Public Diplomacy (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
Public Diplomacy is that "form of international Political Advocacy in which the civilians of one country use legitimate means to reach out to the civilians of another country in order to gain popular support for negotiations occurring through diplomatic channels."
1917-1919 - President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information
led by advertiser George Creel
1936 - Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy
1938 - The Division of Cultural Relations (State Dept.)
- Interdeparmental Committee for Scientific Cooperation (USIA pamphlet) - response to German and Italian propaganda aimed at Latin America.
1940 - Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs
1941 - U.S. broadcasting 24/7
1941 - Pearl Harbour, U.S. enters into WWII --> U.S. broadcasting goes global
1942
1946 -The Fulbright Act of 1946 - “Mandated a peacetime international exchange program”
1947 - Fulbright Program
founded.
1948 - U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act signed by President Truman
1948 - Congress creates the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy - to advise and make recommendations on the conduct of public
1949 - the Hoover Commission
advised the creation of an independent information agency
1950 - Campaign of Truth (Truman)
Aug. 1, 1953 - Eisenhower founded the Independent United States Information Agency
(USIA)
1961 - Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
) - "consolidated various U.S. international educational and cultural exchange activities.. It expanded other cultural and athletic exchanges, translation of books and periodicals, and U.S. representation in international fairs and expositions. The Act also established government operation of cultural and education centers abroad."
1961-1964 - Edward R. Murrow
appointed USIA director. He states, “Truth is the best propaganda.”
1977-1978 - the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
is combined with USIA to create the United States International Communication Agency (USICA)
Carter issues second mandate for USIA/USICA: “to reduce the degree to which misperceptions and misunderstandings complicate relations between the United States and other nations. It is also in our interest--and in the interest of other nations--that Americans have the opportunity to understand the histories, cultures, and problems of others, so that we can come to understand their hopes, perceptions, and aspirations.”
1978 - VOA folded into USIA/USICA
1982 - Reagan restored the name to USIA
1987 - Reagan’s tear down this wall! speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
1989 - Year of Miracles:
1990 - amendment to U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act - authorized USIA director to “make certain products available to the Archivist of the United States for domestic distribution.” But only 12 years after the fact.
1994 - United States International Broadcasting Act
1998 - Foreign Affairs Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998
1999 - USIA abolished and full authority given to the State Department's Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
2002 - Strategic communication Policy coordinating Committee established.
2007-2008 - Counter-Terrorism Communication Center established - replaced by Global Strategic Engagement Center.
First: The State Department's basic authorities Act of 1956
Second: The United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Smith-Mundt Act
)
Third: The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
)
Fourth: The United States International Broadcasting Act
of 1994
The 2008 report, entitled Getting the People Part Right, addressed the effect of human resources on public diplomacy. The report concluded:
The 2010 report, entitled Assessing U.S. Public Diplomacy: A Notional Model, was a report based on work done at the direction of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
at The University of Texas at Austin
. The report addressed the method of measuring the effectiveness of U.S. Public Diplomacy. Its contents may be summed up as follows: the thermometer is broken, it doesn't work. Moreover, the concluding remarks of the introductory letter from the Commission members offers more insight as to the state of public diplomacy than the actual contents of the report:
. In the letter of transmittal, ranking member Richard Lugar stated:
In the same way that our trade with China is out of balance, it is clear to even the casual observer that when it comes to interacting directly with the other nation's public we are in another lop-sided contest. China has a vigorous public diplomacy program, based on a portrayal of an ancient, benign China that is, perhaps, out of touch with modern realities. Nonetheless, we are being overtaken in this area of foreign policy by China, which is able to take advantage of America's open system to spread its message in many different ways, while using its fundamentally closed system to stymie U.S. efforts.
America
- George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams all exercised public diplomacy in arguing the case of justice for the American colonies. The most notable use of Public Diplomacy by American Founding Fathers was the United States Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
in 1776
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- 1914-1918 World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
- 1914-1918 World War I
-
1917-1919 - President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I...
led by advertiser George Creel
George Creel
George Creel was an investigative journalist, a politician, and, most famously, the head of the United States Committee on Public Information, a propaganda organization created by President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. He said of himself that "an open mind is not part of my inheritance...
