Ukraine: Is It Time for Public Diplomacy?
Thursday, March 6th 2014
Henry Kissinger notes in the Washington Post on March 5, “Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation.”
And yet, this is a situation where neither the United States nor the Europeans have any reasonable way to use their military options in resolving the crisis. Even the President’s most vocal critics do not suggest we put American boots on Ukrainian ground.
So, as Lenin said, "What is to be done?"
This is a good time for diplomacy. There should be, and apparently there is a good deal of diplomatic work going on in Washington and other capitals. Most of that is focused on convincing Mr. Putin that he should not continue his “illegal actions in Ukraine” and promising severe consequences if this Russian action continues. We’ve threatened things such as President Obama not going to the next G-8 meeting in Sochi, and we announced a visa ban on officials and others deemed responsible for actions that have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
But, if you were President Putin, would any of this dissuade you? After all, these Russian moves in Ukraine seem to be quite popular in Russia itself, and perhaps even as well among a certain group in eastern Ukraine. Putin doubtless believes, as he indicated in his press conference Tuesday, that he has the Russian people and their mental image of Russia’s history on his side.
What can move Putin and his circle of supporters is public diplomacy.
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Brian E. Carlson
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Summary: An experienced public diplomacy officer, Ambassador Brian Carlson advises the InterMedia research organization on military and foreign affairs issues and serves the State Department as a senior inspector. For the last three years he was the State Department liaison to the Department of Defense on strategic communication.
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Author: Brian Carlson
