Areas of PDC activity, including academic study, professional practice and advocacy
By Sherry Mueller and Hayley Pottle There is certainly no shortage of foreign policy advice directed at President-elect Biden. The need to restructure the State Department and rebuild America’s diplomatic strength is widely acknowledged. As former defense secretary, Robert Gates, phrased it in his article in the July/August 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs, “Washington has…
Public Diplomacy: Re-engaging the World While international faith in America’s global leadership is much diminished, there is residual affinity around the world for our values, goals, and democratic heritage. On that foundation, we must rebuild our credibility as a world leader and as a society worthy of emulation. The Biden-Harris Administration faces many global challenges…
1.THE NOT-SO-OPEN “OPEN DOORS” REPORT:The new — and always useful — Institute of International Education (IIE) annual report on international students is out with findings that are not surprising given the pandemic. Funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the latest Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange found that a “snapshot survey” last…
President-elect Biden has taken a promising first step to ensure that the five networks uphold that reputation by naming former Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel and Time Magazine columnist as director of a Biden transition team for international broadcasting and other foreign policy assets. America’s five U.S. overseas government multimedia networks face a crucial…
An estimated 100,000 people have lost their lives or been seriously injured in Yemen’s half a decade long civil war, with scant evidence of an approaching end to what some have described as “interminable human suffering.” The key adversaries are: the rebel Houthis now controlling much of northern Yemen and part of its capital city,…
This past week the Public Diplomacy Council hosted a very special event centered around cultural diplomacy. PDC member and American pianist Pauline Yang shared her musical outreach during public diplomacy visits organized by Ambassadors in Japan, Ethiopia, and Portugal. Her stellar presentation was inspiring and a breath of fresh air when so many virtual events…
A record number of U.S. voters cast ballots in the November 3 Presidential election, more than 150 million people. The latest electoral votes are reported as 306 for former vice president Biden and 232 electoral votes for President Trump. Some recounts are still underway, but most U. S. historians say that Joseph R. Biden will…
Joe Biden’s election as president is prompting broad reexamination of the United States’ diplomacy under the glare of a skeptical world. The U.S. electorate voted for an improvement in relations with traditional allies as well as for greater respect around the globe, and President Biden’s experience and approach to governing will go a long way…
1. THE OH-SO-POLARIZED U.S. ELECTIONS: The rather sad, nail-biting U.S. elections are finally behind us. I say “sad” because our public diplomacy officers around the world were relatively limited as to what they could say and do about the long, drawn-out process. Many opportunities to explain U.S.-style democracy and our complex voting system and changing media landscape…
Less than a month after Donald Trump won the 2016 election, but before his inauguration, I was one of those who thought that when he sat behind the Resolute desk, he would understand the need to set aside his “candidate” personality in the face of “presidential” responsibilities. I was bold enough to write out the…