News flash: “We are in an information war, and we’re losing that war.” This source for this conclusion was not one of the at least 15 reports on U.S. public diplomacy that have appeared over the last decade; it was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 2. For years, the State Department has been in denial, and Clinton’s admission of failure is therefore particularly welcome. Maybe we can now have an adult conversation about what needs to be done to reverse the …
A recent event at the United States Institute of Peace featured a discussion on the effects of social media, particularly in the Russian blogosphere. The project was carried out by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet andSociety, and consisted of an analysis of over 11,000 Russian language blogs to understand how and by whom politics is discussed. The study was also designed to look for evidence of social mobilization caused by the blogosphere. Other studies by the USIP have found that new media—for example blogs, Twitter, and YouTube—have had mixed effects …
If competition is healthy—most conservatives believe it is—the challenge presented by China and other nations in the field of public diplomacy ought to be a wakeup call to the U.S. government. While the United States invented the concept of public diplomacy, other contenders for international leadership are investing heavily in this branch of “soft power,” which focuses on promoting information, ideas, and values. As Washington awaits the results of the Obama Administration’s Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review (QDDR), which is far behind schedule, it is clear that leadership and strategic …
For an Administration that started with the premise of improving relations with the “Muslim world,” as President Obama likes to put it, the results of the 2010 Arab Opinion Poll should be deeply disappointing. Having experienced soaring hopes for the dawning of a new era in U.S.-Arab relations, Arabs are now reacting with bitterness to the fact that no change has taken place. And not only that, but as opinions of the Obama presidency are plummeting across the Middle East, support for the Iranian nuclear program is growing. From a …
These days “accountable” is rarely an adjective used to describe the state of American diplomacy. With government waste running rampant, it’s easy to forget that there is congressional oversight intended to hold U.S. agencies accountable for their spending. Today, the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, a bi-partisan board, created by Congress whose members are appointed by the President, met to discuss the State Department’s performance on outreach and engagement with foreign publics. The Commission, who has been critical of U.S. public diplomacy’s performance in the past, devoted this morning’s …
A former United States Ambassador to Thailand tells of being asked to contribute to a local university in Bangkok that wanted to set up an “America corner” in its library—nothing more than a computer station and a few shelves of informational material. When he arrived for the unveiling, however, he found that the modest corner endowed by the United States was dwarfed by the Chinese donation of a new building, fully staffed, to house one of its Confucius Institutes. While U.S. public diplomacy since September 11, 2001, has focused on …
In its ongoing search for solutions to U.S. public diplomacy challenges – some might call it a deficit – the State Department has launched yet another new Internet venture, a social website called Opinion Space. At a time when Internet censorship in countries like Iran, Cuba and China present a profound challenge to freedom of expression, the State Department is focusing its resources in the wrong direction. The Internet is a great public diplomacy tool, but only when used as part of a strategy support U.S. policy goals such as …
Anyone who doubts the value of money spent on competition in the world of ideas – a key aspect of public diplomacy – needs to take a look at what the Chinese are doing in this field. Aspiring to promote their own model of governance, in opposition to that of the United States and the West, the Chinese are investing heavily in making friends overseas. Indeed, there is a real danger of the United States being out-done, for reasons of limited resources and a lack of strategy. The Chinese have …
While Moscow has contributed to much of the Russian public’s distaste towards the United States, Washington has focused on resetting relations with Russia’s government rather that its people. Yesterday, a panel hosted by The Heritage Foundation, “Russian Anti-Americanism: A Priority Target for U.S. Public Diplomacy,” focused on U.S. public diplomacy efforts in Russia.
Internet outreach is the hottest new item in the U.S. government’s array of public diplomacy tools. While international broadcasting is in disarray, the focus has moved to Internet outreach through social networking and websites to promote America and its allies abroad. The Internet can be a great tool for the advancement of freedom and the empowerment of individuals. Yet it is not immune to the designs of state actors, nor does it exist in a policy vacuum. After having tangled with China over its internet censorship policy, Secretary of State …
