July 7-9

"What is new is that ... public diplomacy can be done by publics themselves through social media. The clumsy strategic communication officers of the state can stand back."

--From the Long War and the War on Terror to the Long Change - New Political Communication Unit Blog; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

The Future of Russian Innovation: A Conversation with Russia's Young Entrepreneurs - Robert Hormats, Huffington Post: "On the margins of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, I joined John Beyrle, U.S. Ambassador to Russia, for a meeting with a dynamic group of about 20 young Russian entrepreneurs to discuss their role in and expectations for Russia's economic transformation and modernization. ... ‎ One of the topics of conversation was the Skolkovo Innovation Center--a new high-tech hub for research and business housed just outside of Moscow. Many of these young entrepreneurs,

who boasted advanced degrees from leading U.S. universities, believed the center would help infuse an innovative culture into Russia. They also welcomed ideas for more business and academic exchanges, which would focus on developing managerial skills in the high-tech/emerging sectors; new business models that would encourage use and development of new technologies; and better public diplomacy from the government on the benefits of innovation and technology to increase demand for these products and highlight their efficiency in everyday life." Robert Hormats is Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs. Image: Savva Mamontov Born: October 10, 1841 Deceased: April 6, 1918 Russian entrepreneur and patron of art

The Russian Spy Case and Public Diplomacy: Some Out of the Box Speculations – John Brown, Notes and Essays:

"Meanwhile, with this minor [spy case] episode over, how about serious public diplomacy on the part of our century-old Eurasian neighbor if it wishes to present/represent itself to American citizens? Of course, the same recommendation, flip side, could be made to us, the relatively young United States of America, vis a vis Russia." Russian spook Chapman image from

US Gov't uses tech to engage East Africa‎ - Rebecca Wanjiku, IDG: "The U.S. government seems to have changed tack by engaging young people to find tech solutions to problems affecting the East Africa region. Previously, the U.S. government primarily used the USAID agency to pursue sustainable solutions to various problems but the launch of an Apps4Africa competition by the U.S. Department of State shows a change of method. Judith McHale, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and Michael Ranneberger, ambassador to Kenya, launched the competition at the Innovation Hub (iHub) in Nairobi last week. The competition is co-sponsored by Appfrica Labs, based in Kampala, the iHub and the Social Development Network (SODNET), in Nairobi."

Why we must work with Pakistan‎ - Kul B. Rai, Waterbury Republican American (subscription): According to Google, mention of “public diplomacy such as exchange programs and visits by US officials to speak to the Pakistani public.”

Welcome To The U.S. Pavilion: We’re Here To Disappoint - Kenya Davis-Hayes, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: ‘Is the vapid nature of the US Pavilion a true reflection of the American character in 2010?’

To answer my own question, I think it would be fair to say that while the presentation within the US Pavilion does not reflect the entire character of the nation, it may be chronicled as one of the more careless efforts made by the US at a World’s Exposition." Image from

Lack of Space Technology Is Not the Muslim World's Problem - M. Zuhdi Jasser, ‎National Review Online: "The Obama administration decided to dispatch Charles Bolden, head of NASA, to do 'public diplomacy' on Al Jazeera, where he said that President Obama wanted him to 'find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.' He then announced that our deficit-ridden U.S. government will begin a new fund 'to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries.' ... The challenge is not science and technology. Real Muslim reform will only come from modernization of thought in the political sciences, liberal arts, free markets, theology, and philosophy. Theocratic Islamist movements are the primary obstacles to Muslim enlightenment — not the absence of space technology."

Either the NASA Chief Is Out of His Mind Or The President Is Out of His Mind - Martin Peretz, New Republic: ‎ [Comment by rhubarbs:] "After all, we want the Muslim world to embrace modernity, and to do so on terms as close to ours as possible. And if there's a role for NASA in America's public diplomacy aimed at achieving that strategic goal, great!"