-
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- 1920s - Advent of Radio
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-
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- 1939-1945 World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- 1939-1945 World War II
-
1936 - Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy
Good Neighbor policy
The Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. Its main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America...
1938 - The Division of Cultural Relations (State Dept.)
- Interdeparmental Committee for Scientific Cooperation (USIA pamphlet) - response to German and Italian propaganda aimed at Latin America.
1940 - Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs
1941 - U.S. broadcasting 24/7
1941 - Pearl Harbour, U.S. enters into WWII --> U.S. broadcasting goes global
1942
- February - VOA's first broadcast
- June - United States Office of War InformationUnited States Office of War InformationThe United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
(OWI) created by Roosevelt - The Office of Strategic ServicesOffice of Strategic ServicesThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) - predecessor to the CIA
-
-
- 1945 - Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
- 1945 - Cold War
-
- OWI terminated
- VOA - transferred to the State Department
- Founding of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
1946 -The Fulbright Act of 1946 - “Mandated a peacetime international exchange program”
1947 - Fulbright Program
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
founded.
- Establishment of the CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency was a successor to the OSS and it proceeded to lend intellectual, legal, and material support to American Public Diplomacy
1948 - U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act signed by President Truman
-
- Also known as the Smith-Mundt ActSmith-Mundt ActThe US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 , popularly referred to as the Smith–Mundt Act, specifies the terms in which the United States government can engage global audiences, also known as public diplomacy....
, it is a charter addressing America's peacetime overseas information program.
- Also known as the Smith-Mundt Act
1948 - Congress creates the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy - to advise and make recommendations on the conduct of public
- diplomacy.
-
- June 1948-May 1949 - Berlin BlockadeBerlin BlockadeThe Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
- June 1948-May 1949 - Berlin Blockade
1949 - the Hoover Commission
Hoover Commission
The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the United States...
advised the creation of an independent information agency
1950 - Campaign of Truth (Truman)
Aug. 1, 1953 - Eisenhower founded the Independent United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
(USIA)
-
- the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
directed educational exchange programs.
- the United States Department of State
1961 - Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 is officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 . It was marshalled by United States Senator J...
) - "consolidated various U.S. international educational and cultural exchange activities.. It expanded other cultural and athletic exchanges, translation of books and periodicals, and U.S. representation in international fairs and expositions. The Act also established government operation of cultural and education centers abroad."
1961-1964 - Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
appointed USIA director. He states, “Truth is the best propaganda.”
-
-
- 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis
-
1977-1978 - the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world...
is combined with USIA to create the United States International Communication Agency (USICA)
Carter issues second mandate for USIA/USICA: “to reduce the degree to which misperceptions and misunderstandings complicate relations between the United States and other nations. It is also in our interest--and in the interest of other nations--that Americans have the opportunity to understand the histories, cultures, and problems of others, so that we can come to understand their hopes, perceptions, and aspirations.”
1978 - VOA folded into USIA/USICA
1982 - Reagan restored the name to USIA
1987 - Reagan’s tear down this wall! speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
1989 - Year of Miracles:
-
- Solidarity (Polish trade union)
1990 - amendment to U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act - authorized USIA director to “make certain products available to the Archivist of the United States for domestic distribution.” But only 12 years after the fact.
1994 - United States International Broadcasting Act
International Broadcasting Act
Signed in law in 1994 by U.S. President Bill Clinton, this act was meant to streamline the U.S. international broadcasting and provide a cost-effective way to continue Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and Radio Marti...
1998 - Foreign Affairs Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998
- States that “USIA will be integrated with the Department of State as of October 1, 1999, moving public diplomacy closer to the center of U.S. foreign policymaking.”
1999 - USIA abolished and full authority given to the State Department's Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
- VOA is put put under the direction of the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of GovernorsBroadcasting Board of GovernorsThe Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
-
- 2001 - Sept. 11 th - Terrorist attacks against United States. Subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.
2002 - Strategic communication Policy coordinating Committee established.
-
- 2003 - Invasion of Afghanistan
2007-2008 - Counter-Terrorism Communication Center established - replaced by Global Strategic Engagement Center.
