tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62872812249036078002024-03-17T23:03:26.458-04:00John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog ReviewJohn Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.comBlogger10164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-84788724709926172622019-06-01T17:30:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:38:02.209-04:00Embassies Embrace Fashion as Public Diplomacy Tool<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Stephanie Kanowitz, <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19911:embassies-embrace-fashion-as-public-diplomacy-tool&catid=1584&Itemid=428">The Washington Diplomat</a>, May 31, 2019<br />
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.charles.ron.story" height="500" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.charles.ron.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="352" />Better known for high tempers than high fashion, Washington, D.C., has seen catwalks pop up in the unlikeliest of places recently: embassies, historic buildings and even the State Department.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">That’s because people in the diplomatic community are realizing — and relishing — fashion’s role in diplomacy. Much as food, art and sports can say a lot about a nation’s culture, fashion does, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“There’s tremendous power in what we wear,” said Jan Du Plain, president and chief executive officer of Du Plain Global Enterprises, an international public relations and events company that helped launch Cultural Tourism DC’s Passport DC program. “If one of our high-level women or men wears something that is inappropriate or can be seen as questionable, fashion speaks. When we wear something, it can have such a strong impact on people because we are watching, particularly those that are high up in government.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Du Plain recently worked with <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16084&Itemid=421" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Indira Gumarova</a>, wife of Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmoníček, and the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) to host “Glamour & Diplomacy,” a fashion show at the State Department. The April 9 event featured female ambassadors and ambassadors’ wives wearing ensembles by contemporary designers from around the world. More than a dozen countries and five continents were represented.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Three days later, the Embassy of Uzbekistan presented <a href="https://www.diplomacyandfashion.com/events/uzbek-textile-fashion" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marhamathon Umarova</a>, founder of the MarU brand and one of the country’s leading fashion designers. She spoke about the evolution of ikat, a textile, and presented her latest collection.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The style and the patterns that they used and the cloth that they created from their own country was fascinating to learn about,” Du Plain said.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In March, the embassies of the Czech Republic, Malta and Slovenia hosted “Fashion Night Ignites” featuring several designers, including Burnett New York; Charles & Ron; Dur Doux; Maja Stamol; and Poner. After the show, cocktails and cuisine from each country were served. More than 250 people attended the event at the historic Perry Belmont House.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gumarova — a PR consultant who previously hosted a showcase of designer shoes by Manolo Blahnik, whose father was Czech — had a hand in all three events and said more fashion shows are in the works. She is working with the Alliance Française Washington DC on a program at the French Embassy in September, and she has been approached about doing shows in New York and London.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Now is the right time for fashion to take its place in Washington because people are less judgmental of cutting-edge clothing, said Gumarova, founder of the newly formed group <a href="https://www.diplomacyandfashion.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy & Fashion</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Now with the Trump administration, you actually can wear color, you can wear anything you want and you will be less judged,” Gumarova said. “And also, the money is here. The uber rich people are here and they don’t want to wear the same dress that was already in the magazine, so they start to pay more attention.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">While D.C. has traditionally been a fairly conservative city dress-wise — and still is to a large extent — Gumarova said it is an ideal hub for innovative, unconventional fashion given its international character. “Washington is the right place because we have almost 200 embassies and every embassy promotes their culture so why not promote through fashion when they already promote through food or through sport?”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.gumarova.story" height="403" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.gumarova.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="469" />Style, Substance and Double Standards</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The idea of using fashion as a public diplomacy tool has been building for quite some time. Over the years, various D.C. embassies have hosted fashion or jewelry shows to promote their native designers — among them Estonia, Lebanon, the Philippines and Canada, just to name a few.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Former Secretary of State John Kerry also recognized the power of fashion. In 2016, he welcomed ambassadors and diplomats from about 80 countries to “Diplomacy by Design,” an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Protocol and ELLE Magazine that highlighted fashion as a diplomatic platform (also see “‘<a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14511:diplomacy-by-design-examines-what-clothes-say-about-us&catid=1551&Itemid=428" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy by Design’ Examines What Clothes Say About Us</a>” in the December 2016 issue).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The clothes we create, the food we eat, the sports we play and the traditions that we honor are all part of a nation’s identity and therefore an integral part of how countries relate to one another,” Kerry told the audience via video link. “We know that America’s standing in the world isn’t determined solely by political and security policies,” he added. “On many occasions, cultural diplomacy can achieve what traditional diplomacy cannot because it speaks a universal language.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">But sometimes that message can get lost in the clothes we wear.</span> Also, with greater freedom in fashion choices comes greater responsibility — and scrutiny, especially for women. Take first lady Melania Trump’s $39 “I really don’t care. Do u?” jacket that she wore in June 2018 to McAllen, Texas, the site of many family separations of illegal immigrants. The media, and many others, had a field day trying to discern whether the former fashion model’s choice held a hidden message. Was it a rebuke of her husband’s immigration crackdown, or a show of support that she didn’t care what his detractors thought?</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The topic of Melania’s mysterious jacket came up at another discussion on fashion called “<a href="http://www.washdiplomat.com/PouchArticle/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=745" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy X Design</a>” sponsored by the Meridian International Center and held the National Museum of Women in the Arts last November. There, Robin Givhan, fashion critic for The Washington Post, said first ladies in particular can send powerful messages via the clothing they wear — but only if there’s a clear strategy behind it. In Melania’s case, however, the message seemed muddled.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“I haven’t seen much evidence of Melania Trump having a real, clear message behind her tenure of first lady, thus far,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/fashion/michelle-obama-stylist-meredith-koop.html" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Meredith Koop</a>, Michelle Obama’s stylist and one of the panelists, said at the discussion. “I hesitate to analyze it because I feel like it gives it too much weight.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Of course, Koop might be a bit biased given her close relationship to Michelle Obama, but there’s no doubt that as first lady, Obama endured her fair share of fashion scrutiny, both positive and negative.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.african.union.story" height="325" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.african.union.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="196" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Obama worked to highlight emerging American designers and break the mold of staid skirts and suits. She <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/red-carpet-dresses/g8148/michelle-obama-gowns/?slide=4" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">wore everything</a> from striking pink silk suits, to intricately patterned wrap dresses, to bold red off-the-shoulder ball gowns. At the time, even wearing dresses that bared her shoulders and toned arms caused a stir.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Looking back, the shock of seeing bare shoulders on a first lady seems quite tame compared to the risqué attire Melania wore as a top model. But as first lady, even Melania has hewed close to tradition, often opting for elegantly restrained, though still eye-catching, gowns reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy’s classic style.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">But perhaps no other woman in politics has had to navigate the minefield of fashion more than the woman Melania’s husband beat for the presidency. Long before becoming the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, Hillary Clinton struggled against the fashion microscope she found herself under as first lady in the 1990s.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">She was often criticized for her bulky, dowdy suits and various hairstyles. Once she entered the presidential race, however, her look evolved to embrace more form-fitting, sleeker suits, although her overall style remained minalimist and unmemorable as she fought to keep the focus on her politics and not her appearance.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Clinton’s cautious clothing choices serve as a reminder that in the top echelons of politics, where people take notice of smarts and savvy, clothes are still an afterthought and design shouldn’t serve as a distraction. Yet Clinton is also a prime example of the double fashion standards applied to women, who often feel pressured to look attractive but not <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">too</i> attractive in a professional environment.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Givhan agreed that American women tend to sacrifice style for being taken seriously. “There often seems to be a sublimation of the pleasure and delight in fashion in exchange for being perceived as authoritative and powerful.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Vanessa Friedman, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/fashion/hillary-clinton-theresa-may-michelle-obama-power-dressing.html?_r=0" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">writing</a> in a July 2016 piece in The New York Times, said that high-level women often tone down style in favor of substance and “that for a woman to wield power in what was historically a man’s world, she had to pretty much dress like a man — but brighter!”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Global Imprint</b></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Female political figures continue to play it safe, as evidenced by the bland button-down suits worn by every single female candidate in the current race to become the Democratic presidential nominee.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.dur.doux.story" height="226" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.dur.doux.