September 15

--Above and below images from World War II Propaganda Posters

VIDEO

U.S. Condemned For Pre-Emptive Use Of Hillary Clinton Against Pakistan - The Onion; Courtesy MP.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Taking Celebrity Diplomacy Seriously in International Relations - Andrew F. Cooper, International Relations: "Celebrities, both in the world of entertainment and business entrepreneurship, are vibrant and embedded actors on the global stage and as such, need to be taken seriously as a component of International Relations. …

[C]elebrity diplomacy is both complementing and challenging traditional forms of statecraft. 'Old school' national diplomats may talk about public diplomacy, but they still are most comfortable behind closed doors or with set scripts. Celebrities know, aided by the sophisticated experts with which they surround themselves, how to work the media. … The buzz that celebrity diplomacy provides certainly cannot be discounted. While traditional statecraft is usually opaque to the uninitiated, celebrities mesh international problem solving with the world of entertainment. But some components of this phenomenon provide not just a different sort of excitement, they offer some prospect of hope that issues too long neglected can be ratcheted up on the global agenda."

Iranian prosecutor says BBC, Radio Farda use internet to spread "false information" - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Iranian discussions: readers are concerned - Bruce Clarke, examiner.com:

"Previous articles about Iran have drawn numerous readers’ comments. The most recent article about discussions with Iran solicited numerous comments. … In describing a strategy for Iran we sought to deny them both nuclear weapons and dominance of the area. Several readers thought that this was unrealistic. The strategy took on more relevance when I pointed out the public diplomacy necessary to build a strong coalition of Sunni states to oppose Iran."

New Media Tools and Public Diplomacy - Kund Florian, Brand Encounters: "An interview with Elliot Schrage, VP of Global Communications, Marketing, and Public Policy, Facebook. (By Council on Foreign Relations)."

Events Detail: The 21st Century Family of Man: Photography as Public Diplomacy – Events Detail, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "USC Annenberg celebrates the opening of the exhibit 'The 21st Century Family of Man: Photography as Public Diplomacy,' featuring images by photographer and current public diplomacy student Paul Rockower.

This selection of photographs pays homage to 'The Family of Man' exhibition that opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1955. The exhibition’s world tour proved a tremendous public diplomacy success for America. On display in Rockower’s exhibit is a 21st century interpretation of this successful instance of public diplomacy, echoing the richly textured chronicle of the human condition across the globe."

Diplomacy at it's [sic] best... – Schatz, Changing Ways: "The Tourism Promotion Act of 2009, which passed in the Senate but not yet in the House, is supposedly designed to 'address the decline in overseas nationals visiting the US and to act as an economic stimulus and exercise in public diplomacy'. It calls for charging each tourist from $10 to $20 for the right to enter the country. (In addition to having to request authorization in the first place through ESTA and being fingerprinted on arrival). … Why would anyone want to come visit the US if you can just go to Spain or Italy or France of Sweden or Britain or New Zealand or Australia or most any other developed nation without all this hassle?"

Symposium on Northeast Asian Security Opened in Vladivostok – http://vostokmedia.com/n55180.html:

"The list of participants includes Michael A. Richards, Public Diplomacy Advisor to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Pamela Milligan, US Navy Brigadier-General and Tomas Armbruster, Consul-General of the USA in Vladivostok."

From “Brand Estonia” to The Swedish Institute - Kolja Bienert Blog: "After stumbling upon some “Brand Estonia” memorabilia I decided to do some fresh reseach on different countries’ branding strategies and discovered new best practices from Sweden. Those interested might know the outstanding multi-interest website “Sweden.se – The official gateway to Sweden” and it is interesting to discover other activities of the country’s branding strategy orchestrated by a single public agency, the Swedish Institute. Amongst others, the Institute’s website features a link to Matt Armstrong who, in his own words, 'organized and chaired the successful 2009 Smith-Mundt Symposium, a first of its kind discussion that brought together the full spectrum of parties interested in public diplomacy, strategic communication and global engagement.'”

