"Is it not the glory of the people of America, that, whilst they have paid a decent regard to the opinions of former times and other nations, they have not suffered a blind veneration for antiquity, for custom, or for names, to overrule the suggestions of their own good sense, the knowledge of their own situation, and the lessons of their own experience?"
--James Madison, The Federalist No. 14; via; image from
SITE OF INTEREST
Arts Diplomacy Network: A Hub For Arts Leaders, Diplomats And International Arts Exchange Advocates; via CS on Facebook
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
President Obama’s Engagement of Sub-Saharan Africa - John Price, ambassadorjohnprice.com: "The U.S. needs to win back the respect and friendship we enjoyed in Africa for over fifty years. We also need to understand that our form of democracy may not take hold everywhere, so we must listen to what these countries want to achieve and work with them, rather than exclude them from economically beneficial programs, for not complying with our standards. At the same time we need a focused public diplomacy message reaching out to the people living in the villages."
“oh, the places you’ll go” - cabinets of wonder - "In the language of the State Department, the Fulbright program is the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. What that means to me – and what was helpfully explained to me during orientation by a highly respected ambassador – is that it’s a program designed to increase mutual understanding and empathy between people of different cultures. It emphasizes personal diplomacy over public diplomacy, and it’s the kind of thing where those of us selected were chosen in part because our life experiences have shaped us into young people who practice personal diplomacy in a myriad of ways.
Around the world – in the markets we have shopped at, on the public transportation we have taken, at the sports games we have cheered at, in the ceremonies we have been invited to – we have come to understand how far genuine personal connections go when it comes to interacting with people from cultures other than our own." Image from article, with caption: this is Annelise from Asheville, one of my fellow Sri Lanka Fulbrighters! we became fast friends at orientation and are so ready to have some adventures together in Sri Lanka.
In Praise of Hip-Hop Diplomacy - Stephanie N. Stallings, artsdiplomacy.com: "[T]he way the State Department is listening to and engaging publics abroad as a positive development. It’s no longer a one-way street like some efforts during the Cold War. Just as social media are giving citizens around the world a more direct voice in policy conversations, most musical diplomacy programs now encourage envoys to engage local musicians in informal jam sessions and to develop longer-lasting relationships with members of the communities they visit. ... Jazz is still favored by publics around the world who sense in it freedom of expression and democratic values. But now, for many young people, the music that speaks to those values is hip-hop. ... [T]here are ... State Department-sponsored programs that connect foreign publics with American hip-hop. One is American Music Abroad, administered by American Voices, which has blazed more than a few trails toward creating engaging and meaningful musical exchange programs in politically challenging regions since 1993.
American Music Abroad represents a new generation of urban/hip-hop, gospel, bluegrass, and jazz ambassadors engaging youth and underserved audiences in countries where people have few opportunities to meet American performers and experience their music first-hand. Participation is a defining feature of the program; it centers on interactive performances with local musicians, lecture demonstrations, workshops, and jam sessions. The 2012-13 season of American Music Abroad includes two hip-hop groups. ... Nor is the flow of hip-hop diplomacy still one-way. This year the State Department launched Center Stage in collaboration with the New England Foundation for the Arts. This new program brings hip-hop and other music and dance genres from around the world for month-long residencies in Main Street, USA—not just in larger cities but in towns like Hartsville, South Carolina; Helena, Montana; and Grinnell, Iowa." Image from entry, with caption: Here’s HaviKoro working with immigrant and disadvantaged youth in Kuala Lumpur
Maliki Silences the Voice of America - tomtayloronline.org: "This past week, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission ordered the closure of 44 foreign and domestic media outlets in the country. Among them was the Voice of America, a U.S.-run news organization and quite possibly our biggest public diplomacy tool. This is a bold move by the Iraqis to spite the
Thursday, July 5, 2012 - weeklyintercept.blogspot.com: "Interestingly, in a report from 2002, the CFR [Council on Foreign Relations] suggested 'creating a Public Diplomacy Coordinating Structure (PDCS) to help define communications strategies and streamline public diplomacy structures. 'In many ways, the PDCS would be similar to the National Security Council ... PDCS members would include the secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury and Commerce, as well as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and BBG chairman', a suggestion officially objected by the BBG 'to preserve the journalistic integrity.'” (BBG Expresses Concern With Report Recommendations on U.S. International Braodcasting, 31 July 2002)."
A Touch of Royalty - How To Attract Publics & Influence States: "Over the past couple of years the global interest in the British Royal Family has soared and as the monarchy’s popularity stands at its highest for 15 years, at the beginning of June millions tuned into the Diamond Jubilee, coming out in vast numbers to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne. As such, just like the Royal Wedding a year before, an event involving the Royals became the perfect ‘public diplomacy’ opportunity; the chance to celebrate and communicate the UK’s rich heritage and modern strengths, highlighting the beneficial nature the British monarchy provide to British ‘soft power’.
