Abstract
In the 21st century, public diplomacy has gained significant importance and is used by state, private,
and mostly civilian sectors. In this paper, NATO’s public diplomacy activities are divided into two
parts: activities implemented by the Alliance itself and activities conducted indirectly through the
Atlantic Councils, non-governmental organizations established with the aim of promoting and
encouraging NATO values. Accordingly, an analysis of the content of the Alliance’s Annual Reports
from 2011 to 2023 and seven interviews with the presidents of the Atlantic Councils from the region
and Croatia were conducted. The results of the research confirm that NATO uses more “soft power”
mechanisms and cooperation with civil society than classic institutional and security channels within
the framework of public diplomacy in the Western Balkans. The Atlantic Councils carry out public
diplomacy activities that are in line with the NATO Annual Reports. Moreover, in the Western
Balkans, there is a uniform spatial distribution of NATO public diplomacy activities by country,
regardless of membership in the Alliance.