As America publicizes an extensive list of financial, technology and military sanctions against Russia to deter an invasion of Ukraine, the Administration is leaving one of its most potent tools in the shed. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius noted in the January 7 Washington Post that the U.S. would like to turn Ukraine into a…
By American University Tuch Fellow Marcela Falck-Bados On December 14, I attended the American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) luncheon program, Career Opportunities in International Relations (COIR) at the historic DACOR Bacon House. The keynote speaker, Dr. Clare Lockhart, is a preeminent expert on Afghanistan and founder of the Institute for State Effectiveness. She served…
Hope. That is the word that rang in my mind throughout the night of the International Student House (ISH) Global Leadership Awards Dinner. Hope, as I walked through the doors of the United States Institute of Peace, my first large-scale event since the start of the Pandemic. Hope, that despite the pandemic, life is continuing…
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…
Virtual programming is a key tool in cultivating your public diplomacy garden. This article is based on the white paper Creating a Virtual Programming Ecosystem. To learn more, download the white paper here. By Loren Hurst If there is one lesson to be drawn from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s that online interaction as a…
The Biden Administration’s nominee for a major part of U.S. public diplomacy received a favorable hearing from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Assistant secretaries for educational and cultural affairs are traditionally primus inter pares in State’s public diplomacy leadership circle. In 2019, the bureau’s budget was $700.9 million. Only the U.S. Agency for Global Media…
The largest activity of the Public Diplomacy Council is probably one that most members don’t know about. I refer to the Citizen Diplomacy Research Group. Formed in June, 2020 by PDC member and sociologist and nonprofit executive Paul Lachelier with assistance from the PDC’s Debbie Trent, this affinity group includes a good number of PDC…
By Dr. Sherry Lee Mueller, PDC President This July 4th requires a reckoning of who we are and our place in the world. This first July 4 after the tragedy of January 6 must be about more than spectacular fireworks, tantalizing tastes, and backyard BBQs. Almost a century ago in 1922, Elihu Root, who served…
1. U.S. IMAGE REBOUNDS DUE TO “THE BIDEN EFFECT”: Many Americans — and most foreigners — feel that four years of the Trump presidency did considerable damage to the country’s reputation around the world. Since June 10, 2021, they have some solid, independent research to support that conclusion. A Pew Research Center survey of 16 publics…
1. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY VETERAN RETURNS TO EL SALVADOR: It is always good to see when the services of an experienced PD professional are appreciated. The best recent example of this is Secretary of State Blinken’s May 26, 2021 designation of Ambassador Jean Manes as Charge’ d’ affaires ad interim to the Republic of El Salvador. She…