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="293" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">But times are gradually changing as people venture out of their closet comfort zone. And part of that evolution is due to a greater appreciation of fashions from other countries, both traditional and up-and-coming, among Western consumers and designers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">American designers are increasingly incorporating elements of signature styles from abroad, such as Indian saris, Japanese kimonos and Nigerian headdresses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">This international trend was on full display at the “Glamour & Diplomacy” runway show at the State Department, an event that itself symbolized how far a modestly dressed government city like Washington, D.C., has become. “Let’s face it, when is the last time you had a DJ in the State Department,” joked Czech Ambassador Kmoníček at the show.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Glamour and diplomacy has arrived in Washington, D.C.” said <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs</span>,” opening the program to loud cheers. “It’s cutting-edge designs,” she continued. “It’s innovation, it’s entrepreneurship. These are all important values that we promote in the United States and around the world.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Each costume that these lovely women wore had its own special motif, ethnic in origin and international in style,” Gumarova said, “and each costume recaptures with elegance the modern and sophisticated style of each designer’s respective country.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For example, Arikana Chihombori-Quao, ambassador of the African Union, burst onto the stage donning a yellow robe, with pearl accent jewelry, that represented a Selma design from Ghana. Meanwhile, Changu Newman, wife of the ambassador of Botswana, wore a number designed by Isabel dos Santos, wife of the ambassador of Mozambique, who plans to develop her own fashion line in her home country (also see “<a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19668:mozambican-wife-a-former-diplomat-enters-world-of-high-fashion&catid=1583&Itemid=401" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mozambican Wife, a Former Diplomat, Enters World of High Fashion</a>” in the May 2019 issue). Other notable models included Hemal Shringla, wife of the Indian ambassador, and <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16751&Itemid=421" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ivonn Szeverényi</span></a>, wife of the Hungarian ambassador. The dresses and designs spanned from lesser-known labels like Carolina Estefan of Colombia to Roberto Cavalli and Lilly Pulitzer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For countries large and small, breaking into the world of high fashion is critical, both from a financial and cultural standpoint. Today, fashion is a $<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion-2019-a-year-of-awakening" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2.4 trillion global industry</a> that employs tens of millions of people. For decades, it was — and still is — dominated by luxury Western fashion houses. But as developing nations such as India and China increasingly enter the middle class and become fashion consumers, the industry is poised for change.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s also key for countries to export their own brand of fashion to raise awareness of their cultures and growing economies in a globalized world. Gumarova often mentions the struggles that countries face trying to overcome inherent prejudice and stereotypes when it comes to foreign designers, with traditional national attire often overlooked by the mainstream fashion industry.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">On the opposite end of the spectrum, the trend of cultural appropriation can go too far if it’s not handled carefully.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.pink.story" height="283" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.pink.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="221" />For instance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were ridiculed by Indians after wearing elaborate traditional outfits that the BBC called “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43151115" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bollywood-style bling</a>.” Gumarova, speaking at the “Diplomacy X Design” event, said the problem with Trudeau’s attire was that many viewed it as a cheap public relations stunt that didn’t convey authenticity. Audience members pointed out that instead of going all-out like Trudeau did, diplomats can opt for simpler gestures such as wearing the national color of a country as a sign of respect.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s these kinds of tricky subtleties that can speak volumes, particularly in the protocol-dictated world of diplomacy, where public interactions and events are carefully orchestrated to avoid any faux pas.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Fashion — what we wear — at [diplomatic] events is a big statement to the other country as well as what we want to represent of our country,” Du Plain said. “Fashion speaks. Fashion has a language all its own.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It makes a statement to others about not only how we feel about ourselves, but how we feel about others — and that we’ve taken the time to dress appropriately, she added.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Diplomacy, for me, is really the art of interacting with others and the art of making others feel comfortable because from the interaction that we have with people, then we can trade with them, then we can talk about the political strife, then we can discuss things of, shall we say, more challenging levels,” Du Plain said. “If the setting is right and the food and the dress and all of that comes together and sets an atmosphere for people to have really good diplomacy … all of that is, I feel, what diplomacy is about.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gumarova said she frequently fields questions about what to wear to diplomatic events. It can be confusing because countries have different protocols. She noted that “business casual” can mean very different things in two places.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For instance, the most popular outfit choice in D.C. for an event that requires “smart casual” attire is a black dress with pearls for women, she said, but in Prague, that means a jacket and high heels or flats.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Attendees also have to be mindful about the designer of the clothes they wear to events. “If you go to a Palestinian reception and wear a dress made by a Jewish designer, it can be offensive,” Gumarova pointed out.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.models.story" height="239" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.models.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="335" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Additionally, it’s a sign of disrespect to wear gloves in Asia because it impedes handshaking, she noted.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“On the diplomatic level, we have to follow diplomatic protocol, but we also want to follow fashion protocol,” Gumarova said.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hats Off to Power of Fashion</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fashion and diplomacy aren’t new bedfellows. When Benjamin Franklin traveled to France in 1776 to present his ambassador credentials to King Louis XVI, he wore a fur hat to keep his head warm. The French so admired his “rugged American frontiersman” look that he ordered more hats to wear during his visit. While Franklin choose the hat out of necessity (his head was cold), his choice was a breath of fresh air in a country fed up with the gilded excesses of Marie Antoinette’s court.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fashion has come a long way since Ben Franklin’s time, although fur hats of all varieties remain in vogue today. Moreover, just as Franklin’s hat symbolized a newly independent country’s grit and break with tradition, fashion continues to convey a country’s heritage and values — whether it’s America, Azerbaijan or Argentina — while also serving as a cultural bridge.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s a jumping off point to help people relate to one another, Du Plain said. Ultimately, that lays the foundation for relationships that can withstand differences when they arise.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“I love the idea of people learning about different cultures and countries and therefore when we do, we have more empathy and understanding,” she said. “If we’re ultimately talking about a better world, a perfect world, a peaceful world, it’s going to come from our relationships and our ability to interact with people.”</span></div>
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About the Author</h3>
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<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Stephanie Kanowitz is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat. Editorial assistant Samantha Subin contributed to this report.</em></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com166tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-4000495049984219072019-06-01T17:28:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:28:46.857-04:00A New Path Ahead For U.S. Public Diplomacy Advocates In A Digital Age?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Alan Heil, <a href="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/2019/05/28/a-new-path-ahead-for-u-s-public-diplomacy-advocates-in-a-digital-age/">Public Diplomacy Council</a>, May 28, 2019<br />
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<span style="font-size: 24px;"> What is public diplomacy? </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[JB -- see also (<a href="http://publicdiplomacypressandblogreview.blogspot.com/2019/05/blast-from-past-ii-purposes-and-cross.html">1</a>) (<a href="http://publicdiplomacypressandblogreview.blogspot.com/2018/11/public-diplomacy-and-propaganda-their.html">2</a>) (<a href="http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/19.htm">3</a>) (<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/diplomacies-from-public-to-public_b_9530412">4</a>)]</span></span></h3>
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It’s a term used more widely than ever in the 21st century, as a leading scholar of the concept, the University of Southern California’s Professor Nicholas J. Cull explains: “Public diplomacy deals with the influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of a nation’s foreign policies.”</div>
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Dr. Cull adds that PD encompasses dimensions of international relations beyond traditional diplomacy, including:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The formation of public opinion in other countries</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The interaction of private groups in one country with those of another</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The reporting of foreign affairs and its impact on policy</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Communication between those whose job it is in various countries, including diplomats and foreign correspondents.</li>
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These themes reflect a wide range of intercultural communications, public and private, via cultural and educational exchanges with international visitors and US-funded global broadcasting.</div>
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What Are The Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) And The Public Diplomacy Association Of America (PDAA)?</h3>
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<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-2448" height="225" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sherry-plus-crowd-300x225.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sherry-plus-crowd-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sherry-plus-crowd-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sherry-plus-crowd-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Sherry-plus-crowd-600x450.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
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PDC’s new president, Dr. Sherry Mueller, addresses the crowd at a First Monday Forum.</div>
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These two non-profit citizen volunteer groups headquartered in DC are exploring ways of supporting effective public diplomacy in unprecedented ways. Together, they have nearly 600 members, many of them retired foreign service officers or alumni of international communications organizations. This month, former PDC President Adam Clayton Powell III, who is also the director of the University of Southern California’s Washington office, and former PDAA President Ambassador Cynthia Efird are moving on from their non-governmental public diplomacy leadership posts. How have they strengthened a long-sought cooperative effort of both organizations? A number of US government alumni, including this writer, are members of both the PDC and PDAA.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Inspiring First Monday Forums</span></h4>
