UNESCO Funding Crisis - Case Study Example

Public Affairs xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Instructor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contents Contents 2 Issue context and implications 3 Public Affairs Theories and Concepts 6 Ethical and political constraints on government 9 Political lobbying 10 Recommendation 12 References 13 Appendix 1: Issue analysis 15 Appendix 2: Stakeholder analysis 16 Appendix 3: EU Political Institutions 16 Appendix 4: Coalitions 17 UNESCO Position Paper on the budgetary funding issue The US government recently announced its decision to cut down funding the UNESCO. This is a move being supported by some EU member states while it attracts conflicting opinions from an equally wide spectrum. This is due to Palestinian Authority in the organization, a move the US considers conflicting and ill-intended by the PA. This action has far reaching implications not only for the organization, but also for various stakeholders (see appendix 2) such as beneficiaries. This paper intends to clearly spell and state the views of the organization its opinions on the key issues surrounding the Palestinian move and the ensuing US move to cut the funds. It gives an overview of the debates and concerns over the matter. It seeks to set records straight exploring on the fact of whether in deed UNESCO has a funding crisis and whether there are workable strategic options. It also explores the possible effects on the beneficiaries. Issue context and implications The US recently announced its decision to cut funding to the UNESCO following the admission of PA into the organization on 31st October. The US government was prompted to do so by the US laws of the 1990s. There are two federal laws in this pursuit: the 1990 law prohibits the state department from disbursing fund to the UN or any related agency that ratifies Palestine and gives it full membership treatment. In 1994 another was legislated enhancing the 1990 rule to categorically include any UN affiliated organization in the jurisdiction. In the pursuit of these two laws in addition to the current condition of the Palestine-Israeli relations the US has stopped its $65 million remittance (see appendix 1). This accounts for 22% of the organization’s annual budget of $643 million for the 2010-2011 and 2012-2013. The UNESCO budgeting is done on a two-year basis. The admission of Palestine is been seen as a diplomatic victory and as step towards the recognition of the PA as a sovereign state. In deed this move by UNESCO’s Executive Board has given unction to the PA which is now busy pursuing admittance into other UN bodies. The UNESCO position on this is that this membership was ratified through a vote in which 40 member-states were affirmative against a no-vote of 4 with 14 members absent. This was in addition to 107 votes in Palestine’s favor at the General Conference. The organization wishes to emphasize its commitment to the objectives of the UN in ensuring freedom for all. As such, and being bound to swing along the voting democratic rights of the member states the Palestinians are part of UNESCO. The US government is a close partner of the UNESCO, not only as a member-state and a donor, but also as a strategic partner. The US position will definitely compromise UNESCO’s effectiveness especially in today’s economic crisis and social transformation at the global level. Being a key opinion-shaper at the global level the US has garnered the support of allies in the EU (see appendix 3) and Israeli who have also declared withdrawal of funding. This also creates a grave scenario with the EU, another key strategic partner of the organization. The US is of the opinion that the PA should not be given statehood treatments until there is resolution with the Israelis. In the US government’s opinion, Palestine has a historical background of suppressing journalistic standards. The members will take UNESCO to task based on its strong commitment to freedom of expression and information. Unless Palestine changes the trend, the organization may be held down for double standards. The opponents view this admittance as a violation of peace negotiations that are mutual to both Israeli and Palestine. The proponents of the organization in the issue include some EU members such as Russia in addition to many African countries such as South Africa as well as China, and Brazil. Given the weight the key strategic partners have in this issue, the organization is of the position that the situation may not get better soon. UNESCO’s projects and initiatives in various countries such as in Africa shall be affected and the organization may have to implement cost cutting moves. There are many beneficiaries of the organization: governments and individual governmental and non-governmental organizations. There are programmes in areas such as Tunisia, Iraq and Egypt in which UNESCO seeks to develop free media and empower the people against extremism. This is in addition to scientific and educational pursuits of the organization such as scholarship programmes ran through the UNESCO Fellowship Bank Scheme. However, the organization has confidence in succeeding through this issue. The concerns of the US over Palestine may not end soon, so long as the conflict with Israeli remains. Every member-state has a financial obligation in UNESCO. It is hence undisputable to state that the US has breached its obligations by withholding its contribution as provided by this constitution and would therefore, be required to make reparation either in terms of compensation or in kind. Therefore, the UNESCO as an organization is not in pursuit of winning the side of debate. Having the two key major strategic partners, US and EU, in opposition tells it all. UNESCO is confident that the US will maintain its membership and so are the EU members such Britain. This is because what the agency undertakes in promoting freedom, information power, education and scientific pursuits concur with the US government’s democratic core interests. It is also confident that the US congress and administration, and the EU will find a