April 2-3

"President Obama announced this week that he is opening more sites for offshore oil drilling. Do you know what that means? If we find enough oil, we could one day invade ourselves."

--Talk show host Jay Leno, from BulletinNews (no link); image from

MONITOR

PDiN MONITOR: A Review & Analysis of Current Public Diplomacy in the News, USC Center on Public Diplomacy (March). In this issue:

● PDiN Roundup 4 Cultural Diplomacy in India and Pakistan: Moving Beyond the Empty Gesture by Rob Asghar
News from Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Middle East and South Asia in the following categories: Cultural Diplomacy / Government PD / Media & PD / Nation Branding / New Technology / Non-State PD / Public Opinion / Soft Power
● PDiN Spotlight 10 Cinema Diplomacy is Alive and Well… For the Time Being by Nicholas J. Cull
● PDiN Extras 11 The Future of U.S. Public Diplomacy and the New PD Framework
● PD in Print 12 CPD Blogs and Publications from CPD and other sources
● Upcoming PD Events of Interest 13 A listing of PD events for the coming month
● About PDiN Monitor 14

VIDEO

Tribute to Willis Conover VOA Jazz Hour

DOCUMENT

James Glassman, "The Limits of Cultural Diplomacy, and a Way Forward” Address at a conference on “Culture’s Purpose and the Work of Cultural Diplomacy” As delivered, Nov. 5, 2009 School of International Service American University Washington, D.C.; see also

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

Prague a fitting place for nuclear deal - Kris Kotarski, The Guardian: "It is not a coincidence that Prague has become the setting for Obama's public diplomacy, and that both American and Russian leaders will arrive in the Czech capital to sign their historic agreement.


After 14 months in office, Obama has 'reset' relations with Russia, successfully reduced some of the tensions in the region, and strengthened Nato guarantees for the alliance's most insecure members after the 2008 Georgia debacle. Certainly, Obama could have benefited from the home-town media glare by inviting Medvedev to sign the treaty at the nuclear summit meeting in Washington later this month, but considering his successes in the region thus far, it is no surprise that he has chosen to come back to Prague. His accomplishments may not be enough to justify his Nobel peace prize, but for Obama, Medvedev and the region, Prague represents a very good start." Prague image from

More the US Public Diplomacy Framework: Concept and Structure – Graig Hayden, Intermap: "So I’ve had some time to digest the conversation on McHale’s proposed new framework for US public diplomacy strategy. Upon reflection, as Rhonda Zaharna describes in her insightful and clarifying new book, Battles to Bridges: US Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy after 9/11, the framework is yet another example of how 'grand strategy,' 'strategy,' and 'tactics' get muddled in the conceptualization of public diplomacy objectives and the world-view that it is based upon."

A Conversation on Media Technology and Diplomacy - Craig Hayden, Intermap:

"I had the good fortune to attend a discussion last week between Alec Ross, the Senior Advisor for Innovation in the office of Secretary of State Clinton and Marc Lynch, professor of political science at George Washington University and a featured blogger on Foreign Policy.com. The focus of the discussion was primarily about the use of media technology for outreach and public diplomacy in the Arab world. Each gave a short presentation that talked about the need for embracing technology, and for sustaining realistic attitudes towards what communication technology can accomplish for the US State Department. ... The talk was a stimulating look at how the US government is grappling with the social and political ramfications of a changing communication infrastructure in the Middle East. I disagree with some of what was said – in particular Lynch’s sort of neutral conception of the value of information in a sociological/cultural sense. But I think Lynch is right to note that public diplomacy (or whatever’s its going to be called in the future) needs to reflect a localized understanding of how technology shapes the routes to influence – both those social relations and bonds that rely on communication networks, as well as how the technological medium changes the nature of what counts as credible, persuasive messaging itself." Image from

USA: For Haitian Citizens - The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program - International Scholarship: "The Office of Public Diplomacy of the Embassy of the United States is pleased to announce its annual open competition for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. This one-year, full scholarship program is offered to individuals working either in the public or private sector who have a proven track record of leadership, a public service commitment, and the capacity to take full advantage of a self-defined program of independent study at a leading university. Since 2002, women have comprised about 40 percent of the Humphrey class; therefore qualified women are encouraged to apply."