“Human Rights and Obama’s Policies in the Arab World” - Jennifer, POMED Notes Project on Middle East Democracy, The POMED Wire: "Last week, the Carnegie Endowment and the Heinrich Boll Foundation held a conference focusing on the success of current U.S. policy on human rights and democracy promotion in the Arab world. Carnegie’s Michele Dunne moderated discussion by a panel of experts that included: Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Tamara Cofman Wittes,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs; Bahey El Din Hassan of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; and Amal Basha of the Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights in Yemen. ... Tamara Cofman Wittes discussed some of the tools used by the administration on behalf of human rights, including public diplomacy, conversations with governments, outreach to citizens, and working multilaterally and with international organizations. She echoed Posner’s statements that the administration believes it is in the U.S.’s strategic interests to promote democracy and human rights in order to create more peaceful, stable countries around the world." Wittes image from

How to Support the Struggle for Iran's Soul: Iranian Reform and Stagnation - Ilan Berman Middle East Quarterly Spring 2010, pp. 53-61, posted at solsticewitch13: "The Obama administration, preoccupied with engagement of the current Iranian regime, has so far refrained from articulating in an unmistakable and sustained fashion a commitment to political trends that might jeopardize this policy. If, however, the administration hopes to be able to influence Iranian politics over the long term, it will need to articulate much clearer support for political pluralism in the Islamic Republic. And once it does, it will need to enforce that policy throughout the bureaucracy that manages U.S. public diplomacy."

Eight Appointed to the Broadcasting Board of Governors – Press release, Broadcasting Board of Governors: "President Barack Obama has appointed eight media, communications, and foreign policy leaders to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal agency which supervises all U.S. civilian, international broadcasting. The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a bipartisan board comprised of nine members appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate; the ninth is the Secretary of State, who serves ex officio."

The Palestinians have set the stage for Netanyahu's Washington trip - Hussein Ibish - americantaskforce.org: "[L]ast month's highly successful trip by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and an entourage of PLO leaders ... [had as its] centerpiece ... a meeting on June 9 with Obama in the White House. ... Abbas' only public appearance at the Brookings Institute was another uncharacteristically successful exercise in public diplomacy for the Palestinian president."

Nudging Israel Forward - Martin S. Indyk, Brookings Institution: "On the Palestinian side, the flotilla crisis

seems to have bolstered the sense among the West Bank leadership that it is time to try to strike the deal with Israel. Abu Mazen, buoyed by his own meetings at the White House and with American Jewish leaders, appears to be ready to move into direct peace negotiations with Netanyahu. He intends to continue a campaign of public diplomacy designed to convince Israelis and their American Jewish supporters that they have a Palestinian partner for peacemaking. He is even ready to address the Knesset." Image from

Misadventures in Public Diplomacy - ‎Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic (blog): Randall Lane's new book, 'The Zeroes,' details one of the stupidest moments in the recent history of America's efforts to engage the Arab world. Lane, a magazine industry genius, was hired to turn out a glossy magazine that would show Muslims images of the real America. Except that the real America, the Bush State Department mandated, contained no donkeys: One of my favorite sections loosely translated to 'Window on America.' It was a simple conceit: a photo essay showing what America actually looks like, unfiltered. A bass fishing tournament, a breast-cancer walk, the Puerto Rican Day parade--these were exotic images to most Arabs, too often poisoned about the United States by their inflammatory local press. But during one review meeting, held before a star chamber of 10 high-level State Department officials, the co-leader specifically took offense to a photograph from a classic Western scene: campers and pack mules heading out on a rugged weekend expedition.

Our team always remained vigilant about cultural sensibilities, avoiding the bottoms of shoes, or bare arms, or other seemingly innocuous images that could backfire with the Arab audience. This official's concerns, however, were more parochial. She held up the offending photo, as wholesome as a Norman Rockwell painting, and pointed to a pack mule that, by other names, might be known as a donkey. This has to go, she said. Too pro-Democrat. And out it went." Image from

From the Long War and the War on Terror to the Long Change - New Political Communication Unit Blog: "‘We are not involved in the ‘long war’ or the ‘war on terror’ but the ‘long change’

and only soft power will bring that about’. So reads the latest report [to follow] from Wilton Park, the informal meeting place of invited foreign policy thinkers and practitioners in the English countryside, following a conference on ‘Public Diplomacy: Moving from Policy to Practice’ last month. Even if the phrase does not take hold, it indicates current thinking on how Britain and the US should engage with the world through public diplomacy. To exercise soft power is to project the attractiveness of one’s own country in order to make other states and societies amenable to one’s political and economic interests. The Long Change will be a change of opinion towards the UK and US and social change in target countries who contain people who don't like us. This is primarily couched as a security issue – making individuals at home or abroad less likely to use terrorist violence against UK/US interests. But the Long Change is also about making foreign publics more disposed to UK/US policies around trade, development, and climate change. What is new is that this public diplomacy can be done by publics themselves through social media. The clumsy strategic communication officers of the state can stand back." Image from