resolution to the funding crisis. In the meanwhile the organization is of the position that strengthening ties with other organizations as well as forming new coalitions will sustain the situation. This is with agencies such as the World Bank, CMARD (see appendix 4), and World Vision and the relevant individual UN agencies as well as individual governments. This is already bearing fruits as the organization has begun receiving donor pledges from them. It has also launched an emergency fundraising campaign to alleviate the crisis of the shortfall. Public Affairs Theories and Concepts Literature indicates that there is no agreed-upon theory of public affairs nor is there an integrative framework (Someville 2011; Harris & Fleisher 2005). However, there are theoretical roots such as economics, social psychology, organisational psychology, strategic management, political science and communications. There are many models and concepts depending on the various subjects such as political science, media and social sciences. The most widely used approach politically or from the perspective of political science is the interest group theory which is emphasized by the pluralist conception of the interaction between actors in liberal democratic societies (Someville 2011): the authorities and the governed as well as competing interests. According to this model, public policy processes that are democratic refer to any activity whose intention is to reach a compromise between competing goals of a multitude of interest groups. The UNESCO funding crisis caused by the US withdrawal not only involves the organization. The withdrawal by the US is a public activity seeking to put pressure on the UNESCO for the admission of PA. The two have to come to a compromise, depending on the weight of pressure each side asserts. The pursuit of this compromise is the basis of the interest group theory. The interest group theory has implications for public affairs practitioners in both public and private sectors. Key among these is an analysis of the public sphere. This refers to the communication space amongst various stakeholders. In analyzing the public sphere, it is important that one focuses on pressure or interest groups whose role in the arena is influencing public opinion and policy. The UNESCO arena analysis reveals key players such as the US, EU, and individual countries in Africa and the Arab league. All these are operating in the radius of the Palestine-Israeli conflict pouring the effects over to beneficiaries of UNESCO projects. In public and government circles this sphere is public and is made up of the relationships between government and civil society-pressure and interest groups and their interaction (Castell 2008). This explains why the organization is keen on its relationships with supporting pressure groups so is the US. Practitioners should understand that the public sphere is not just the media or the socially oriented public interaction, but it is also the cultural depository of opinion shaping and public debate resources (Castell 2008). The public affairs function requires detailed strategic planning. This is because it is the interface of community relations, public relations, corporate communications, issues and image management, political influence and government relations (Harris & Fleisher, 2005). Walt, 2011 highlights that even the best social theories conceptualizing public affairs practice in the contemporary society are highly imperfect. He adds that as time passes the ideas they propose are found hollow. Social sciences approach presents public affairs practice as a naturally polyparadigmatic practice (Hazleton & Botan 2006). As such public affairs practice is characterized by numerous contending paradigms. This is based on the concept of power, control and influence; key objectives of public affairs. This makes arena and actors analysis and management very paramount since they comprise the paradigms at various levels of persuasion. The contending paradigms in the globalized public affairs practice are now more complex with a growing gap between the global and national or local spaces. This brings along four interrelated political conflicts affecting governance. These are crises namely: efficiency, legitimacy, identity and equity (Castell 2008). The UNESCO position paper critically addresses these crises relative to US and Israeli sanctions. It is a question of whether the US is justifiable in this for equity. The US fears that UNESCO may be applying double standards given the history of PA. The crises, in addition to the decreased government capacity in dealing with them has led to the growing trend of non-governmental and interest groups. They seek to mitigate the crises and the challenges thereof. Public relations practice has also been conceptualized as strategic communication (Hazleton & Botan 2006). This harnesses the persuation role of public relations by creating symbols to which the targeted public responds. This theory conceptualizes the P.R practitioners as having a problem to solve. In finding this solution, the professionals do research, and establish workable alternatives which are then implemented. The information in any position paper should be as a result of a detailed analysis in which persuasive truths are delineated to the public. The strategic communication conceptualization also considers the contexualization of symbols so that UNESCO will communicate the same information to all publics, but in strategically customized ways. The P.R professionals will strategically communicate in a bid to enforce what the inoculation theory entails: preventing the spread of influence. The position paper is so constructed to present the organization as being objective so that there are no more member states join the US camp. Ethical and political constraints on government There are different ethical and political constraints on governments that affect the choice of the forms of communication when influencing public attitudes and behavior. To begin with, it is important that any public affair undertaken by the government is intended for sustainability. Government