The role of public diplomacy in statecraft; professional ethics; organizational principles; arguments for using public diplomacy
“Churchillian.” That’s a word being used to describe the St. Patrick’s Day Ministerial Broadcast – what Americans would call an address to the nation – by Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Leo Varadkar on the coronavirus. “This is the calm before the storm – before the surge,” he told Ireland’s people. The speech is worth…
On Leap Year Day, the United States and Taliban signed an agreement in Qatar that sought to end the nearly 19-year-old Afghan civil war. Under the agreement, Afghan parties to the conflict would: Agree on a permanent ceasefire and power-sharing in postwar Afghanistan Begin negotiations March 10 (Tuesday of this week). In the preparation for…
A capacity crowd welcomed Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States Pjer Simunovic at a presentation on the value of cultural and educational exchanges for both the United States and partnering nations worldwide. He was joined by a panel of experts gathered for a First Monday Forum event March 2 at the George Washington University School…
After a comprehensive survey, VOA veteran analyst Matthew Baise reports that the nation’s largest publicly-funded network has attracted more than 7.8 million page views on the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China and other countries since January 18. According to Baise, the Voice’s coverage “has been diverse, tailored to target audiences, and highly successful.” …
As of February 17 the Coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China, had killed 1,868 people in the Peoples Republic, according to the PRC National Health Commission. Chinese state television reported that Liu Zhiming, the director of the Wuhan hospital specifically assigned to deal with Corona, has succumbed to the virus, the seventh health worker there to…
Lately I’ve been reflecting on ethics in government. Have you? Ethics definitely apply to public diplomacy, but how? The guidelines that I can find remind me of a very old joke, usually told by an aging male. “When we got married, I made it clear to my wife that I would handle the important decisions…
A capacity crowd attended Dr. Joseph Nye’s Walter Roberts Endowment lecture on January 28 at George Washington University’s School of International Affairs in Washington. He shared the stage with Tara Sonenshine, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, who asked penetrating questions preceding those from the audience of diplomats and students attracted by the…
That pithy reminder popped out near the conclusion of a January 23 public hearing as the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) issued its 70th annual report on the fine art many P.D. specialists spend their lives fostering —effective international dialogues and exchanges here and abroad: genuine two-way communication in many forums. Three members…
First Monday Forum attendees got a panoramic view of U.S. public diplomacy over the past 70 years through the practiced eye of Dr. Vivian Walker, Executive Director of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Previewing the Commission’s annual recommendations to the U.S. Congress and public, due out in about one week, Dr. Walker…
Surveying the world scene as a new year and new decade dawns, many would agree, on the basis of events this past year that there aren’t many rays of hope on the horizon. 2019: —As Middle East Institute President Paul Salem describes the year past: “In the Middle East and North Africa, there were five…