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<img alt="First Monday Forum participants" class="size-medium wp-image-2058" height="231" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Heath-Manon-McGuigan-Miriam-Heller-300x231.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Heath-Manon-McGuigan-Miriam-Heller-300x231.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Heath-Manon-McGuigan-Miriam-Heller-768x592.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Heath-Manon-McGuigan-Miriam-Heller-1024x789.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Heath-Manon-McGuigan-Miriam-Heller-600x463.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
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At a First Monday Forum, Executive Director Bob Heath chats with two attendees.</div>
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For the first time in 2017, the PDAA joined forces with the PDC and USC in co-sponsoring First Monday informal lunchtime roundtables at George Washington University’s School of International Affairs. These are led by expert public diplomacy advocates — private sector and government — at the beginning of each month. According to Adam Powell, there now have been nearly a hundred First Monday sessions since 2010. Attendance has now approached capacity crowds, including a growing number of GWU students.</div>
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Recent roundtable leaders have included:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">U.S Peace Corps director Dr. Jody Olsen, who shared success stories from her organization’s volunteers in 64 countries as diverse as Albania, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Macedonia and even the People’s Republic of China.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce on American educational and cultural exchanges, in all their variety and richness, as they build person-to-person friendships globally.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sister Cities International President Roger-Mark De Souza, who noted that “by sharing ideas with other countries’ municipal leaders, here and abroad, we help shape America’s foreign relations unofficially, one handshake at a time.”</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">VOA anchor Greta van Susteren, who produced an on-scene documentary, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Displaced</em>, reflecting the horrific conditions in a refugee displacement camp for Burma’s Rohingya refugees in neighboring Bangladesh.</li>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Monthly Seminars with Mid-Level Foreign Service Officers</span></h4>
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<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-2454" height="225" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-300x225.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-600x450.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
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Former US Ambassador to North Macedonia Jess L. Baily discusses the Role of Public Diplomacy in Resolving the Greece-Macedonia Name Dispute. Photo by Hunter B. Martin.</div>
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As part of the Public Diplomacy Council’s continuing commitment to foster the people and practice of public diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State we work with two FSO volunteer co-chairs to sponsor informal seminars around a variety of professional themes. The seminars provide an opportunity for mid-level public diplomacy officers, many of whom are on their first Washington tours and widely dispersed around the Department, to meet each other, discuss professional and policy issues, learn about different types of public diplomacy assignments and consult with senior or retired officers in an informal setting. Themes for discussion are chosen by the 30-50 FSOs who regularly participate and expert speakers are invited to address the contributions of public diplomacy to critical U.S. Department’s foreign policy challenges. The PDC provides lunch; the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) kindly provides a conference room at their headquarters.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">PDAA Annual Awards to Recognize Public Diplomacy Successes</span></h4>
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PDAA works with the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs to recognize annually outstanding public diplomacy efforts. The awards have gone to foreign service, civil service, and locally employed staff, both overseas and in the U.S. A worldwide cable solicits nominations for innovation in serving U.S. policy objectives through a range of public diplomacy tools. The winners each year receive a certificate, a cash prize, a year’s membership to PDAA, and are honored at an annual brunch.</div>
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To fund the award program, PDAA raises money throughout the year, as well as contributing some funding from membership dues. This year on May 5 at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, DC, four awards were given:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Niles Cole, CAO Kampala, received an award for reaching 32 schools in 15 districts with the bus “Explorer Lab,” equipped with computers and encouraging learning through problem solving. The students’ interest led to the government purchasing US air quality equipment and drafting new environment regulations.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Christopher Hodges, PAO in the Palestinian Affairs Unit, US Embassy Jerusalem received his award for extraordinary leadership during a period of low public opinion of US policy. He maintained effective contacts and shaped messaging through media interviews in fluent Arabic.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Natella Svistunova, PAO US Embassy Belmopan was awarded for an innovative plan to combat gender violence. She designed a successful media campaign to create an anti-violence label for a sauce. The product with the label was rolled out in an event attended by the Prime Minister’s spouse and family, engendering Belize-wide attention.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Debra Torbiong, Public Affairs Specialist at U.S. Embassy Koror in Palau. She was cited by the Ambassador for a program that redesigned the Palau school lunch program and encouraged healthy eating and exercising. The Ambassador said she promoted health and food security through an “innovative, responsive , interactive and effective” campaign. Both Svistunova and Torbiong were present to receive their awards. The others were accepted by representatives from the respective geographic regional offices.</li>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coordination Initiatives Continue</span></h4>
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-2187 size-medium" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker-274x300.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker-274x300.jpg 274w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker.jpg 457w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="274" /><br />
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Adam Clayton Powell III greets Roger-Mark De Souza, president of Sister Cities International, at the First Monday Forum Speaker on Feb. 11.</div>
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I asked USC scholar Adam Clayton Powell how he first became interested in public diplomacy. He has headed USC’s Washington office for more than a decade. He wanted to move to DC from California in 2010 and asked the former USC president, Max Nikias, what the office assignment here entailed. President Nikias replied: “Connect the links.”</div>
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That meant from USC’s perspective, enhancing the contacts between the separate PD-related organizations in the nation’s capital: the Council (primarily an advocacy group in U.S. media and on Capitol Hill) and the Association (focused on perfecting public diplomacy practice in State and at missions overseas). Another key goal was to share knowledge about PD practices with newly-named FSOs and to encourage them to value 21st media vehicles (listening and viewing as well as counseling) as their careers are built. Adam Powell offered one example in “connecting the links”: an introductory seminar for new FSOs entitled: “What do expect to happen in your first day at your first overseas post?”</div>
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The PDC and PDAA continue to increase their links.</div>
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All those interested in the activities I mentioned above can learn more on their new, shared website at <a href="http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">www.publicdiplomacy.org</a>. There, you can learn about all the initiatives of both PDC and PDAA, which are expanding programs that are available to members of both organizations.</div>
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<img alt="Cynthia and Panel" class="wp-image-1915" height="185" sizes="(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-300x169.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-768x434.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-1024x578.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-600x339.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="328" /><br />
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Ambassador Cynthia Efird addresses the crowd at a First Monday Forum.</div>
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The PDAA’s former president Efird reports that its board last month voted to “request the PDC to form a joint exploratory group with it to look at how to move further on closer cooperation, keeping in mind the organizational legal and other issues both memberships might have. “Cooperation,” she added, “is a work in progress, but a work that could be important in securing the health of both organizations and increasing the understanding of public diplomacy among our memberships and in a wider audience, as well.”</div>
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Two veteran public diplomacy advocates and nominees to succeed as presidents of the PDC and PDAA, Dr. Sherry Mueller of the Council and Jan Brambilla of the Association, appear to recognize the importance of sustaining the unprecedented contributions of their two predecessors. Dr. Mueller, former President of Global Ties U.S. is a professor teaching cultural diplomacy at American University and Jan Brambilla is a longtime member of PDAA and a former distinguished personnel director at VOA.</div>
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I submit that the late great journalist and head of the former U.S. Information Agency, Edward R. Murrow, once offered a perfect prescription for public diplomacy all might easily agree on: “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.”</div>
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As a 36-year veteran of the Voice of America (VOA), Alan Heil traveled to more than 40 countries a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, and later as director of News and Current Affairs, deputy director of programs, and deputy director of the nation’s largest publicly-funded overseas multimedia network. Today, VOA reaches more than 275 million people around the world each week via radio, television and online media. <a href="http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/dt_team/alan-heil/" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Read More</a></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-61250598042966445682019-06-01T17:26:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:33:13.515-04:00Russian sharp power targeting the European elections in Central-Eastern Europe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/">euromaidanpress.com, 2019/06/01</a><br />
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<a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/"><img src="http://euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Orban.jpeg" /></a></div>
Image from article: <i class="post-thumbnail-caption" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #545454; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px;">Vladimir Putin (left) with Victor Orban, one of the pro-Russian politicians in the Central-East European regoin. Photo: wikipedia </i><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #545454; font-family: "roboto slab"; font-size: 18px;">Article by: Lóránt Győri and Péter Krekó</span><br />