Important Legislation
- The following four acts provide the foundational legislative authority for public diplomacy as practiced by the U.S. government:
First: The State Department's basic authorities Act of 1956
- - Authorizes six Under Secretaries of State for the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and requires the existence of an Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
Second: The United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Smith-Mundt Act
Smith-Mundt Act
The US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 , popularly referred to as the Smith–Mundt Act, specifies the terms in which the United States government can engage global audiences, also known as public diplomacy....
)
- authorizes the Secretary of state to "Prepare and disseminate 'information about the United States, its people, and its policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, and other information media, and through information centers and instructors abroad.'"
- ~ the controversy of the Smith-Mundt Act, pertains to Section 501 which, "unlike previous government public information efforts, prohibits materials developed under the authorities of this Act from being disseminated within the United States, its territories, or possessions"
- - Matt Armstrong articulates the dilemma:
-
- The law imposes a geographic segregation of audiences between those inside the U.S. and those outside it, based on the fear that content
- aimed at audiences abroad might "spill over" into the U.S. This not only shows a lack of confidence and understanding of U.S. public
- diplomacy and international broadcasting, it also ignores the ways in which information and people now move across porous, often non-
- existent borders with incredible speed and ease, to both create and empower dynamic diasporas...No other country, except perhaps North
- Korea and China, prevents its own people from knowing what is said and done in their name.
Third: The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961
The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 is officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 . It was marshalled by United States Senator J...
)
- This act "authorizes U.S. exchange programs as a public Diplomacy tool"
Fourth: The United States International Broadcasting Act
International Broadcasting Act
Signed in law in 1994 by U.S. President Bill Clinton, this act was meant to streamline the U.S. international broadcasting and provide a cost-effective way to continue Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and Radio Marti...
of 1994
- Reorganizes U.S. non-military international broadcasting
- Creates nine-member Broadcasting Board of GovernorsBroadcasting Board of GovernorsThe Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.-Origins:Starting in...
(BBG)under which it places all U.S. international broadcasting. - "Charges the Secretary of State and the BBG with respecting the professional independence and integrity of hte international Broadcasting Bureau, its broadcasting services, and the grantees of the board."
U.S. Information Agency (USIA)
- USIA supported a coordinated and extensive approach to public diplomacy. As Kathy Fitzpatrick sums up:
-
- USIA's presence was felt in all corners of the world. Thousands of public diplomacy specialists were stationed in more than 175
- countries. The Voice of America was broadcasting to 100 million people weekly. USIA was producing books and magazines in more than 100
- languages. The agency was operating a global library network in 150 countries, teaching English to thousands of foreign citizens, hosting
- exhibits depicting American ideals that drew billions of visitors, producing films and programs widely popular in other nations, and
- administering cultural and euducational exchange programs in which millions of world citizens participated. According to USIA veteran
- Wilson P. Dizard Jr., "it was the biggest information and cultural effort ever mounted by one society to influence the attitudes and
- actions of men and women beyond its borders."
-
- Therefore, a piece of legislation which had serious ramifications for American Public Diplomacy was the Foreign Affairs Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 which folded USIA into the State Department and put all International Broadcasting in the hands of the BBG.
Structure
- In a 2008 survey of USIA alumni, Kathy Fitzpatrick surmised, "Notwithstanding increased funding for public diplomacy in the Middle East after 9/11 and despite dozens of reports by government and private organizations calling for substantial improvements in public diplomacy capabilities, American public diplomacy remains underfunded, undervalued, and underutilized."
- Since 1999, the Foreign Affairs Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, also known as The Consolidation Act, abolished USIA and transferred its functions (information, cultural, and educational operations) to the United States Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
and the United States State Department. Specifically, these functions fall under the leadership of the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. - On the other hand, the Consolidation Act also established the BBG as an "independent entity within the executive branch." U.S. International Broadcasting continues to play a vital role in American public diplomacy. As former president of the BBG and 2008 undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, James K. GlassmanJames K. GlassmanJames K. Glassman is an American conservative editorialist, journalist, diplomat and author. He is currently the host of the television program Ideas in Action, which airs on PBS member stations across the country. On December 11, 2007 Glassman was nominated by President George W...
says, "U.S. international broadcasting is America’s largest civilian public diplomacy program, and one that “provides a lifeline to people seeking the truth” in many closed societies."