For Haiti: Fulbright Scholarship Program 2011-2012 in the United States - Paul Joseph, EducationHeat

The Foundation of Movement: Cultural Diplomacy - Linda Constant, Huffington Post: "[E]ffective cultural diplomacy 'promotes, enhances, and enriches the culture of critical nations.' However, in today's vast networks of information and communication, diplomacy of any kind is ultimately disserviced by being contextualized in a construct of 'us' and 'them.' Though such labels will obviously be necessary to some factual degree, diplomacy is more about striving to achieve a sense of 'we.' Cultural diplomacy in particular is critically important to integrating individuals from distinct backgrounds who are interested, invested and participatory in a mutual cultural practice. ... Dance diplomacy has recently been revitalized with DanceMotion USA,

a program of the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Produced by Brooklyn Academy of Music and consisting of three modern dance companies (ODC/Dance, Evidence and Urban Bush Women), DanceMotion USA recently toured three regions of the world--Asia, Africa and South America--in the first major dance diplomacy effort by our government in more than twenty years." Image from

Making Radio Free Asia Permanent - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "In another sign that we need a strategic review of our public diplomacy – the White House / NSC Section 1055 report required by Congress provided a framework not a strategy – an element of America’s global engagement continues to exist on appropriations and not a permanent authorization. The situation was similar over sixty years ago when the State Department went to Congress to make VOA and other outreach methods and mediums permanent rather than, as was the case for a period, operating only on appropriations in the absence of Congressional authorization. As the most visibly active member of Congress on the issue of public diplomacy, Senate o[r] House (there are Representatives on Armed Services Committees who are active behind the scenes), it is no surprise Senator Richard Lugar introduced a bill last month to permanently authorize Radio Free Asia."

New book about public diplomacy omits discussion of international broadcasting. Good - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting [On Kathy R. Fitzpatrick, The Future of Public Diplomacy]: "Congratulations to Professor Fitzpatrick for omitting international broadcasting from a survey of public diplomacy. And to the BBG for resisting 'coordination,' because news that is sufficiently credible to attract an audience cannot be coordinated with diplomatic objectives. The choice of language services can be subject to consultation with the administration, but not the content itself. I think the fate of public diplomacy is certain: most countries will always engage in some form of it. Less certain is my ability to afford the literature on public diplomacy.

This book costs $132." Image from

Report: Pakistan regulator tells private radio stations not to rebroadcast foreign news without permission - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

VOA Special English has a cameo in film satire about North Korea - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

EPRT Program Creates 'buzz' - Spc. Luisito Brooks, Systems: "TARMIYAH, Iraq. A blossoming new program organized by embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team-North is creating a buzz and giving some area women a much sweeter outlook.

The 'buzz' is teaching Iraqi widows and divorcees the ins and outs of beekeeping in order to help them put food on the table while they help put honey on the tables of others.Twenty-five Iraqi women graduated from the beekeeper training program, March 27. 'These women are the heads of the household, many [because of] the sectarian conflict,' said Mary-Denise Tabar, the public diplomacy and women's affairs advisor for ePRT-North. 'The program aims to train local rural women on the theoretical and practical applications of basic beekeeping.'" Image from article

Why Do They Want to Do Us Harm? [Part Three] - Noam Chomsky, In These Times: "In December 2004, a Pentagon advisory panel considered Bush’s plaintive question 'why do they hate us.' The panel concluded that 'Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather they hate our policies,' adding that 'when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.' U.S. policies are a gift to extremists among jihadis, whose goal is to incite U.S. violence against the populations that they are seeking to mobilize."

On Lady Gaga and Settlements: Thomas Hegghammer Weighs In - Abu Muqawama Blog:

Comment by Scott on April 1, 2010 - 11:45pm: "From a communications perspective, one could open a dialog with the people about what the Palestinian people should be entitled to and what practical steps could lead to the Palestinian people gaining it. One requirement for this i[s] for the [Obama] administration to be serious about public diplomacy, which is harder to muster given that it takes longer for a message to diffuse than for a policy change to take effect. Lady Gaga image from

NATO Will Likely Be Fine - Ruud Van Dijk Blog: War And Peace And Cycling, Not Necessarily Together: "That was my overall impression last week, at the end of my day at the alliance's Brussels headquarters. The Public Diplomacy Division treated our little delegation of scholars very well (my own tax Euros at work), most of all by introducing us to a series of significant and approachable NATO officials, from the Netherlands and elsewhere."

Finland joins the debate on the new strategic concept - nato.int: "Finnish views on NATO's new Strategic Concept were discussed at a debate co-organised by NATO's Public Diplomacy Division, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Foreign Policy Institute and the Atlantic Council of Finland in Helsinki on 3 March 2010."