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While much attention has been paid in the international media to the abilities of the Kremlin to influence foreign elections, relatively little is known about why and how everyday citizens resonate to these attempts in post-communist countries of Central-Eastern Europe. Political Capital, therefore, explored the vulnerability and resilience to Russian hostile influence by focusing on the horizontal, online “grassroots” communication between citizens. Our research revealed not only the basic societal drivers behind these influence operations but how these came into play during the 2019 European elections campaign in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.</div>
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International polling, such as Pew’s 2018 <a href="https://www.pewglobal.org/2018/12/06/image-of-putin-russia-suffers-internationally/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">research</a>, has been proving the failure of Russian “soft power” since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. According to Pew, just 34% and 26% of the global public (covering 25 countries) expressed a favourable view of Russia or President Putin respectively. Similarly, only a fraction of the population of the V4 countries (3-13%) would consider themselves as “part of the East” culturally or politically based on the <a href="https://www.globsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GLOBSEC-Trends-2018.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Globsec Trends 2018</a> data in Central-Eastern Europe. So, we can quite confidently say that Russian “soft power” or the “<a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/news.php?article_read=1&article_id=66" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">weaponization of culture</a>” that relies on cultural and political appeal, the beauty of Mother Russia’s landscapes etc. is failing, despite the Kremlin’s expansive and expensive international media empire (RT, Sputnik) and their local media clones’ presence in Europe.</div>
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The rise of Russia’s “sharp power”</h3>
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Instead, our research proved the significance of the Kremlin’s so-called “<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2017-11-16/meaning-sharp-power" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">sharp power</a>,” one’s ability to influence and manipulate the geopolitical perceptions of foreign target audiences through feeding them negative or positive messages, disinformation.</div>
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Compared to hard power based on military or economic means or soft power mostly relying on<b> public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] and culture, sharp power tries to make the Kremlin and Russia look bigger, better, stronger on the world stage, a force to reckon with among great powers such as the USA or China.</div>
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Political Capital’s big data research in cooperation with Bakamo.Social has revealed that the formula has worked excellently in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. An explicit aim of the research was to leave behind the “elitist,” top-down approach of analyses on hybrid warfare and investigate ordinary conversations, so BakamoSocial’s social listening methodology mapped millions of “natural,” spontaneous online conversations of average citizens related to Russia or the Kremlin in a two-year period (between 20 November 2016 and 19 November 2018).</div>
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-129638 jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="129638" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="word-image" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?fit=524%2C232" data-lazy-src="1" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?fit=300%2C133" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?fit=524%2C232" data-orig-size="524,232" data-permalink="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/word-image-1025/" data-recalc-dims="1" height="232" sizes="(max-width: 524px) 100vw, 524px" src="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?resize=524%2C232" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?w=524 524w, https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image.png?resize=300%2C133 300w" style="border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="524" /><br />
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The number of conversations sampled in the three countries between 20 November 2016 and 19 November 2018</div>
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Based on our research <a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/pc-admin/source/documents/pc_larger_than_life_eng_web_20190410.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">data</a>, the Kremlin’s perceived international “omnipotence” could be confirmed by “folk perceptions” in the three countries under revision. Although, the majority of online conversations related to Russia were either negative (46% of messages) or neutral (33% of messages), the two leading views in each country attributed direct and unrealistic influence to the Kremlin as a military “aggressor” or an “invisible manipulator,” capable to spying on people and/or changing their minds on certain issues.</div>
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The six basic perceptions about Russia and their representation in the three countries</div>
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Hungarian people seemed to be the most charmed by Russian influence and looking to the Kremlin as a “strong protector” (10%), which reflects the positive and uncritical approach of the Hungarian government to Hungarian-Russian bilateral relations. Moreover, we could identify “consumer groups” of Russia-related news or disinformation.</div>
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Around the third or 30% of each society belongs to three pro-Russian consumer groups or public segments with markedly different profiles in their relation to Russian sharp power.</div>
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The group we called “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Russian fan boys</strong>” (10% of the sample) is receptive primarily to the masculinity and militarism of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin; the group of “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">admirers of Russia</strong>” (10%) is more interested in high culture and the Soviet legacy. The third consumer group with positive attitudes was labeled “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Russia is the safer bet than the West</strong>” (8%). They interpret Russia’ role in pragmatic economic and political terms based on Russia’s geopolitical proximity and economic or military power, so they provide a fertile ground for anti-sanctions rhetoric.</div>
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Russian fanboys are easily found among Eastern European and European far-right parties or paramilitary organizations maintaining excellent political relations with the Kremlin, while Soviet nostalgia is typically present among the older generations who spent their youth in the communist era and were especially hard hit by the economic outfall of the democratic transitions in the 1990s.</div>
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We also revealed a regional or Central-European pattern and basic drivers of the Russian sharp power. Foreign authoritarian influence in the CEE is strengthened by three main societal factors connected to the region’s geopolitical crisis.</div>
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First, there is a <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">pro-Russian political elite</strong>, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Czech President Milos Zeman, Slovak far-right leader Marian Kotleba, who overestimate the significance or influence of the Kremlin for their own political or financial interests and whose rhetoric is <a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/11/16/how-hungary-became-a-weapon-of-russian-disinformation/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">echoed</a> by Russian or pro-Russian media throughout the region. Second, <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">specific ideologies</strong>, such as Pan-Slavic historical narratives in Slovakia or the Czech Republic, Soviet nostalgia in Hungary, create special bonds between Russia and Central-Eastern European societies. Finally, <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Eurosceptic rhetoric</strong> against Brussels makes Russia look like as an alternative power, partner to turn to preserve “national sovereignty” or escape the “colonization” efforts of the European Union.</div>
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Russian sharp power in the European elections</h3>
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The <a href="https://www.globsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EP-Elections_Information-Operations-Disinformation-Campaigns-1.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">monitoring</a> of the current European elections campaign (by Political Capital, Globsec Policy Institute and Prague Security Studies Institute) has proven the interplay of these drivers of Russian sharp power.</div>
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Most of the pro-Russian disinformation narratives disseminated by local pro-Russian media networks in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia centered around the issue of “immigration” to highlight the Eurosceptic political players nationalist and anti-Brussels political platforms.</div>
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On the one hand, disinformation framed the European Union as some sort of a non-democratic “monster” crushing national identities, for instance, Sputnik CZ quoted SPD representative Radim Fiala’ parallel between the EU and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, or forcing Hungarians to abandon their Christian faith and traditions in favour of Muslim mass migration allegedly “enabled” by Brussels.</div>
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On the other hand, the Kremlin clearly supported the new far-right and pro-Russian political group titled Alliance of Peoples and Nations (EAPN) to be established by Matteo Salvini (League Party) and Marine Le Pen (National Rally Party) in the new European Parliament – an initiative that would welcome PM Orbán and his Fidesz-KDNP ruling coalition as well. Different narratives about the Union’s responsibility for immigration and related conspiracy theories all contribute to the EU’s negative issues, as seen on the chart below.</div>
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Dominant types of Eurosceptic narratives on the monitored Hungarian pages over time</div>
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While anti-Russian attitudes and narratives are still dominating the political discourses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, research pointed to the fragility of this kind of societal resilience to Russian sharp power. Russia’s image is shaped by a relatively small minority of active users that amount to only 30-60,000 users or opinion leaders in each of the three countries we examined. Consequently, it would take only a small effort to fundamentally change the current anti-Russian perceptions in the CEE. More importantly, Russian sharp power already has the ability to circumvent the official communication channels via the existing, strong pro-Russian discussions and consumer groups on the grassroots levels of everyday communication.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Disclaimer</em></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The authors are grateful for the generous support of the </em></strong><a href="https://www.ned.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">National Endowment for Democracy</em></strong></a><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> that made these researches possible. For more on Russian sharp power in the CEE see Political Capital’s dedicated </em></strong><a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/russian_sharp_power_in_cee/index.php" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">website</em></strong></a><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">.</em></strong></div>
