With government-initiated public diplomacy as
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the dependent variable, there are several characteristics of countries or factors that will can
examined. These factors include: wealth as per capita GDP, level of development, size as
population, level of “freedom”, stable democracy, international prestige, years practicing “open”
diplomacy, the number of missions abroad, and technological capacity. The study will show
whether and how each of these factors play a role in determining whether or not a state practices
public diplomacy