World Cup is a reminder of what's possible - Richard Calland, Mail & Guardian, South Africa: "[I]t would be foolish to romanticise the World Cup to the point that it blinds one from reality. Apartheid schooled this country in organising things for the benefit and enjoyment of the few, at the expense of the many. The World Cup was no different from that; a First World show superimposed upon a putrid, demeaning Third World squalor. And in this sense it has been a superbly marshalled exercise in spin: as the Financial Times said on Tuesday, the World Cup, 'it is generally agreed, has been a triumph'. This is the first measure of its success: as an act of rebranding or public diplomacy -- to use the new posh term of national marketing. But beyond the global spin, what the World Cup has done is to remind us all of what is possible -- competent delivery of infrastructure renovation, confident performance of public services, a different attitude to public space and public transport and a new outlook towards our fellow citizens."

2010 Soccer Reflections #13: Public Diplomacy, Private Despair - blogdotjpg.wordpress.com

Banyan Dammed if they do China's hydropower plans are a test of its avowed good neighbourliness - The Economist: "For all that it preaches harmony and good neighbourliness, China comes across as a regional bully, with its foot on the Mekong’s throat. ... [L]ast month China took officials from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to view both Xiaowan

and Jinghong dams. ... [T]he shift in public diplomacy may mark a slightly broader approach towards what China perceives to be in its national interest." Image from

Translated Japan News - jp.newses.net: "Public awareness of election rules apply to the first 30 years of diplomatic correspondence principle, the aim of highlighting the results • 37 books in total public diplomacy document file began on June 7, will first apply the new rules established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the principle of automatic document created after 30 years have elapsed. It aims to advance the understanding of the historical material published quickly."

http://twitter.com/Indiandiplomacy

Country needs huge investment in energy sector: PM‎ - Daily Times: "Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday urged the ministries to work in an institutionalised manner and enhance coordination to achieve optimal results despite resource constraints. ... Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh apprised the prime minister that potential areas of cooperation with the US have already been identified in the fields of food, agriculture, livestock, water and power, IT, education, social sector and public diplomacy."

B'nai B'rith gives out awards on Diaspora reporting: Keynote speaker, Information Minister Yuli Edelstein, says part of Israel's problems derive from new anti-Semitism, which takes on new name as anti-Zionism - Tamar Zmora, Ynetnews: "Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein was the keynote address on 'Israel’s Public Diplomacy in a Hostile World' at the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism ceremony, which took place last Sunday at Beit Hatfutsot – Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, at Tel Aviv University."

Lesch Article on Assad; Syria Worst at Anti-Corruption; Bush Nixxed Israel 2007 Bombing – Syria Comment: "As Bashar [Syrian President Bashar al-Asad] gains confidence in his international standing,

one hopes he will become more comfortable with public diplomacy. To him it is a matter of trust, and he remains very suspicious, as does Syria as a whole, of the outside world. I have seen his public diplomacy at the domestic level improve immeasurably over the last six years." Bashar image from

Sri Lankans protest over UN panel - Feizal Samath, National: "Hundreds of supporters of a nationalist group led by a firebrand government minister marched to the United Nations headquarters in Colombo yesterday protesting at the appointment of a UN panel to review Sri Lanka’s human rights record. ... Dayan Jayatilleka, a former Sri Lankan ambassador and permanent representative at the UN in Geneva, said foreign policy cannot be made in the street and diplomacy – including public diplomacy – cannot be conducted on the street or sidewalk by mobs."

Peacetalk: Memo to the new government negotiators for talks with the MILF - Atty. Camilo “Bong” Montesa - MindaNews: "My unsolicited advice: ... go up to the mountains, close the doors . ... The rest, i.e. negotiating strategy, strategic communications, constitutional and legal review, coalition building, public diplomacy, can follow. These are the easy parts."