Italy - Lectio magistralis by [Foreign] Minister [Franco] Frattini at the University of Vilnius: “Nato’s new strategic concept: the Italian vision” – ISRIA: "In recent years, NATO has already reacted pragmatically to changing circumstances and new demands: only think of our commitment in Afghanistan or against piracy.

But we need a new manifesto that develops the Alliance’s strategic vision of the 21st century in clear terms for the policy makers and the public opinion, both within and outside the Euro-Atlantic context. In this respect, the Strategic Concept will be also, more than ever before, an instrument of public diplomacy. We cannot operate, in Europe or elsewhere, without explaining 'who we are and what we are doing'. We also need a 'guide' on NATO’s role, potentiality and level of ambition to refer to in order to determine the necessary resources and capabilities for it to perform its functions to best effect. This is the overall meaning of the Alliance’s new Strategic Concept which we will soon be writing together."

Pakistan, China signed above 50 new initiatives, 36 MoUs in one year: Zardari – Associated Press Of Pakistan: "President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday said during last one year, Pakistan and China have identified more than 50 new initiatives for joint collaboration and signed more than three dozen MoUs. … Responding to a question about his visits to China, the President said during all his visits, he focused on familiarizing himself with the Chinese experience of growth and development. 'I have been impressed by all round development your great country has achieved. One is inspired by the remarkable achievements of the Chinese people and wise stewardship of its leaders. I think there is a great deal Pakistan can learn from the Chinese experience and its development model,' he said. 'The goodwill must act as a precursor for adding greater commercial and cultural content to the economic and public diplomacy between the two countries,' the President added.

Thread - What beyond nations? - Audra Joy, SIS 640 CommuniacsThe Creative Domain Of The Fall 2009 Sis 640[Au]:

"[Manuel] Catells seems to take a rather lofty view of a global government or rather an intergovernmental institution. … Finally, though, he makes this final statement: 'Public diplomacy is not propaganda...It is to induce a communication space in which a new, common language could emerge as a precondition for diplomacy, so that when the time for diplomacy comes, it reflects not only interests and power making but also meaning and sharing.' (p.45) Like I said, lofty."

Boren Scholars Named For Language, Culture Pursuits – Katie Martha, University News, Georgetown University: "The National Security Education Program recently awarded two David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships and seven Boren Graduate Fellowships to Georgetown students for their pursuits in language and cultural studies. … Clayton Keir (G’10), a security studies graduate student, will travel to Tajikistan to study Farsi and research Iranian public diplomacy."

Search for more vacancies,eg bank jobs, telecom, msc, bsc, hnd, ond jobs or the companies name - Dan Royal Job/Vacancies: "British High Commission, Nairobi Jobs:

Communications Support Officer There is an immediate vacancy for a Communications Support Officer grade LE III at the British High Commission. The successful candidate’s primary role will be to provide smooth administrative and research support to the Communications team, including management of resources and information services and website maintenance, to help ensure the delivery of effective communications, public diplomacy and media work for the British High Commission, including DFID and other key partners."

RECENT PD ITEMS ON TWITTER

markejohnson: PHOTOGRAPHY AS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY at USC Annenberg http://bit.ly/4FZtoV (via @HondoMesa) 26 minutes ago from Tweetie

socialfeds: #gov20 The Public Diplomacy Blog: Leveraging Web 2.0 to engage the Indian diaspora http://bit.ly/2tIBnJ about 1 hour ago from twitterfeed

HondoMesa: PHOTOGRAPHY AS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY at USC Annenberg http://bit.ly/4FZtoV about 1 hour ago from bit.ly

greggyour: Things not looking good at State Department for public affairs and public diplomacy efforts. http://bit.ly/IfE1y about 2 hours ago from bit.ly

ExecSoren: Successful, thought-provoking USC event on public diplomacy this evening at the Newseum in DC. Well done. about 12 hours ago from txt

HondoMesa: Public Diplomacy often on a tight rope... but PD will keep you from falling off ♫ http://blip.fm/~ddjn0 about 13 hours ago from Blip.fm

dhaaron: Looks like our Public Diplomacy efforts vs. A.Q. have caused a shift in their PR efforts: http://tinyurl.com/nqnunq about 13 hours ago from TwitterGadget

