The role of public diplomacy in statecraft; professional ethics; organizational principles; arguments for using public diplomacy
Will the U.S., Western and industrialized countries with anticipated surpluses of the vaccine against the 21st century’s deadliest disease join to help provide relief for hundreds of millions of COVID-19 victims in Africa, Asia and Latin America? It’s too early to say, but there compelling reasons to do so. Worldwide, there have been more than…
1. A STUNNING DAY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: Friday, February 19, 2021 was not “just another news day” for America. If you were a U.S. diplomat, especially a public diplomacy officer, it was arguably a great day. Several things happened within just a couple of hours to significantly explain and advance U.S. policy of partnership, cooperation, engagement…
1. FACTS ABOUT THE “LEAN” PUBLIC DIPLOMACY BUDGET: The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) has released an important report that is essential reading for anyone interested in the state of public diplomacy as practiced today by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Called 2020 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy…
Is it possible that we are on the threshold of an end to the devastating half-dozen years of civil war in Yemen — regarded by some scholars and Middle East watchers as today’s most serious international crisis? Fresh diplomatic initiatives, led so far by the United States, signal an already fast-moving way ahead. On…
1. “POTUS” VISITS FOGGY BOTTOM: A visit to the State Department by the President of the United States (POTUS) is always a major event. (President Trump only visited the building once in four years — for Secretary Pompeo’s 2018 swearing-in ceremony — and once famously joked that Pompeo was head of the “Deep State Department”.) So…
As the United States welcomes a new administration that will tackle the challenges presented by COVID-19 and seek to bridge the nation’s political divide, I would like to call Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) members and blog readers to reflect on what the last historical year allowed us to learn. Shutdowns around the world presented an…
1. “RESETTING” STATE DEPARTMENT: January 27, 2021 was a historic day for the State Department and all who follow U.S. diplomacy. It was the first full day on the job for the new 71st Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. Politics and personality aside, it was a welcome change for many, who have felt demoralized under the…
So far, the top issue for the new Biden Administration combining foreign and domestic policy is climate change. And it’s no wonder. Ice caps encircling the North and South Poles are receding rapidly. Their melting is causing all oceans globally to rise threatening vulnerable cities in all continents with inundation beginning within a decade or…
1. THE WORLD WATCHES HISTORY IN THE MAKING: The smooth January 20, 2021 inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris will surely go down in our political and strategic communications history. Although intended for a domestic audience, the jam-packed schedule of televised events over 24 hours reached many international audiences, and must be counted as…
The appointment of a new acting chief executive for America’s five taxpayer-funded overseas networks and two senior leaders of the Voice of America is a major achievement of the new Biden administration. At 2 p.m. January 20, Michael Pack, the departing CEO, announced his resignation at President Biden’s request barely two hours after Mr. Biden…