of the Qatar University students' exposure to the radio stations programs and their perceptions and attitudes about the US foreign policy seems to imply that the Radio Sawa is widely used as a music channel but it does not seem to succeed in selling US foreign policy to the Arab youth. The study stresses the need for a more representative study of the Radio Sawa's claims as a successful tool of US public diplomacy.

Keywords: public diplomacy; Arab youth; youth perceptions; Radio Sawa; USA; United States; Middle East; radio stations; university students; music channels; US foreign policy; policy promotion; Qatar.

DOI: 10.1504/IJACMSD.2012.053399

International Journal of Arab Culture, Management and Sustainable Development, 2012 Vol.2 No.4, pp.344 - 353

Published online: 29 Jul 2014 *

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