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<img class="alignleft jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-lazy-src="1" height="163" src="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/L%C3%B3r%C3%A1nt-Gy%C5%91ri.png?resize=187%2C213" style="border: 0px; display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 4px 20px 10px 1px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="143" /></div>
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Lorant Gyori is a sociologist and political analyst, with a masters in social sciences from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, where he is currently working as a geopolitical analyst for the <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Political Capital</a> think-tank on issues such as <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/wp-content/uploads/PC_reactionary_values_CEE_20160727.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Russian soft power</a>, <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/hireink.php?article_read=1&article_id=314" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">disinformation</a>, and <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/populism-in-europe-and-its-russian-love-affair/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">populism</a> in Europe.<br />
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-129646 alignleft jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="129646" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="peter2" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=346%2C310" data-lazy-src="1" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=300%2C269" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=346%2C310" data-orig-size="346,310" data-permalink="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/peter2/" data-recalc-dims="1" height="148" sizes="(max-width: 165px) 100vw, 165px" src="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?resize=165%2C148" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?w=346 346w, https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?resize=300%2C269 300w" style="border: 0px; display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 4px 20px 10px 1px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="165" /></div>
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Péter Krekó is a social psychologist and political scientist. He has been the executive director of Political Capital since 2011. During 2016-2017, he worked as a Fulbright Visiting Professor in the United States at the Central Eurasian Studies Department of Indiana University. He focuses on Russian ‘soft power’ policies and political populism and extremism in Europe. His publications include a book on <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-hungarian-far-right/9783838211848" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">The Hungarian Far Right</a>, and another <a href="https://www.lira.hu/hu/konyv/ismeretterjeszto-1/tarsadalomtudomany/tomegparanoia-az-osszeeskuves-elmeletek-es-alhirek-szocialpszichologiaja" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">one</a> on the phenomena of fake news and conspiracy theories.</div>
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Read also:</h3>
<a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="the-rise-of-russias-sharp-power" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="russian-sharp-power-in-the-european-elections" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="read-also" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><br />
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<li class="post entry-title" style="border: 0px; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/11/16/how-hungary-became-a-weapon-of-russian-disinformation/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">How Hungary became a weapon of Russian disinformation</a></li>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-19357817903184872842019-06-01T17:13:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:13:12.113-04:00The West Point Speech and the Foreign Service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Donald M. Bishop, <a href="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/2019/05/30/the-west-point-speech-and-the-foreign-service/">Public Diplomacy Council</a>, May 30, 2029<br />
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President Barack Obama delivers the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point commencement ceremony at Michie Stadium in West Point, NY, on May 28, 2014. Official White House photo by Pete Souza.</div>
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“America must always lead” was the theme of President Obama’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-president-obamas-commencement-address-at-west-point/2014/05/28/cfbcdcaa-e670-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_story.html" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">speech</a> at West Point on May 28, 2014. This essay – posted on the former website of the Public Diplomacy Council on June 3, 2014, now republished for reference – was a response.</div>
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Five years later, the nation has a new president, but the four trends mentioned in the essay endure It’s still true, for instance, that “no cavalry troop with a stagecoach of gold is headed our way.” And the need for <span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">strong diplomacy</span> is as necessary in the current administration as it was in the last.</div>
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The columnists and talking heads have given out grades – ranging from “A” to “F” – for President Obama’s speech on foreign policy at West Point. Me? I’m just confused – indeed baffled.</div>
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Borrowing an old phrase from the 1960s, what “blows my mind” is that no one has noted the obvious area of consensus among supporters and critics of the President. All implicitly agree that <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">the United States must have more diplomacy in the future – <span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">strong diplomacy</span>.</em></div>
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For those who support the President’s posture and believe America should lean away from use of military force, the clear implication is that our nation must rely on diplomacy.</div>
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Seals of the United States Armed Forces.</div>
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Those who are convinced of the opposite – that the United States must be willing and prepared to use the armed forces – must come to the same conclusion. First, the armed forces can respond to only the most severe crises, so diplomacy must handle the others. Second, it is diplomacy that marshals coalitions. And third, senior military commanders all know that deployments require strong diplomatic support – for bases, access, transit rights, supply, use of the radio spectrum, status of forces, and many other matters. These are all diplomatic tasks.</div>
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Henry Kissinger noted that once policy is set, the State Department and the Foreign Service tend the “nuts and bolts.” It is American ambassadors and their staffs who make things happen. Foreign Service Officers inform the governments and the citizens of our allies, partners, and foes of new policies. They deliver demarches. At the negotiation table, they provide specialized knowledge of countries, regions, and issues, and they bring a wealth of experience in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. They speak to the press. They meet people from all walks of life and hear their views. They advocate for cooperation, collaboration, and votes for our positions at the United Nations and other international organizations. They report local reactions, analyze old and new agreements, set up meetings. They fund initiatives and get people moving. The one word that captures all this activity is “implement.”</div>
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-2474 size-medium" height="222" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Afgahnistan-300x222.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Afgahnistan-300x222.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Afgahnistan-768x569.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Afgahnistan-600x444.jpg 600w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Afgahnistan.jpg 825w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
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Army General John W. Nicholson, Resolute Support commander, speaks to nurses, medical staff and hospital managers at the Kabul Women’s Hospital in Afghanistan on May 18, 2017. Nicholson emphasized the importance of women in peace building and in strengthening the future of Afghanistan. Nicholson toured the hospital with Afghan Defense Minister Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai, Sidqa Abudllah Adeeb-Rabia Balkhi, hospital director and Ambassador Hugo Llorens, the special chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo.</div>
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Strong diplomacy needs more than money, and it cannot be turned on and off like a spigot. In Afghanistan during the civilian surge, sizable sums were provided to the civilian agencies of the U.S. government, all represented on the Country Team at the Embassy in Kabul. The amounts overwhelmed the Embassy’s capacity. Not all the money was spent well. The jury is still out on whether the money achieved its goal – to strengthen Afghanistan and its government so that nation cannot again become a sanctuary and training ground for terrorism.</div>
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It’s not only, then, that we need “more” diplomacy. We need strong diplomacy. This means that the institutions of American diplomacy – the Foreign Service in particular – need an upgrade, even reform, in a time of grave challenges.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The need for strong diplomacy, however, faces some adverse trends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Trend:</span> Even a partial list of foreign policy migraines is long: Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, the islands between China and Japan, the South China Sea, North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Gaza, South Sudan, Mali. We can safely predict this list will lengthen. We need more diplomats with first-hand understanding of these places. We need them overseas, at the United Nations and other international organizations, and in Washington.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Trend:</span> The changes set in motion by the Arab Spring will have different outcomes in different countries, many adverse to our interests. The great intra-Muslim debate over the future direction of their faith has only begun. Al-Qaeda, its franchises, and other extremist groups now can move fighters and weapons between unstable areas. We need more diplomats who have worked amid these changes, know them at first hand, met those who are part of the trends, and speak to them in their own languages.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Trend:</span> A diplomat for three decades, I know that American diplomacy is strong when our economy is robust. For several years, however, anemic economic growth and the debt and budget crises have diminished America’s standing overseas.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Trend:</span> I also know that the reality of American military power helps American diplomacy achieve more. We can see from the budget reductions for the armed forces, however, that domestic spending is now squeezing defense. As entitlement spending continues to rise, it will also crowd out spending on foreign relations – just when the nation needs more diplomacy.</div>
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As America’s diplomatic agenda becomes more crowded, part of the State Department’s organizational culture becomes relevant. It’s in the Foreign Service DNA to never tell the Secretary or the President “we can’t.” The never-complain character of the Foreign Service, however, now masks some substantial institutional deficits.</div>
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Dozens of studies have described them. Officers go overseas without adequate language training, and the system that regularly sends 50-year old officers to learn new languages needs review. There is no “float” to allow FSOs the same kind of sequenced professional education as officers in the armed forces.</div>
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Arabic language and culture instructor conducts class for three students in the Foreign Service Institute’s Arabic. Photo courtesy of the US Department of State.</div>