ExecSoren: The topic of public diplomacy

seems to have hit a nerve here. A lot of attendees here with their own agendas. about 14 hours ago from txt

ExecSoren: The topic of public diplomacy seems to have hit a nerve here in DC. A lot of attendees here with their own agendas. about 14 hours ago from txt

LampaGJ: At "A new public diplomacy" event hosted by @publicdiplomacy at the Newseum. Arrived late to a full house! about 15 hours ago from Tweetie

wendycarrillo: At USC Center for Public Diplomacy "Toward a New Public Diplomacy" book launch at Newseum in DC about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry

ExecSoren: Attending an interesting USC event in DC on public diplomacy. about 15 hours ago from txt

levydr: Surrounded by bureacrats and State department folk for a panel on New Public Diplomacy (@ Newseum in Washington) http://bit.ly/1a1lY4 about 16 hours ago from foursquare

RELATED ITEMS

Downsized diplomatic muscle: Eating humble pie in search of meaningless agreements – Tony Blankley, Washington Times: Since our founding, the United States has protected its sovereignty and national interests through the practice of a proud and defiant diplomacy (backed up by ample martial capacity) -- admittedly at the price of fairly constant warfare. Now we are entering a new and great experiment: practicing diplomacy with a humility almost worthy of the Prince of Peace. We shall see if such methods work in this world.

Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush is released from prison: Muntather Zaidi keeps his footwear on this time, but fires off some verbal salvos - Ned Parker and Mohammed Arrawi, latimes.com:

The hurling of the shoe catapulted Zaidi to fame around the world, as people took a vicarious thrill in his confrontation with Bush. Zaidi's family has said that families in other Arab nations have offered their daughters as brides.

Obama Is Pushing Israel Toward War: President Obama can't outsource matters of war and peace to another state – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: The longer the U.S. delays playing hardball with Iran, the sooner Israel is likely to strike.

Chipping Away At Free Speech - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: There is no law or edict that can force any American company to abide by the principles of free speech abroad. But at least it is possible to embarrass them at home.

Novel Propaganda To Continue Afghan Occupation - Witless Wogs: Illiteracy Slows Afghan Army, U.S. Pullout – Nolocontendere, Piglipstick: Looks Better Now

Report: Propaganda Launched for N. Korean Succession – AP, FOXNews: North Korea has launched a public propaganda campaign to prepare its people for the succession of Kim Jong Il's youngest son.

Why Propaganda Trumps Truth - Paul Craig Roberts, vdare.com: An article in the journal, Sociological Inquiry, ["There Must Be a Reason": Osama, Saddam, and Inferred Justification, Vol. 79, No. 2. (2009), pp. 142-162. [PDF] casts light on the effectiveness of propaganda. Researchers examined why big lies succeed where little lies fail. Governments can get away with mass deceptions, but politicians cannot get away with sexual affairs.

The researchers explain why so many Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, years after it has become obvious that Iraq had nothing to do with the event. Americans developed elaborate rationalizations based on Bush administration propaganda that alleged Iraqi involvement and became deeply attached to their beliefs. Their emotional involvement became wrapped up in their personal identity and sense of morality. They looked for information that supported their beliefs and avoided information that challenged them, regardless of the facts of the matter.

Propaganda Class – swiontkowski, Ruminations: "I think the best year of education I had (out of more than 20 years of schooling) was the year I had 7th grade English. We did the usual Shakespeare and American Lit stuff that year, but we also studied mythology, which has helped me immensely to see depth in creative writing; sentence diagramming, which helps me to see sentence structures and thus logical thoughts in my head, a great advantage; and propaganda.

These days, I find that propaganda section most helpful in my life. We studied not just political propaganda, like Russian propaganda (this was midway through the Cold War) but also this nation's own commercial advertising. We studied how businesses used images and language, mostly in magazines, to make us want to buy their products. If nothing else, I learned in that section of my 7th grade English class that people who are trying to sell me something almost never have my best interests in mind; rather, to them, I am a mind to be manipulated."