communication should at least fulfill three major functions: informing, persuasion and advocacy, and engaging citizens. Therefore, any communication should be oriented to these functions so that there is enhanced citizen participation. Anything short of these functions displays and leads to governance impediment and political crisis. In UNESCO’s position, the critical aim in any communication made by the director over the funding issue is well directed for the above. The organization seeks to not only inform the public of its position, but also persuade others in the pursuit of a compromise in its favor. This is demonstrated by the organization’s objective communications in which it does not shift blame, but tables facts for public discretion. Apart from providing public affairs incentives there are several ethical considerations. Any communication considered ethical should not only provide useful and relevant information to citizens, but should also be truthful illuminating issues of public concern and add value. It should also involve informational exchange and learning. It is also bound to be intended for utilitarian purposes using social integration strategies and taking into consideration the need for self-regulation. Political lobbying Lobbying refers to persuasions, pleas, requests and any other forms of communications intended at influencing and getting others do what we want (Mack 1997). It is the process of influencing public and government policy by the use of advocacy. It is also the art of political persuasion.It is the vehicle in which power is pursued and maintained. Political lobbying has a lot to do with the presence of pressure and interest groups intending to influence policy-making by getting the support of political actors and sections of the wider public. Political lobbying is a competitive platform. Political lobbying is not only legitimate but also laudable (Zetter 2008). This is because of the influence helps assert on authorities in policy making as well as being paramount in other public spheres. Interest groups can influence political decisions directly or indirectly. They do this by either providing information or facilitating actions meant to sway decisions in the group’s favor (Bennedsen & Feldmann 2005). The interest group gather information aimed at reducing uncertainty in the policy-decision, and may provide it to policy makers especially if it is in the group’s interest. The value of this information is enhance by competition among different groups each hoping to sway a decision in its interest. There is more incentive to provide more accurate and truthful information. Apart from providing information to policy-makers, the lobbyists engage in public campaigns, both by funding them and participating. It is such campaigns that empower the governed with knowledge power to demand accountability of the policy-desion makers. This also involves coalition with political actors and solidifying their support (Breton & Zaporozhets 2007). There is a relatively high linkage between policy environment and business performance and behavior. The policy environment makes up a part of the macro environment of a business, private or public. It is of strategic importance to business firms since there are political risks and opportunities. As such firms do require to invest strategic resources that adequately develop and enhance the form and efficacy of its non-market behavior (Henisz & Zelner 2003). The behaviors entail lobbying and funding political actors. It has been instrumental in helping the enacting of better legislation across various nations. Zetter 2008, indicates that the lobbyists help redress governments’ huge resources and advantages found in having relatively easier access to the civil service and in having majority in parliaments. In the legislation processes lobbyists are very active in drafting ammendments, forwarding tenable arguments and as well responding to consultation documents. However, it does not mean that lobbying is above reproach. There are issues of concern opponents of lobbyists cite. This brings in need of ethics and regulations for lobbyists and other public affairs professionals. Recommendation Indeed, corporate communication is an essential aspect for organizations and therefore, it is important to have a corporate public relations department. The role of this department will be to offer strategic general communication to all business units in the organization. This means that it will translate the company’s corporate strategy into a set of communication procedures and values which will then be sent to communication practitioners in the business units. In addition, the corporate public relations is designated the post of an internal consultant which offers advice and counsel to other departments (Cornelissen 2008). It is recommendable for organizations to centralize all communication functions rather than separate them into departments. The advantage of centralization is that it enhances coordination and control of communication programs with key stakeholders ensuring efficiency and consistency of information dissemination. The station should be easily accessible to all members of the organization who are entitled to strategic input in communication and decision making. Lobbying campaigns is another important responsibility of the public relations. The first step to effective campaign lobbying is to model a channel of conveying information between the law makers and those people in the organization who might be directly affected by the laws. Changes should be implemented using force of arguments based on the best interest of clients rather than on individual interests or corruption. Professional lobbyists are those who are able to talk on behalf of the organization openly giving its opinions and not about them. They should have the capability to gather and monitor legislative information either in laws or adjustments hence make preparations for affecting them within the organization. PR managers should also create as many corporate relationships as possible with partners who share similar