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Any FSO will tell you that “we do policy planning, but we don’t do operational planning.” The lackluster performance of the State Department in its “whole of government” role in Iraq and Afghanistan can largely be attributed to this planning deficit.</div>
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Staffing embassies in Baghdad and Kabul with more than a thousand Americans was too large an undertaking for the small corps of Foreign Service generalists, who number only about nine thousand in all. The State Department has only been able to absorb the extra work after 9/11 by using retirees and contractors. When supplemental funds contract, that extra help won’t be available.</div>
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In the few moments when Foreign Service officers have time to reflect on the state of their profession, they express anxiety over whether there’s enough training, why only the United States divides its Foreign Service into “cones,” why no one cares to examine the professional successes and failures during more than a decade of war, how to remedy the lack of a “constituency” for the Foreign Service, or why new officers must wait so many years before receiving an assignment in their specialty.</div>
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While the President, the Secretary, and the administration cope with the many challenges and threats in the world, then, they must embrace one more task. To have strong diplomacy tomorrow, reform of the Foreign Service must begin today.</div>
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President Donald Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and other Republican legislative leaders, listen to a briefing by Secretary of Defense James Mattis in the Laurel conference room at Camp David on January 6, 2018. Official White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian.</div>
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It has been so stretched that it has had no time or energy to reform itself. Few of the recommendations of outside panels have ever been implemented. FSOs continue to hope for additional funds. Given the new and coming budget realities, they are waiting for Godot.</div>
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No cavalry troop with a stagecoach of gold is headed our way. That means that the leadership of the State Department must do what any corporation, university, foundation, or state government must do when budgets are short – stop doing things that are less vital in order to free up funds for new, higher priorities. Among those priorities, the Department must invest some time and money in itself, now, to have a more capable Foreign Service, later.</div>
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Reform cannot be given to outside panels, and the Deputy Secretaries, the Under Secretary for Management, and the Director General of the Foreign Service can only launch it with support from the top. Or to use Plutarch’s more earthy saying: Nothing fattens the horse so much as the king’s eye.</div>
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Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Members of Congress, put your eyes on reform of the Foreign Service.</div>
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Donald M. Bishop is the Bren Chair of Strategic Communications in the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Mr. Bishop served as a Foreign Service Officer – first in the U.S. Information Agency and then in the Department of State – for 31 years.</div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com96tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-14285310243771462952019-06-01T17:12:00.002-04:002019-06-01T17:12:09.794-04:00Malawakil Manama's Public Diplomacy Initiative <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a class="malawakil-name" href="http://www.kln.gov.my/web/bhr_manama/home?p_p_auth=LV5KU29L&p_p_id=49&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_49_struts_action=%2Fmy_sites%2Fview&_49_groupId=33476&_49_privateLayout=false" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-shadow: rgb(153, 153, 153) 0px 1px 0px, rgb(136, 136, 136) 0px 2px 0px, rgb(119, 119, 119) 0px 3px 0px, rgb(102, 102, 102) 0px 4px 0px, rgb(85, 85, 85) 0px 5px 0px, rgb(68, 68, 68) 0px 6px 0px, rgb(51, 51, 51) 0px 7px 0px, rgb(0, 17, 53) 0px 8px 7px; text-transform: uppercase; transition: color 300ms ease 0s, background-color 300ms ease 0s;" title="Go to Embassy of Malaysia, Manama">EMBASSY OF MALAYSIA, MANAMA</a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Excellency Agus Salim bin Yusof, and his wife, Norsyazwani Hamdan, paid a visit to Bahrain’s main hospital, Salmaniya Hospital on 21 May 2019. The purpose of the visit was to distribute gifts from the Embassy and PERWAKILAN Manama to more than 40 children in the paediatric ward of the Hospital, on the occasion of gergaoun (children’s traditional festival celebrated in mid-Ramadhan).</span> The Embassy hopes that the gifts brought joy and happiness to the children who could not celebrate gergaoun with their families and friends. </span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">This first-ever initiative undertaken by the Embassy was one of the activities lined up to commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Kingdom of Bahrain this year. </span></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-17354636022569445582019-06-01T17:01:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:01:51.762-04:00Ambassador of the Year & Public Diplomacy Awards 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-style: italic;">Posted by </span><a href="https://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/author/eugenio/" rel="author" style="color: #ff6600; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-style: italic; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Editor">Editor</a><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-style: italic;"> on Monday, May 27, 2019; <a href="https://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/2019/05/27/ambassador-of-the-year-public-diplomacy-awards-2019/">Diplomat Magazine</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">On the occasion of the 2nd <em>Canada’s Ambassador of the Year</em><em>&</em><em>Public Diplomacy Awards 2019</em>, the Faculty of Civil and Common Law of the University of Ottawa, in collaboration with the Deanship of the Diplomatic Corps of Canada and the International <b>Public Diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] Council by Diplomat Magazine, celebrated in March its Awards Ceremony, that was followed by a reception.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Award consisted in a Canadian Inukshuk sculpture, and it was presented by the Deans of the Faculties of Law and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Twelve prizes went to heads of diplomatic missions from twelve geographical regions to 12 award-winning ambassadors. Moreover, four special awards and recognitions were handed to organizations working closely with the foreign missions present in Canada. Special prizes also went to distinguished individuals, including a High Special Diplomatic Recognition to H.E. Constant Horace, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps of Canada and Ambassador of Madagascar to Canada.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="" class="wp-image-48082" src="http://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/wp-content/uploads/gAmbassador-of-the-Year-Public-Diplomacy-Awards-2019-Canada-Group-awards.jpg" height="427" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12px; max-width: 100%;" width="640" /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 2019 Awards ceremony also featured the farewell to Ambassador Constant, who will be returning to his country, after serving thirteen years in Canada. Mr. Pierre Thibault, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Civil Law, offered him a gift on behalf of the faculty.</span><br />
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-7952859971726621962019-06-01T17:00:00.004-04:002019-06-01T17:00:39.162-04:00The Dutch Council for Russian Compatriots elects a new Bureau.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/2019/06/01/the-dutch-council-for-russian-compatriots-elects-a-new-bureau/">diplomatmagazine.nl</a><br />
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Posted by <a href="https://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/author/eugenio/" rel="author" style="color: #ff6600; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s;" title="Posts by Editor">Editor</a> on Saturday, June 1, 2019 · <a href="https://www.diplomatmagazine.nl/2019/06/01/the-dutch-council-for-russian-compatriots-elects-a-new-bureau/#respond" style="color: #ff6600; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s, all 0.25s ease 0s;">Leave a Comment</a><br />
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</strong> <span style="background-color: white;"><strong>Konstantin Makarenko</strong>, the Executive director of the <b><u>Public Diplomacy</u></b> [JB emphasis/underlining] Corps (PDC) Foundation named the priority for the current stage: “to change the principles of work”.</span></div>
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<em>The Hague, 18th May 2019. TASS Correspondent Vitaly Chugin. </em></div>
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A scheduled conference of the Coordination Council of Russian compatriots was held last Saturday in the Hague. The Conference elected a new Bureau and set out the goals and tasks for the near future.</div>
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When speaking to our TASS correspondent, Mr. Makarenko, the Executive director of the <b><u>Public Diplomacy</u></b> Corps (PDC) Foundation, who moderated the meeting, mentioned that the priority for the current stage is: “to change the principles of work”.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">“Our organization needs a new working style”, said Mr. Makarenko. “In the past our activists reported on their own work results. Now we have built an internet portal which will publish the information on positive experience cases. People must know that such positive experience exists. But our Bureau needs to focus on comprehensive large scale projects. For example, each school can organize a festival. But no school can organize a large scale event where 300-400 students will participate”. As examples of such large scale events Mr. Makarenko named the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 350-year birthday of Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725).</span></div>
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The freshly elected Bureau consists of 7 members. <span style="background-color: white;">The Conference has also resolved to return to the old official name “The Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in the Netherlands” and to offer the new version of the Statutes for public discussion.</span></div>
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<strong>Consolidation as priority</strong></div>
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At the meeting were also present: <strong>Boris Zhilko, </strong>Chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in the Netherlands, <strong>Andrey Lanchikov</strong>, the Deputy-Director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Relations with Compatriots living Abroad, Mr. <strong>Artyom Chernov from </strong>the Rossotrudnichestvo Agency, who is responsible for cooperation programs with compatriots abroad, as well as representatives of the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands.</div>
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In his speech Mr. Lanchikov passed the greeting from Mr. <strong>Oleg Malginov</strong>, the Director of his Department and the Secretary of the Governmental Committee for Compatriots living Abroad. This greeting underlines the “current need to consolidate the Russian diaspora, to create an atmosphere of good will and mutual support”. The Russian Foreign Affairs Department expects the renewed Dutch Coordination Council of Compatriots to address a broad spectrum of issues. Such as lessons of Russian for children, the preservation of Russian culture and traditions among compatriots, the development of economic ties with Russia as well as making the diaspora youth aware of historical memory and their Russian roots.</div>