India, China tell media to pipe down: India’s National Security Adviser and the Chinese envoy in Delhi on Thursday had a similar message for the media: pipe down - expressbuzz.com:

"The plea for restraint - though couched in diplomatic language - came during a seminar organised by the International Council of World Affairs and the Institute of Chinese Studies to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the republics of India and China. At the seminar, the two diplomats agreed that relations between India and China countries were on firm ground, despite the longstanding boundary question and other disputes that erupted now and then. 'We have more common interests than differences,’ Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan said. And keeping with the seminar theme of ‘Public Diplomacy,’ the two had similar points to make. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon mentioned the ‘shrill and overexcitable commentary on the relationship that has appeared in both countries in the last year or so.’ The reference apparently was to reports about ‘incursions’ by China across the un-demarcated LAC and on Tibetan protests earlier." See also (1) (2) (3) (4) (5). Image from

CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin, Vice Secretary-General Wang Shenghong visit three African countries on the results (2) - china and chinese blog----- cjchinablog: "The three [African] leaders spoke highly of China's policy and China-Africa cooperation, and thanked China for the three countries and the vast majority of African countries firmly support the sincere help and commended the Africa-China relationship is an example of international friendship and cooperation.African countries, China is willing to further strengthen cooperation and jointly promote the new type of non-Chinese strategic partnership relations.The three leaders reaffirmed adherence to the one-China policy and appreciated China's response to the international financial crisis, climate change and other global issues and international and regional hot issues and ideas on the position, expressed willingness to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China to jointly safeguard the developing countries as a whole. Second, actively carry out public diplomacy, showing a responsible image."

Harow offered senior public diplomacy post: Netanyahu won’t replace departing LA-born bureau chief - Gil Hoffman, Jerusalem Post:

"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s former bureau chief Ari Harow has received an offer to serve as the deputy director-general of the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry and run its hasbara efforts, sources in the ministry said Thursday." Harow image from article

New Research Explains Importance of “Third-Party Source” in Public Diplomacy – sechale, Outpost, Irish American Relations: "An article in yesterday’s New York Times explains the next big trend in humanities research: mind reading. Following efforts by both American and European scholars to revive the market value of a humanities degree, researchers are now exploring connections between traditional humanities subjects (literature, history, politics) and the latest science research–primarily cognitive science and evolutionary psychology. This is big news for practitioners of public diplomacy, as it allegedly explains why one age-old PD trick, third-party sourcing, is so effective. ... Science backs up the rhetoric -- one credible, third-party speaker can effectively persuade an audience, whether the topic is banal social chatter or a nation’s diplomatic image."

3 things that make nation branding difficult – Andreas Markessinis, Nation Branding: Nation branding is very different from commercial branding. It’s much more complicated and it’s much harder to manage. In fact you can hardly manage it… You can half-manage it. Some of the issues are similar to corporate branding, but there are 3 things that make nation branding particularly difficult, as Wally Olins explains:


1. You can’t control is the way the nation is perceived, in terms of public diplomacy. 'Three or four years ago, nobody had an idea of the Ukraine and then something called the Orange Revolution happened. The Ukraine appeared very briefly and very clearly on the public map. Now it has slightly disappeared again. But for a time, the Ukraine was very significant. Now, that kind of thing doesn’t happen very much in business. So the issue of public diplomacy which affects the way in which a nation is perceived is very different in the commercial context from the way it is in a national context.' 2. Nobody is in charge. 'In a commercial context there is somebody in the end in charge of the program. In a national context this is very difficult to know, because it is partly public sector, it is partly private sector, the tourism authority wants to handle it, foreign direct investment people want to handle it, etc.' 3. Short timeframes. 'The political parties’ vision is very short, they want to change things in two, three or fours years because that’s the time they are in office. Then somebody else comes in office and has a very different view of the nation. So, the whole business of managing it is extremely difficult.' Excerpts taken from this interview [with] Wally Olins." Image from

Cave, baby, cave – hammer mill days: "Obama's plan to open up off-shore drilling along much of our national coastline resembles some of the graphics I've been seeing in BP commercials lately. I guess all it takes is a little public diplomacy by the enormous oil and gas industry groups, and this administration will bend back at the knees. No, it's not the worst possible plan for extraction of fossil fuels, but it is a major wedge in the door towards the same "drill, baby, drill" Obama's presidential campaign opponent advocated."

