The role of public diplomacy in statecraft; professional ethics; organizational principles; arguments for using public diplomacy
1. THE WESTERN SAHARA PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES: President Trump’s historic December 10, 2020 proclamation recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara has created new U.S. policy — and PD — challenges. That territory has long been controversial, and it is quite an uncharted area for traditional diplomacy. After Spain withdrew from its then-colony in 1975, Morocco…
In a lead editorial entitled “The Plague Year,” The Economist minces no words: “Like the COVID-19 endemic, climate change is impervious to populace denials, global in the destruction it causes and will be far more costly to deal with in the future if it is neglected now. “Something good can come from the misery of…
From a tiny Persian Gulf country to brightly decorated homes throughout America, new friendships span faith traditions and signal hope and peace for countless millions in the year ahead. Washington Post correspondent Steve Hendrix visits Dubai to observe the arrival in brightly illuminated market squares of an unprecedented tour by an estimated 10,000 Israeli Jews,…
1. UNIQUE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS: It’s good to have a sense of humor and creativity, especially if you do public diplomacy work during these challenging times. One small business that is helping meet the gift-giving needs of people who care about diplomacy is called Burn Bag Gear. A veteran-owned small business, it has an online catalog…
Linked via ZOOM, two dozen veteran practitioners and scholars of the impact of the nation’s five overseas international broadcasters joined December 16th in discussion of the networks’ future under a Biden administration. Among the expert panelists as lead participants: Amanda Bennett and David Ensor. Former Voice of America Directors Martha Bayles and Peter Pomerantsev, scholars…
The USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy sponsored a “global conversation on how the US election is being explained to the world” on December 15 — the day after the United States’ Electoral College voted Joseph Biden as President-elect. Prof. Adam Clayton Powell III, chaired an eclectic panel of media experts from locations…
1. “VACCINE DIPLOMACY” AND PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND EDUCATION: As the United States – and much of the world – braces for more coronavirus infections and deaths, the pressures to approve several vaccines and start widely and fairly distributing them intensifies at home and abroad. Public affairs and public diplomacy personnel face staggering challenges on the long…
“Freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and the touchstone of all the freedoms, as well, to which the United States is consecrated. This is our touchstone as well. We seek a free flow of information with others, across Iron Curtains and stone walls.” — President John F. Kennedy, 1962 “To millions in closed…
1.ROLLING OUT “AMERICA IS BACK!”: The incoming Biden Administration has named its key foreign policy officials, most of whom are well-known, reassuring names to many within the public diplomacy community. Of the six appointees in the cluster, five have had extensive experience within the State Department. In announcing the appointments on November 24, 2020, President-elect…
Disclaimer: This article is excerpted and adapted from a longer thesis paper completed during the author’s participation in the 2019-2020 Kathryn Davis PD Fellowship. The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author only and do not represent the views or policies of the U.S. government. As this paper went to press, Americans…