-
- An organizational chart of Public Diplomacy within the Department of State is available on pg. 19 of the 2009 report by CRS (Congressional Research ServiceCongressional Research ServiceThe Congressional Research Service , known as "Congress's think tank", is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a...
) entitled U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and Current Issues available online at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40989.pdf
- An organizational chart of Public Diplomacy within the Department of State is available on pg. 19 of the 2009 report by CRS (Congressional Research Service
-
- On pg. 25 of that same report by CRS, there is an organizational chart of U.S. International Broadcasting under the BBG. Also Available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40989.pdf
Oversaturation
- The drawback to modern technology is that there is an oversaturation of information which make it hard to reach and/or move your audience. As Kristin Lord writes,"Despite the extraordinary power of the U.S. government, its public diplomacy activities are, and increasingly will be, only a fraction of the many images and bits of information citizens around the world receive every day. Moreover, they are only one part of the many ways America – through its culture, products, services, philanthropy, people, and media – reaches foreign publics. That does not reduce public diplomacy’s importance; perhaps it increases it. But we need to maintain our perspective."
U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
Established under section 604 of the United States Information and Exchange Act of 1948. Its purpose is to "appraises U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics." The current charter for the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is available online at http://www.state.gov/r/adcompd/charter/104510.htmThe 2008 report, entitled Getting the People Part Right, addressed the effect of human resources on public diplomacy. The report concluded:
-
-
- The Commission believes that we can significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of our nation’s
- outreach to foreign publics by: recruiting for the public diplomacy career track in a more focused way;
- testing our recruitees more thoroughly and methodically for their PD instincts, knowledge and skills;
- training them more intensively in the core PD skill-set of persuasive communication; and evaluating them
- more on communication and less on administration.”
-
The 2010 report, entitled Assessing U.S. Public Diplomacy: A Notional Model, was a report based on work done at the direction of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is a graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer professional training in public policy analysis and administration for students interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas...
at The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. The report addressed the method of measuring the effectiveness of U.S. Public Diplomacy. Its contents may be summed up as follows: the thermometer is broken, it doesn't work. Moreover, the concluding remarks of the introductory letter from the Commission members offers more insight as to the state of public diplomacy than the actual contents of the report:
-
-
- “We offer an observation about the Commission and its work. We fully appreciate that the Commission is
- charged by the President and the Congress to undertake important advisory and oversight work in
- connection with public diplomacy; this work has been made all the more important following the 9/11
- attacks on our nation and the imperative of conducting thoughtful, effective public diplomacy in support
- of our policy objectives. We have been frustrated at times by limitations related to re-authorization,
- funding, staffing and access to department officials.”
-
U.S. Public Diplomacy v. Extremist Islamic Propaganda
- The 9/11 Commission9/11 CommissionThe National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
makes the following assessment:The enemy is not Islam, the great world faith, but a perversion of Islam. The enemy goes beyond al Qaeda to include the radical ideological movement, inspired in part by al Qaeda, that has spawned other terrorist groups and violence. thus our strategy must match our means to two ends: dismantling the al Qaeda network and, in the long term, prevailing over the ideology that contributes to Islamist terrorism."
- Steven Corman, professor at Arizona State University and director of that school’s Consortium for Strategic Communication (http://comops.org/) states that the U.S. must “engage the narrative in the new media. … We should be able to do that better than any terrorist group.”
- The conflict between the U.S. and Extremist Islamic groups is fundamentally a conflict of ideas. It is a battle for truth. As Patricia HarrisonPatricia HarrisonPatricia Destacy Harrison is 's sister. She lives in the United States, a position to which she was appointed with strong backing from CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson...
, assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, asserted, "if we do not define ourselves, others will do it for us."
U.S. v. China
On February 15, 2011, a minority staff report was submitted to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign RelationsUnited States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
. In the letter of transmittal, ranking member Richard Lugar stated:
In the same way that our trade with China is out of balance, it is clear to even the casual observer that when it comes to interacting directly with the other nation's public we are in another lop-sided contest. China has a vigorous public diplomacy program, based on a portrayal of an ancient, benign China that is, perhaps, out of touch with modern realities. Nonetheless, we are being overtaken in this area of foreign policy by China, which is able to take advantage of America's open system to spread its message in many different ways, while using its fundamentally closed system to stymie U.S. efforts.