Congress Creates Super Federal Library Agency‎ - Paul J. Steere, Library Journal (dated APRIL 1):

"In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate passed the controversial Federal Library Agency Act (FLAA) on a nearly unanimous voice vote, sending it to President Obama for his expected signature. The House had passed it in February with a two-thirds majority. The FLAA creates a new mandate by combining federal library functions scattered throughout the government into a single unique agency. ... Department of State (DOS) is stripped of its overseas public diplomacy reference and research centers. ... A DOD official commented that 'Defense and State did their best to kill this bill. The FLA deanship will be a pressure-cooker job, and it will require a politically savvy library administrator to take on and succeed with interagency battles over turf, staff, and funds. This job will be listed in future Prune Books. It will take the library equivalent of a 'Wild Bill' Donovan of OSS fame to get this new agency off the ground and running.'” Image from

PRT Public Diplomacy Officer - Secure Aspects Group: "Only members can view this field."

RELATED ITEMS

US foreign policy: Waiting on a sun king - Edward Luce and Daniel Dombey, Financial Times: Fifteen months after he took office, the character and structure of Mr Obama’s foreign policy machinery is still evolving. But from interviews with dozens of insiders and outsiders, including senior officials both authorised and unauthorised to speak, and three former national security advisers, it is clear the buck not only stops with, but often floats for quite a long time around, Mr Obama himself.

Foreigners have complained about the tendency of his domestic agenda to crowd out the international one – the passage last week of healthcare reform was greeted with an audible sigh of relief among US allies. But within foreign policy itself, his centralised structure can also result in many issues being left on the back burner awaiting presidential attention, say critics. See also. Image from

Mullahs build bridges in London: Their faces etched from years of conflict in the war-torn deserts of Helmand Province, four senior Islamic scholars step into a pod on the London Eye - Emily Buchanan, BBC News: A new initiative in British government strategy is the recognition that military progress in southern Afghanistan will not hold unless international forces also win the battle for hearts and minds. In the intense propaganda war on the ground, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office now hopes to improve communication with ordinary Afghans by targeting their religious leaders. Officials invited these scholars to see life for themselves in the UK, as they have the unique ability to influence thousands of mosques and their congregations in Britain's key military campaign ground. Across Afghanistan there is widespread ignorance and deliberate misinformation about Britain and Britain's military intentions.

Robert Fisk: Glossy new front in battle for hearts and minds Once it was grainy video footage on websites: Now the Taliban believes its best chance of winning the propaganda war lies in a magazine – Independent: It's sleek, it's glossy, it's in eloquent Arabic, Pashto and Dari, and it pours derision on American and Nato forces in Afghanistan; it is the brand new propaganda wing of the Taliban: not just internet video of attacks on the western armies in Helmand and Kandahar, but professionally produced magazines, carrying stories of the Taliban's own "martyrdom" operations and the names of its dead fighters.

For once, the cliché "well-oiled publicity machine" is correct. Image from article: A magazine and book stand in Kabul. One of the creators of Al-Samoud, Abu Ahmed, says the magazine is designed to counter the fact that Afghan media 'is controlled by the West.'

Google Isn't China's Problem. Press Freedom Is: Sure, Google's retreat from China is a big story. But we may be missing the bigger one - Christian Caryl, Foreign Policy: Put bluntly: The climate for China's journalists is worsening, and it doesn't have anything to do with Google, or with the Chinese Communist Party's pretense to absolute ideological control of information. The problem is not that the party is scrubbing the Internet to remove stories it deems negative. The problem is the corrupt network between business and government, which places unwarranted pressure on journalists and editors. "It's no longer about abstract propaganda discipline," Bandurski says. "These days it's about specific money and power interests." "The network of agencies devoted to media control in China, including the propaganda department, are now, more than ever before, mediators and players in a vast web of power and profit," Bandurski wrote in an analysis of the incident published in March 2009 in the Far Eastern Economic Review. "They no longer dish out just propaganda dictates; they dish out personal and professional favors too." For Bandurski, the litmus test is not whether netizens can run effective searches. It is whether reporters are allowed to report. That is a story that is bigger than the fate of a single company.

MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"The emergence of `nativist' voices, and the loud expression of opinion as fact in the new media which purports to express public opinion, could introduce volatility in perceptions."

--India’s National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon

"The two countries should provide correct guidance to the public opinion and avoid war of words.”

-- Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yan