Does the Academic Programme Work? The Jean Monnet Programme and European Union Public Diplomacy

Abstract: Public diplomacy is crucial for all actors in world politics; the European Union (EU) is no exception. Under the support of the Jean Monnet Programme, professors and researchers who teach college students become proxies for EU public diplomacy in their home countries via the educational process. Through studying the implementation of this programme in China, we can see why and how it works. Although duplicating and implementing the successful experience of similar educational programmes should take more factors into account, the programme does have special advantages from the toolbox of EU public diplomacy.