- In the arena of public diplomacy, the report cites China's continued suppression of freedom of speech and freedom of information within their country esp. via the internet. The key means of communication which remains open to the U.S., i.e. individual interaction, is an opportunity which the U.S. has failed to promote. The report cites two significant failures on the part of U.S. public diplomacy:
- The U.S. has five American centers in all of China. This compared to the seventy some Confucius Institutes throughout the United States.
- The Shanghai World Expo was a brilliant opportunity for the U.S., however, while "more than 7,000,000" Chinese visited the U.S. Pavilion, the U.S. was criticized for its "hastily organized presentations and lack of a cogent message."
Other government agencies exercising public diplomacy
- Aside from the State Department, two other government entities have clear foreign policy roles and, accordingly, engage foreign publics through public diplomacy. These are the United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
United States Department of Defense - Strategic Communication
- "Strategic Communications" is the D.O.D. version of "public diplomacy." The D.O.D. defines "strategic communication" as:
- focused United States Government efforts to understand and engage key audiences to create, strengthen,
- or preserve conditions favorable for the advancement of United States Government interests, policies,
- and objectives through the use of coordinated programs, plans, themes, messages, and products
- synchronized with the actions of all instruments of national power.
- Related activities include:
- Information Operations (IO)
- Public affairs (military)Public affairs (military)Public Affairs is a term for the formal offices of the branches of the United States Department of Defense whose purpose is to deal with the media and community issues. The term is also used for numerous media relations offices that are created by the U.S. military for more specific limited purposes...
- Defense Support to Public Diplomacy
- Strategic Communications Activities include:
- Internet - as a battlefield of ideas
- Human Terrain Teams - providing expert knowledge on foreign societies
- The Global Maritime Partnership - "deployment of Navy warships and hospital ships to conduct civil-military operations in foreign countries as well as deliver humanitarian assistance."
USAID - United States Agency for International Development
- USAID plays a significant role in public diplomacy because of its a-political humanitarian bent. As Nakamura writes, "the Agency creates long-standing relationships between the United states and the people of other countries, relationships that are capable of influencing foreign publics to view U.S. policies and actions as beneficial and to cooperate with U.S. government initiatives.
- Up-to-date information available at http://www.usaid.gov/.
Public diplomacy and the American people
- The potency of U.S. public diplomacy is integrally connected to the American people. The role of the private sector in American public diplomacy is indispensible. As Kristin Lord writes,
- To be most influential, American public diplomacy should tap into and mobilize these private actors as much as possible – as advocated by countless recent reports. This should happen within current official structures. In addition, the United States should find new ways to engage private actors and employ
- technology, media, and private sector expertise.
- In the end, America must communicate a sense of herself. As Harvard professor Joseph NyeJoseph NyeJoseph Samuel Nye, Jr. is the co-founder, along with Robert Keohane, of the international relations theory neoliberalism, developed in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and complex interdependence...
states, the strength of American soft powerSoft powerSoft power is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction. It can be contrasted with 'hard power', that is the use of coercion and payment...
comes from its ability to "inspire the dreams and desires of others."
External links
- http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/Fitzpatrick2008.pdf publicdiplomacy.org Fitzpatrick, Kathy R. The Collapse of American Public Diplomacy
- http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/usia/ - USIA's website in 1999
- http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40989.pdf - CRS report
- http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2009/winter_public_diplomacy_lord.aspx- Brookings article by Kristin M. Lord
- http://www.state.gov/r/ - State Department
- http://www.state.gov/r/adcompd/charter/104510.htm - Current charter for the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public diplomacy
- http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/106297.pdf - 2008 Report - U.S. Advisory Commission on Public diplomacy
- http://www.america.gov/index.html America.gov (now archived as of March 31, 2011)
- http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/August/200808261256351xeneerg0.679516.html?CP.rss=true - U.S. Election Helping America's Image Worldwide by Eric Green
- http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/July/20080716173657eaifas0.1154749.htmlhttp:/www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2008/July/20080716173657eaifas0.1154749.html - Glassman's briefing on Public diplomacy, War of Ideas
- http://comops.org/ - Consortium for Strategic Communications
- http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/about/ - USC Public diplomacy
- http://www.voanews.com/english/news/ - VOA