Frankie Sturm – Truman National Security Project: "Frankie Sturm is a public diplomacy officer in the US State Department. Before starting as a Foreign Service Officer, Frankie served as the Truman Project’s Communications Director from 2008-2010."

RELATED ITEMS

Twitter credibility – Intermap: Social media like Twitter and facebook are not just other vehicles to address target audiences; touchpoints in a slick marketing campaign. They are means by which the State Department can be rendered something other than a monolithic voice of the US government.

They reveal the human faces of the US government, and not just another sloganeering or exposition platform. It is through these media that credibility can be cultivated, by providing ways to identify with communities of social media users, to show that government social media users listen and participatein such communities. Image from

5 FAM 790: State Dept Releases New Regs on Use of Social Media - Domani Spero, Diplopundit: "The good news? The new regs says 'As a general matter, the Department encourages the responsible use of social media consistent with current laws, policies and guidance that govern information and information technology. Department organizations will not arbitrarily ban access to or the use of social media.' ... I've read that section on 'Personal Papers' and there is nothing striking there except emphasis on 1) the separation of official and personal files (including emails) and 2) that 'There is no guarantee of privacy for personal materials maintained on a Department computer.' ... A blog friend who read the entire thing last week had a spot on comment: Bless their hearts, they seem to be trying their best not to look like the British leaving Afghanistan (both times) - desperate to stay graceful under pressure and appear to be reasonable, while actually feeling petrified with fear."

America in Alexandria, de Tocqueville in Arabic - Cynthia P. Schneider, Huffington Post: "If the U.S. government underwhelmed with its ambition for delivering on the promise of the Cairo speech, the same cannot be said of the Library of Alexandria, which has projects in film, with NYU's Tisch School; in developing a Universal Networking Digital Language, with UNESCO; in building an Arab network for women in science and technology, with various international science and education organizations; and in translation, with Yale University -- to name but a few. ... Is the world ready for de Toqueville in Arabic? Akbar Ahmed's recently published book Journey into America interpreting American history and life through the eyes of Muslim Americans gives one version of a Muslim de Tocqueville."

Gates to the Military: Shut Up - Rowan Scarborough, Human Events: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is consolidating his power over who can speak and what they can say. The casualty will be candor about the wars America fights. Gates sent a memo last week ordering officers and officials not to talk to the press unless his personal staff approves. That was chilling enough.

But Gates has sent other shut-up signals that leave the impression he wants his voice, and his message alone, to represent the Pentagon. The most onerous was a far-reaching gag-order he had top and mid-level officials sign during internal deliberations on the 2010 defense budget. With the threat of firings hanging over their heads, it essentially shut up the world's largest office building. Gates image from

Maria Conchita Alonso: 'Oliver Stone is Hugo Chavez's Minister of Propaganda!': en.terra.com: Oliver Stone's new documentary South of the Border has generated a lot of controversy since it hit theaters two weeks ago. In Hollywood, one of the most vocal critics of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro whom Stone paints in a positive light in South of the Border¿is Maria Conchita Alonso. Last Friday, Alonso, who was born in Cuba but raised in Caracas, Venezuela, organized a protest against the film in Santa Monica, where Stone held a Q&A session following a screening of the new doc. 'Oliver Stone is Hugo Chavez's minister of propaganda!'

How Kim Jong-il Ruined World Cup Propaganda Push for Heir – The Chosun Ilbo

CNN Mideast Affairs Editor Fired Over Hezbollah Tweet - chattahbox.com: Octavia Nasr, CNN’s Mideast Affairs Senior Editor for 20-years was fired for a controversial tweet, remarking on the death of Lebanese Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.


Nasr expressed sadness over his passing and mentioned that she respected the late cleric. But Fadlallah is considered a terrorist by the U.S. and other Western nations for his support of Hezbollah’s violence and suicide attacks against Israel. The reaction from supporters of Israel was angry and swift. And by Wednesday, Nasr was asked to leave, with CNN citing damage to her “credibility.” Nasr image from article.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The past is one son of a bitch."

--Dick Hanley, Elizabeth Taylor's confidant and personal secretary; cited in Vanity Fair (July 2010), p. 131; image from