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Mr. Lanchikov also referred to the last years’ 6th World Congress of Compatriots. “There were many discussions during the Congress. The proposed objectives are quite ambitious. You can use them as guidelines in your work. Do your best to implement them. I really hope that you will continue to build on the constructive cooperation with the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands. Only together we can move forward.”</div>
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<strong>Yury Uraksin</strong>, the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands has invited the newly elected Bureau to cooperate with all stakeholders. “No one should be ever excluded from our activities” underlined Mr. Uraksin. “Inclusivity is THE way to guarantee the best results for the whole coordination committee”. The diplomat has also stressed the need to use the positive experience of the past. He promised all possible help and cooperation on behalf of the Embassy to further consolidate the compatriots in the Netherlands.<br />
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-58297151916894392552019-06-01T16:09:00.000-04:002019-06-01T16:09:53.591-04:00Global Media Giants Meet to Debate Their Future and Challenges Ahead in the 21st Century<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #262b2e; font-family: "none"; font-size: 18px;">Alan Heil, <a href="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/2019/05/20/global-media-giants-challenges-of-21st-century/">Public Diplomacy Council</a>, May 20, 2019</span></div>
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It was perhaps the largest gathering of public diplomacy advocates and international broadcasters and media scholars ever held in America. The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) organized a day-long conference May 7 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in an atrium within sight of the Lincoln Memorial.</div>
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<img alt="Bearded old man" class="wp-image-2439" height="176" sizes="(max-width: 136px) 100vw, 136px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz-231x300.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz-231x300.jpg 231w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz-768x996.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz-790x1024.jpg 790w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz-600x778.jpg 600w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ted-Cruz.jpg 1215w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="136" /><br />
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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas).</div>
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Highlight of the day: an address by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a new member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who eloquently summarized the role of America’s free press and expanding avenues worldwide for defending truth in journalism.</div>
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As Senator Cruz put it: “Our principles can tear down walls, can topple tyrannies, can promote freedom. America should consistently be a voice for freedom. We should be a voice for human rights. We should be a voice for democracy, because that truth is powerful and it can transform the world.</div>
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“That’s also where an American free press and the USAGM come into play. Now to be clear, we don’t ask journalists to promote the viewpoint of the United States government. There are plenty of countries in the world where governments run their media and the media is little more than a propaganda outlet for whatever the policy views are of particular regime in power.</div>
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“Instead,” Senator Cruz added, “we believe in a different kind of press, one that aligns with American principles. It’s a testament to our system of government that we encourage and protest dissent. That we encourage and protect a free media because freedom depends upon a free media.”</div>
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More than a hundred representatives of global multimedia broadcasters and scholars attended the Media for Democracy Forum to exchange ideas about strengthening “truth power” in a digital age. All five taxpayer-funded international overseas networks were represented: Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Middle East Broadcasting Network in Arabic (MBN), and Radio-TV Marti (OCB) in Spanish to Cuba.</div>
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Other media, governmental and civil society organizations participated, as well, including the National Endowment for Democracy, The Atlantic Council, Freedom House, IREX, Deutsche Welle, CNN, the Hudson Institute, the University of Southern California, the State and Defense Departments and USAID.</div>
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CEO John Lansing of the USAGM (until recently known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors) introduced Senator Cruz and noted: “Like defense, development and diplomacy, U.S. international media (the five networks listed above) are an essential part of our standing on the world stage.” He noted that these networks reach a combined multimedia audience in 100 countries totaling 345,000,000.</div>
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Principal points made by panelists during the Media for Democratic Freedom (M4DF) conference:</h4>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Between 2009 and 2019, there was more change in media delivery systems than in the preceding four decades. Let’s think seriously about the digital divide. We have to be aware of the potential of new media and its impact.” — Alec Ross, author of the global best seller, The Industries of the Future. The book has been translated into 24 languages and explores the worldwide technological and economic trends of the coming decade relevant to media and human development.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Both Russia and China have invested in shaping the media of other countries, particularly in Central Europe and Latin America. Fifty three percent of users in an electronic poll feel that press freedom will decline, worldwide in the next 10 years.” — Chris Walker, vice president of the National Endowment for Democracy.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“We need to watch what works. Because of our broadcasts, Venezuela’s Maduro is aware of what has been happening in Myanmar (Burma) which expelled the Rohingyas and in Iran during huge anti-government protests early last year. Our audiences in China have gone up, and VOA’s Charter has held up remarkably well over the years.” — Amanda Bennett, Director, VOA, and two time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist in leading U.S. daily newspapers.<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_2440" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 30px; padding: 0px; width: 223px;">
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VOA director, Amanda Bennett, spoke at the PDC’s First Monday Forum on May 6, 2019.</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“In Asia, the worst offenders are China and North Korea. Six of our reporters in northwest China follow closely what Beijing calls ‘re-education camps’ for an estimated one million Uighurs accused of anti-regime activities. PRC media threaten those reporters’ families who live in the U.S. This global shaping space matters. For international broadcasters, freedom is not free — it demands investment by all of us.” — Libby Liu, President, Radio Free Asia.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“RFE/RL can be an example. The U.S. government can encourage non-government organizations to help identify and neutralize media organizations of hostile opponents. Our programs to Ukraine are on two major networks there with an estimated two to three million viewers. They can also watch our programming stream on YouTube and Facebook.”— Natalia Sedletska, author and host, RFE/RL investigative TV program, Schemes.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“We have detailed info on the media of 200 countries. I think we all agree here that China has the most sophisticated disinformation media. In Russia, we’ve seen them rolling out wave after wave of new attacks against open media. We try to counsel on ways of countering network censorship.” — Arturo Filasto, founder of the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), a project monitoring internet censorship and network interference globally.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“It was our Constitution’s First Amendment that talks about a free press. If you lose this, you lose everything else.” — U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (R-Utah), of the House Appropriations and Intelligence Committees and New York Times No. 1 best-selling author of Seven Miracles That Saved America and The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World.</li>
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Ronald Reagan speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987. Official White House photo.</div>
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In wrapping up the conference, USAGM consultant and former NBC President and former CBS News Executive Editor and Producer Steve Capus told a story that sums up what a free press means to geopolitics in any age: “In my office, the dominant feature is a gigantic painting of President Ronald Reagan standing before the Brandenburg Gate (in Berlin) saying the words: ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!’ Many don’t know the back story behind those words. I believe those are the most important words uttered by any leader in modern times.</div>
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“The back story is that three times, the State Department edited those words out of the speech. And three times Reagan, with his own hands, wrote them back (in). And they proceeded to have arguments where the State Department said, ‘Mr. President, you can’t say this. Mr. President, it’s too belligerent. Mr. President, this is unrealistic. We know that the Berlin Wall will stand for all eternity. So you cannot say something like this.</div>
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“And each time, Reagan wrote it back in and said with a smile: ‘You don’t understand. This is the whole point of the speech.’ And just a few years after those words were uttered, the Berlin Wall was torn to the ground. That’s important to reflect on. The United States didn’t bomb the Berlin Wall. We didn’t send tanks in to demolish it. It was simply the words, the power of speaking the truth. And tyrannies fear truth…”</div>
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It turned out that Mr. Capus had the last word at the USAGM conference: “And finally, your mission is to connect people. Many of your outlets,” he concluded, “are broadcasting to places of alienation and isolation. In too many of these places, people have lost hope. And the work you do is invaluable in bringing news of a different world. Speaking to power, speaking to oppression, speaking for freedom, speaking for human rights is powerful. And it is at the very core of your mission. So for that, I simply say, ‘Thank you.’ ”</div>
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As a 36-year veteran of the Voice of America (VOA), Alan Heil traveled to more than 40 countries a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, and later as director of News and Current Affairs, deputy director of programs, and deputy director of the nation’s largest publicly-funded overseas multimedia network. Today, VOA reaches more than 275 million people around the world each week via radio, television and online media. <a href="http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/dt_team/alan-heil/" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Read More</a></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-90211403148030335642019-06-01T16:05:00.000-04:002019-06-01T16:07:55.378-04:00Sushma Swaraj, the minister who brought a human touch to MEA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rekha Dixit, Mandira Nayar, <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/06/01/Sushma-Swaraj-the-minister-who-brought-a-human-touch-to-MEA.html">theweek.in</a>, June 1, 2029; on Swaraj's exist as Foreign Minister, <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/everyone-sad-on-twitter-over-sushma-swaraj-exit-as-foreign-minister/story/352235.html">see</a><br />