Historically the role of monarchies has revolved around displays of great military power, of the ‘hard power’ of armies, but as times changed and the Royal Family now take a more ceremonial role within British politics, the monarchy has become less about 'chivalry and manfulness and more about image and message. ... If a Royal visits another country it is not necessarily seen as an official move of the government, ensuring that they aren’t seen as propaganda. This is fundamental to ‘public diplomacy’ activities. As Jeremy Hunt has said: the Royals have 'the impact of 1,000 politicians'." Image from
On RT [Russia Today] being the "Most Popular Foreign News Channel in Key US Cities" - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "RT might offer interesting insights into what the Kremlin might want the international public to hear and see, but it cannot claim prominence based on the mere numbers of those who tune in to watch it (or, should I say, tune in to take another look at its hosts???), especially when those numbers don't seem to be reliable or representative in the first place. ... RT will have to actually do much more to win over American hearts and minds (or Canadian ones, for that matter). It cannot 'succeed', while functioning as an alternative - and a foreign-paid alternative, at that - to FOX News."
Russia monitoring situation in Syria to assist compatriots - Russia Today: "Following a visit to the embattled Arab country, the Russian Public Chamber said it is closely watching the situation in Syria to evacuate Russians if necessary.
Many Russians with relatives in Syria requested the assistance of the Chamber, Alexander Sokolov, said on Wednesday. He heads the working group on international cooperation and public diplomacy that has paid a visit to Syria." Image from article, with caption: Members of the Syrian Free Army walk in front of a damaged tank in Idlib July 3, 2012.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Myths of Pinkwashing - Arthur Slepian, Doc's Talk: "Israeli LGBT leaders will continue to visit the United States, and will likely return to Seattle this fall. No doubt, BDS [boycott, sanctions and divestment from Israel] activists will try to silence their voices . ... To state the obvious, we are not surrogates for the Israeli government. We are clear about our own mission and objectives. We do believe in Israel’s right, like every other country, to conduct public diplomacy, whether as an antidote to demonization, to encourage trade and tourism, or for other legitimate purposes. We take pleasure in the fact that among the multitude of things that Israel chooses to promote about itself (and there are a great many facets of Israel in which to take pride and celebrate), it devotes a small amount of attention to its LGBT community. Where our interests converge, we are happy to cosponsor programs together. Yet sometimes the actions of the Israeli government on LGBT rights are not aligned with its rhetoric, and sometimes both the rhetoric and actions fall short of where they should be. We support many campaigns for change within Israel in this arena. Among these are the efforts to enact civil marriage, including same-sex marriage, and the recent initiative in the Knesset to bolster protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender. And we support those who are working to persuade the government to develop more compassionate policies regarding gay Palestinians who flee the West Bank and seek refuge in Israel because their lives are in imminent danger either from their families or the Palestinian police."
Rewalk • Israeli innovation makes a positive case - Alan Dershowitz, Algemeiner.com, posted at signposts02.wordpress.com: "Israel has succeeded in rallying its bitter experiences on the battlefield to design solutions for the handicapped, offering them greater accessibility and mobility. And in a nation where much of the country lies in arid climates, Israeli innovators have literally made the desert bloom through drip irrigation and water reclamation, which are now being implemented all around the globe. This is just a glimpse into the world that is Israel’s modern day renaissance, but it reveals how there is so much more that so many in the international community chooses to ignore when it comes to understanding the real Israel.
