The role of public diplomacy in statecraft; professional ethics; organizational principles; arguments for using public diplomacy
The Council on Foreign Relations, a respected observer, summarizes the summit findings in an authoritative essay entitled: “What the Summit Did and Did Not Accomplish”. Its summary: Would you consider COP26 a success? The quick response, according to the CFR, was blunt: “Yes, but barely.” The recently-concluded summit, it said, “delivered on its primary goal…
The value of presentation skill sets in public diplomacy is more important than ever. By Loren Hurst Today’s communications environment has vastly increased the importance of presentation skill sets at all levels. Public diplomacy practitioners compete with infinite content choices, where anyone can get online and produce a blog, podcast, or even a feature film.…
The New York Times reports Nov. 17 that the Biden administration plans to invest billions of dollars to expand United States production of coronavirus vaccines to deal with the deadly plague at home and abroad. “That goal,” according to Times correspondent Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “is a proposed first step in a new plan”, enabling the…
In the November 1 First Monday Forum, representatives of Global Ties U.S. gave a fascinating talk about building constituencies for public diplomacy in their communities with business representatives, politicians, and with those who meet with our visitors. And it got me thinking of the role we can play in our own communities. We can all…
According to a report released today, the U.S. remains the premier destination for international students, but as expected, overall student numbers fell during the pandemic. The Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors, released November 15, reports a total of 914,095 international students studied at American universities in the 2020/21 academic year. That number represents…
In an article in the latest edition of Foreign Affairs, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright describes her concerns about United States foreign policy in the 2020s. “Historically,” she says, “our republic’s claim on the global imagination has been inseparable from its identity — however imperfectly embodied — as a champion of human freedom. That…
A draft agreement at the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, expresses “alarm and concern” about our planet’s global warming in 2021 and well beyond. The Associated Press reported on November 10 that coal mining and production remain a principal element of that concern. “There is a big push at the summit by most developed countries…
First, a personal thanks to the Voice of America, which enabled me to travel to most of the 60 countries I experienced during my 36 years at the Voice from 1962-1998. Two incidents during those wanderings stand out as a foundation for my understanding of public diplomacy today: On the banks of the lower reaches…
A civil war in Ethiopia began a year ago this November. Now, the fighting is escalating and the world is seriously concerned that aid supplies can’t reach millions who desperately need them. As the Associated Press reported: “Urgent new efforts to calm Ethiopia’s escalating war unfolded November 4th as Ethiopia’s East African neighbor Kenya warned…
At a landmark global summit in Glasgow this week, world leaders must reckon with and take specific steps to curb global warming. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently described the crisis: “We have reached a tipping point in the need for climate action. The disruption to our climate and our planet is already worse than we…