Did public diplomacy just get a new job? Sharp power is the latest buzzword in international affairs. Last week The Economist magazine featured a study by the National Endowment for Democracy by that name. The new National Security Strategy dwells on how China and Russia are using traditional “soft power” instruments in new ways to advance their…
This week’s Lunch and Learn session for public diplomacy staffers presented a panel of public affairs experts from the world of politics and corporate crisis communications. Public diplomacy and public relations are cousins, but with clear differences — nowhere more pronounced than in the area of crisis and political communication. This sparked a fascinating compare-and-contrast…
The Council hosted a delegation of public communications executives from Dubai Monday morning as part of their International Media Diplomacy Program in Washington. The Protocol School of Washington and the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) co-sponsored the event. Several Council members and Shawn Powers, staff director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy,…
Irwin Steven Goldstein told the Foreign Relations Committee, “If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Department’s very talented career officials to ensure that we are speaking with one clear, consistent, and compelling voice.” The veteran public relations executive’s official statement is attached to this blog post. He appeared before the Foreign Relations Committee…
As a former public diplomacy officer, I approach the concept of place branding skeptically. Trying to brand the United States is futile — especially in our political environment. Yet a recent article in Public Diplomacy magazine opened new perspectives on the topic. Darius Udrys, Ph.D., was the founding director of Go Vilnius – an agency…
There is room for optimism that Congress will reject the Administration’s proposed deep cuts to exchanges programs and to public diplomacy in general. However, if you want to defend these programs, now is the time to speak out. Through our member Sherry Mueller, the Public Diplomacy Council joined major PD advocacy organizations to sponsor “Making…
By: Amb. (ret.) William A. Rugh There is an unwritten code of conduct among American diplomats that says they should never say anything that is untrue or inaccurate. They are not required to say everything they know because they must also keep secrets. But it is central to their mission to be truthful—not as a…
The White House announced that it would nominate Irvin Steven Goldstein of New York to be the “Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Department of State.” This is not the last word. Further consultations and a congressional hearing will take place before the nominee starts work. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that Goldstein appears to be the first under…
A proposal to reorganize the Department of State is due later this month. Secretary Rex Tillerson called for it, and teams in State and USAID have been working on the “redesign.” How this will affect public diplomacy is not known; PD is not one of the primary topics singled out for attention after a consultancy’s…
By Alan Heil Four years ago, a school in a sparsely populated South Carolina county had a dream: “Why not build an on-line bridge via the Internet, so elementary school kids could embark on a common learning experience with their contemporaries in a sister school in Kenya?” That was the start, in Allendale County, of…