Towards that end, I am encouraged by a series of ongoing initiatives that channel this 'positive spirit' in engaging a whole new side of public diplomacy on behalf of the Jewish State. Among the most significant has been the recent release of a groundbreaking documentary film narrated by Tal Ben-Shahar, an Israeli visionary voted a favorite lecturer at Harvard. The film, Israel Inside, which has been met with critical acclaim since its recent release, successfully shows that the time has come to focus on what is great about Israel, instead of obsessively responding to its detractors." Image from entry
Join IDF’s Virtual Hasbara Army - Richard Silverstein, Jerusalem Post: "The game, which clearly has super hasbara (public diplomacy) potential, is a brave attempt by the army to harness the power of social media in sending messages and defending the state online. ... It could be the solution that millions of Jews and supporters of
'Have you ever wanted to join the military and fight to defend Israel?' reads the introduction to 'IDF Ranks,' an online game that allows participants to sign up via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and earn points by disseminating as much positive information about the army and its activities as possible. Image from article
Grassroots Diplomacy Council - Grassroots Diplomacy Foundation (GRD)/Taiwan Benevolent Association of America (TBAA) - "Preamble [:] Recently there has been an unprecedented volume of talk, some of it serious, to the possibility that the United States of backing away from its arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan desperately needs new fighters and the proposed arms deals reflected the public opinions in both Taiwan and the United States. Without new fighter jets and upgrades to its existing fleet of F-16s, Taiwan will be dangerously exposed to Chinese military threats, aggression and provocation, which pose significant national security implications for the United States. ... As part of the efforts to develop better awareness of Taiwan in the United States, the GDC not only provides support for diverse US-Taiwan bilateral activities of diplomatic NGOs, but also supports official diplomacy by facilitating public diplomacy to promote relations and cooperation between the United States and Taiwan." Image from entry
Kazakhstan Calls for Sustainable Development, Steps Up Inter-Parliamentary Ties and Public Diplomacy - Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov, Embassy of the Republic of Kazhakstan: "I am a firm believer in public diplomacy. I am pleased to invite US tourists, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians and scientists to Kazakhstan. I believe if there is a wide range of activities linking our two peoples then it will serve as a driving force for the official level contacts and create a solid foundation for the continued strategic partnership. I am also a strong supporter of cultural ties, which might add to the existing instruments that bring together business and civic communities of the two countries. I am happy to note that in 2011, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the U.S. totaled $2.74 billion, a 26% increase from 2010. I believe such positive indicators and practical outcomes of cooperation will benefit both nations, building foundations for cooperation and contributing to the development of future projects."
Phl Embassy in the US Holds Seminar on Embassy Services, Programs, and Procedures - "4 July 2012 - Philippine Ambassador to the United States (US) Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. led the officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. in attending an in-house seminar
on Embassy Services, Programs and Procedures held at the Embassy's Romulo Hall last June 30. ... He said that he would also like to see briefings for the staff on other aspects of the Embassy's work such as the political, legislative and public diplomacy areas, including that of the attached services of the Embassy, in a subsequent seminar, perhaps some time in December." Images of event from entry
International Applied Humanities Networks and Global Cultural Engagement - Robert Albro, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "[E]ffective cultural diplomacy need not aspire to control the message. It is not best deployed when closely linked to the priorities of policy makers or defined national interests. Nor is it always desirable for acts of cultural diplomacy to be framed in terms of the goal of the representation of a people. The development of new applied humanities networks, which feature the efforts of U.S.-based cultural producers and workers, suggests another approach, which we might take note of as a means to rethink conventional wisdom about cultural diplomacy. The new approach includes: working through collaboration rather than exchange, ceding authority while bringing skills, promoting the agency of others, and pursuing shared creative outcomes, while seeking to address the needs of others in humanitarian terms. This approach avoids trying to convert people into receptive audiences for our own story—however much we happen to like it."
U.S.: What Are American Values These Days? The Republican strategist and the Democratic pollster reflect on which core beliefs are still central to our lives - Karen Hughes and Mark Penn, Time: Penn: My hope this July 4th is that we focus as Americans in reviving our sport values – values that have made us great and can rekindle in our optimism for the future as they have done many times before. From Jesse Owens’s victories in the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid in 1980, great athletic events have crystalized our faith in the country. ... Hughes: In a fascinating survey of American values that Mark Penn conducted for The Atlantic/Aspen Institute, one stands out: Americans’ steadfast belief in the existence of God. Eighty-nine percent—almost nine in ten Americans – answered yes when asked the straightforward question: Do you believe in God? And while that number is down from the 96 percent who responded affirmatively to a Gallup Poll in 1944, it is by far the strongest affirmation of any value in the entire survey. Hughes [Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs during the Bush II administration] is the Global Vice Chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. Penn is the worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller. The views expressed are solely their own.
100 days until Ha Noi... - Delicious Diplomacy: "We recently received our housing assignment. In Denver we shared a 400 square foot studio apartment(yes, we were newlyweds); in NoVA we upgraded to an 800ft one bedroom with a balcony overlooking a cemetery (our neighbors are so quiet!); and now we are preparing to move to a FIFTEEN HUNDRED square foot 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 2 balcony apartment overlooking a lake in the middle of Ha Noi. Lucky for us, the yoga teacher/Public Diplomacy coned FSO couple who we have been chatting with live in the exact apartment we will be moving into and the yogini sent me pictures and I wake up every morning pinching myself that our apartment will be so nice.