interests with the organization (E.U. 2006). The success of the organization in dealing with the US withdrawal is highly dependent upon the effectiveness of public affairs techniques applied. Key among these is a clear understanding of the role played by the arena participants: the US, EU, PA, Israeli and the effects on other stakeholders. References Ahlborn, C., 2011, UNESCO Approves Palestinian Membership Bid – A Case for US Countermeasures Against the Organization? Retrieved on 24th November 2011 from http://www.ejiltalk.org/unesco-approves-palestinian-membership-bid-%E2%80%93-a-case-for-us-countermeasures-against-the-organization Bennedsen, M., & Feldmann, S., 2005. Informational lobbying and political contributions. Journal of Public Economics, 90, 631–656. Breton, M., & Zaporozhets, V., 2007. Legislative Lobbying under Political Uncertainty. France: Université de Toulouse. Castell, M., 2008. The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616(78) , 78-95. Cornelissen, J., 2008. Corporate communication: a guide theory and practice. Los Angeles: SAGE. Harris, P., & Fleisher, C., 2005. The Handbook of Public Affair . London: Sage. Hazleton, V., & Botan, C., 2006. Public Theory II. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Henisz, W., & Zelner, B., 2003. The strategic organization of political risks and opportunities. Strategic Organisation, 1(4) , 451-460. Mack, C., 1997. Business, politics, and the practice of government relations. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books . Sherwood, H., 31st October 2011, US pulls UNESCO funding after Palestine is granted full membership. The Guardian. Retrieved on 24th November 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/unesco-backs-palestinian-membership Society for Human Resources management (E.U), 2006. The essentials of corporate communications and public relations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Someville, I., 2011. Managing public affairs and lobbying: persuasive communication in the policy sphere. In D. Moss, & B. DeSanto, Public Relations: A Managerial Perspective. London: Sage. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2011, Communication and Information: UNESCO partnerships. Retrieved on 24th November 2011 from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/about-us/how-we-work/unesco-partnerships Walt, S., 2011. International Affairs and the Public Sphere. Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series , 1-8. William, I., 1st November, 2011, Obama will rue his lack of principle on Palestine's Unesco membership. The Guardian. Retrieved on 24th November 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/01/obama-palestine-unesco-membership%3Fnewsfeed%3Dtrue Zetter, L., 2008. Lobbying : the art of political persuasion. Petersfield: Harriman House Appendices: Arena analysis Appendix 1: Issue analysis The issue we are dealing with is on the negative impact of cutting funds for charities by the US and her allies over the admission of Palestine in UNESCO. This will reduce UNESCO budget affecting its projects and engagements. The primary parties are the US, UNESCO and Palestine Issue Effect Primary parties Negative impact of cutting funds for charities US withdraws $65 million Reduced UNESCO budget Beneficiaries are at risk in poor countries UNESCO Palestine Israel US and EU countries Appendix 2: Stakeholder analysis There are two major categories of stakeholder: the proponents and opponents of the Palestinian move. UNESCO and Palestinian sympathizers on one side, the US and her allies on the otherThe EU has some of the member countries supporting UNESCO’s move. However, as a union, the EU opposes it and is threatening UNESCO. Stakeholder Profile The U.S Major contributor to UNESCO budget Threatens to reduce budgetary allocation Pro-Israel Opposed to statehood of Palestine and membership in UNESCO Has allies opposing UNESCO’s move to accept Palestine UNESCO Depends on member-state contributions Faced with imminent budgetary crisis Has ratified Palestine Has beneficiary NGOs and communities in Africa and Asia Has support from BRIC and African countries The EU An ally of the US Some EU countries are supporting the US Has a strong and regionally influential political framework The European Commission The European Parliament The European Council Appendix 3: EU Political Institutions These are the political institutions the EU is comprised of. Their authority has far reaching influence over what happens in member countries especially on matters of policy. UNESCO move in admitting Palestine highly touches on these as they are parties to the Israeli-Palestinian agreement as power brokers and opinion shapers. I. The European Commission- the executive branch of the EU II. The European Parliament- it is the legislative arm III. The European Council – it is made up of the heads of state from European Union and the president of the European Commission. The council’s decisions inform the orientation of major political and economic policies. Appendix 4: Coalitions UNESCO highly relies on coalitions. This is both for the purposes of funding, policy development and projects. There are major coalitions such as the World Bank, and smaller local organizations. These are mostly NGOs who are beneficiaries. The issue may have far reaching implications on UNESCO as most have relationships with the US and the EU. Coalition Relationship Future The World Bank Principal contributor to the organization. Failure of readmission of US and EU back into the organization might discourage world bank from collaborating with UNESCO. These countries are major stakeholders of the world bank. World Vision To partnership in undertaking projects in members countries more so in developing countries. World Vision is greatly supported by the US hence it might turn down the offer to collide with UNESCO. Canadian Coalition of Municipalities against racism and Discrimination (CMARD) Collaborative fight against racism in the world The Canadian government was opposed to Palestinian admission into UNESCO hence it might consider withdrawing from the coalition. Read More