I know what you're thinking 'You diplomats are SO spoiled!' ... In our preparation to move across the world, we have compiled a list of all of the things we need before we move, the list is almost 200 items! Since Ha Noi is considered 'hardship'--mostly because US goods are not accessible--we are preparing ourselves to purchase a lot of toilet paper, ranch packets, peanut butter and wine and much more things. The importance is not in that order:) Chris has been studying Vietnamese language and culture full time since February and I begin my training on July 16th! That is providing the State Department reopens by then. I am sure it will, and I am looking forward to immersing myself in Vietnamese. I love going to FSI, it reminds me of college. Only without the binge drinking and there is high security to get on campus." Image, under the title "Happiness," from blog.
RELATED ITEMS
Precision Propaganda - John Glaser, antiwar.com: At the Aspen Ideas Festival last week, retired/fired General Stanley McChrystal gave a ringing endorsement of drone warfare, only to subsequently mention, footnote-style, that the so-called precision bombing of drones don’t always spare civilians. ”We should be using drones a lot,” he said.
But “We need to understand what drones are not.” The talk of drones being “precise” is mostly ideological. The term is used as if it isn’t inherently relative, but it must be. Relative to an atom bomb, drones are “precise.” Relative to a sniper rifle, drones are…what? Image from
Pentagon keeps ties to contractor that's under investigation - Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today: The Pentagon has retained its top propaganda contractor in Afghanistan for $60 million over the next year even as the company remains under criminal investigation by the military's inspector general and its co-owner has been suspended from receiving military contracts. The military has maintained its ties to Leonie because the company has satisfactorily completed its tasks in Afghanistan, and military leaders there have requested that their services be retained, said Lt. Col. James Gregory, a Pentagon spokesman. The contract will be open for competition in one year, if military leaders decide they need more information operations programs. "Leonie continues to work in support of this task order, and will continue to provide professional services support as required," Leonie spokesman Gar Smith said.
Why COIN Failed in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan - Peter van Buren, We Meant Well: Bill Johnson, himself a veteran of multiple COIN interactions on both the military and civillian sides, offers this insight: The problem in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan is not that COIN can’t work.
The problem is that one can only counter an insurgency if a legitimate government, supported by the majority of the people but opposed by an insurgency, exists. Image from entry
A Primer for American Military Intervention: With the heart of an infantryman, the president must feel what Churchill called 'stress of soul' for each of the wounded and the dead - Helprin, Wall Street Journal: Maintain overwhelming reserves of military power. Make the argument, speak the truth, and strike with maximum consensus. Strike in time. Strike with overkill in relation to the objective. Abstain from nation-building, transformation, and counterinsurgency. Approach war with the mind of a general, but the heart of an infantryman.
Independence Day Celebrations 2012 – Around the Foreign Service Round-Up - Domani Spero, DiploPundit
Will Syria be Kofi Annan’s tragedy redux? - Paul Wolfowitz and and Mark Palmer, Washington Post: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan should stop providing the United States and other self-described “friends of Syria” with excuses for inaction. But whether or not he does, the United States and others cannot blame their failure on Annan. It is long past time to confront the real policy choices. No one is arguing for military intervention on the order of Afghanistan or Iraq. But the Obama administration should explain why Washington should not be playing an overt, forceful role in organizing and arming the Syrian opposition and exploring with Turkey a coalition of countries to create sanctuaries along the Syrian border, where the opposition could regroup and organize. It should also consider under what circumstances an intervention like the one in Libya might be possible, desirable or both.
The view from inside Syria's propaganda machine - James Reynolds, BBC: Many journalists who cover Syria struggle to convey the complexities of the country's conflict. But Syria's prominent al-Akhbariya network has no such problem. It portrays a reasonably straightforward world: a brave Syrian government leads the fight against foreign-led terrorists. Akhbariya is privately owned, but it obeys the instructions of the ruling Baath Party. Every day it broadcasts the same message - the Syrian people are united in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
Royalty? It's un-American: Is there something in the American character that causes us to reject the idea of bowing to a hereditary monarch? - Dan Turner, latimes.com: The concept that a person is entitled to rule over another because of an accident of his or her birth is such a primitive notion that it's hard to imagine why anyone in a post-Enlightenment society would embrace it.
Americans still owe a debt to the warriors and thinkers of 1776 for freeing us from all that. Image from article, with caption: A flag with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait was seen in the window of a shop in central London ahead of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which took place June 2 to 5.
Casablanca as Propaganda? The Romance’s Wartime Messaging: The best type of propaganda is that which doesn’t appear to be propaganda at all. While we now remember Casablanca as a romance film, its subtle wartime messaging shouldn’t be forgotten - Matthew Floratis, screened.com: To our eyes, there’s nothing overtly propagandistic about
But there’s no doubt that the censor’s office viewed
AMERICANA
88 books that shaped America, at the Library of Congress - Huffington Post: Among them the below:
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