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<b>The diminutive leader leaves behind very big shoes to fill in (image from article)</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Indian diplomats in overseas missions had taken to sleeping with their cellphones switched on. Sushma Swaraj, the former external affairs minister (EAM), had the habit of calling—regardless of the time difference—if she got a tweet or heard that an Indian was in distress. Overnight, the ministry of external affairs (MEA), which had earlier left <b>public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] to the ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA), had to become much more hands on. The MOIA, not surprisingly, was soon dissolved and subsumed by the MEA. “I do not sleep. I do not let Indian envoys sleep,'' quipped Swaraj at a press conference once. But it was more than just a light-hearted remark. It was the way she worked. And it will be this personalised stamp of diplomacy which will be missed at the ministry, missions, and international interactions.</span></div>
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There were no interviews for the press. But she was <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/03/18/rahul-modi-sushma-chowkidar.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #326891; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">available to the aam Indian</a>, even during the times of her illness. Swaraj once said: “We have worked to integrate people's policy into the foreign policy... Ask those Indians who are stuck in foreign lands.” This has been one of her biggest achievements, the transformation of a ministry that so far remained focused on diplomacy—and viewed as aloof—to become more people oriented. <span style="background-color: white;">Swaraj became the patron saint of the stranded Indian</span>. It was her efforts which brought back the deaf-mute Gita from Pakistan, and later, Uzma, too, who escaped a bad marriage and captivity. Then there was Gurpreet, the victim of an abusive marriage, who found herself in a German refugee camp. Gurpreet reached out to the minister over social media, and was soon brought home. While these women became Hindistan ki betiyaan, Swaraj, morphed into the benevolent Bharat Mata herself.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It helped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision included the non-resident Indian. The Madison Garden event had proven that he had a rockstar image. The NRI was no longer distant. He was the loudest cheerleader of the Modi government.</span> But more than just a Swaraj idea, the muscular Indian government has been at the heart of the Modi doctrine. <span style="background-color: white;">“Indians abroad are a huge asset for the country, whether in the economy, in image or in influence,’’ said Swaraj at a book release function in 2016. She spent the rest of her term, ensuring that Indians abroad feel this importance.</span> “Another method of expressing that is to give them the comfort that the government is always there for them. That is the least we can do for our nationals who do so much for us,’’ she said.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Turning <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/04/18/sushma-swaraj-assures-to-help-indian-man-in-saudi-who-threatened-to-commit-suicide.html" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #326891; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="'Hum hain na': Swaraj assures to help Indian man in Saudi who threatened to commit 'suicide'">social networking into a power tool</a>, Swaraj quickly won hearts and minds.</span> She tweeted on her own. And despite all the rescue and crisis management she affected over her tweets, she always had time for a joke. Once, someone asked her whether it was safe to travel to Bali, and she tweeted, tongue in cheek, that she would consult the volcano and revert.<span style="background-color: white;"> One of her early tweets to go viral was in response to the disgruntled owner of a Samsung refrigerator. She tweeted: “Brother, I cannot help you in matters of refrigerator. I am very busy with human beings in distress.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It was no surprise that she had one of the largest followings among politicians on social media. In a country where foreign policy is dominated by the prime minister, Swaraj brought something special to the post of EAM.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">ALSO READ</span></h2>
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<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2019/05/21/swaraj-arrives-in-krygyzstan-to-attend-sco-foreign-ministers-meet.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Swaraj arrives in Kyrgyzstan to attend SCO foreign ministers meet</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/05/02/chowkidar-confusion-us-media-gets-sushma-swaraj-name-wrong.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chowkidar confusion: US media groups get Sushma Swaraj's name wrong</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/04/19/pakistan-army-targets-sushma-comment-balakot-attack-toll.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pakistan Army latches onto Sushma's comment on Balakot strike toll</a></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/04/18/sushma-swaraj-assures-to-help-indian-man-in-saudi-who-threatened-to-commit-suicide.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">'Hum hain na': Swaraj assures to help Indian man in Saudi who threatened to commit 'suicide'</a></li>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It wasn't only the stranded Indian. Swaraj facilitated travel permits to many who sought medical visas.</span> In one of her last interventions, she sought information on why Friederike Irina Bruning's visa had been denied. Bruning, a Padma awardee, was threatening to return her award. Swaraj's outreach legacy will continue, largely because she institutionalised it.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In 2016, the MEA generated Twitter seva service to ensure that no one is left out. </span>The application tracks the concerns or complaints and redirects it to the official concerned who handles the grievance or the issue concerned, and responds either on Twitter or offline. <span style="background-color: white;">The first tweet by the new foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, assured all Indians, that “Team MEAIndia'' will “continue to be at your service 24X7''.</span> And in true form, Jaishankar, appreciated the quick action the embassy in Riyadh that had reached out to a distressed Indian worker who needed to go back home urgently.</div>
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Indian diplomacy will miss her <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/04/12/The-Nehru-Gandhi-safe-seats-When-Sonia-Sushma-crossed-swords-in-Ballari.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #326891; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Nehru-Gandhi safe seats: When Sonia, Sushma crossed swords in Ballari">warmth and wit</a>. She knew the names of everyone who worked under her. She was accessible. As one official quipped, “We know we will get an appointment if we ask.” <span style="background-color: white;">More than her bonds within the ministry, Swaraj, who had worked for years in Parliament and was skilled at building bridges with the opposition, will be missed by her peers in other countries. On first-name terms with most leaders, she enjoyed a great rapport with them. She refers to herself and John Kerry, the then US secretary of state, as the long and short of diplomacy and is believed to be the only one who could give Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, a 'talking to', sugar-coated of course.</span></div>
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Once she told KPS Oli Sharma, prime minister of Nepal, that India was the older brother in the neighbourhood, no doubt. But India was more the caring elder brother or bade bhaiya in the relationship, which was very different from the western concept of the bullying Big Brother. As the older sibling, India had the right and responsibility to care for the younger ones. Her successor could take a leaf out her her page in smoothening sharp edges of relationships.</div>
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Swaraj brought in the <a href="https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2019/05/22/lanka-pulwama-attacks-made-india-more-determined-to-fight-terrorism.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #326891; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="'Lanka, Pulwama attacks made India more determined to fight terrorism'">great Indian family ethos into her work approach</a>. If she was Bharat Mata to the stranded, she was badi didi to world leaders younger to her.</div>
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Despite failing health, Swaraj would take personal interest in everything, even the arrangements for parties hosted by her. <span style="background-color: white;">She celebrated International Women's Day in a big way, inviting women diplomats, government officers and women in media to be part of it.</span> She would herself oversee even the decor and menu. And because she is vegetarian, she'd always ask the guests whether the non-vegetarian fare was up to the mark. It was the one thing she didn't decide.</div>
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The diminutive leader leaves behind very big shoes to fill in.<br />
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-18861219355177027632019-06-01T14:31:00.002-04:002019-06-01T16:35:09.338-04:00A New Path Ahead For U.S. Public Diplomacy Advocates In A Digital Age?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Alan Heil, <a href="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/2019/05/28/a-new-path-ahead-for-u-s-public-diplomacy-advocates-in-a-digital-age/">Public Diplomacy Council</a>, May 28, 2019<br />
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What is public diplomacy? </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[JB -- see also (<a href="http://publicdiplomacypressandblogreview.blogspot.com/2019/05/blast-from-past-ii-purposes-and-cross.html">1</a>) (<a href="http://publicdiplomacypressandblogreview.blogspot.com/2018/11/public-diplomacy-and-propaganda-their.html">2</a>) (<a href="http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/19.htm">3</a>) (<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/diplomacies-from-public-to-public_b_9530412">4</a>)]</span></span></h3>
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It’s a term used more widely than ever in the 21st century, as a leading scholar of the concept, the University of Southern California’s Professor Nicholas J. Cull explains: “Public diplomacy deals with the influence of public attitudes on the formation and execution of a nation’s foreign policies.”</div>
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Dr. Cull adds that PD encompasses dimensions of international relations beyond traditional diplomacy, including:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The formation of public opinion in other countries</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The interaction of private groups in one country with those of another</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The reporting of foreign affairs and its impact on policy</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Communication between those whose job it is in various countries, including diplomats and foreign correspondents.</li>
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These themes reflect a wide range of intercultural communications, public and private, via cultural and educational exchanges with international visitors and US-funded global broadcasting.</div>
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What Are The Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) And The Public Diplomacy Association Of America (PDAA)?</h3>
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PDC’s new president, Dr. Sherry Mueller, addresses the crowd at a First Monday Forum.</div>
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These two non-profit citizen volunteer groups headquartered in DC are exploring ways of supporting effective public diplomacy in unprecedented ways. Together, they have nearly 600 members, many of them retired foreign service officers or alumni of international communications organizations. This month, former PDC President Adam Clayton Powell III, who is also the director of the University of Southern California’s Washington office, and former PDAA President Ambassador Cynthia Efird are moving on from their non-governmental public diplomacy leadership posts. How have they strengthened a long-sought cooperative effort of both organizations? A number of US government alumni, including this writer, are members of both the PDC and PDAA.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Inspiring First Monday Forums</span></h4>
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At a First Monday Forum, Executive Director Bob Heath chats with two attendees.</div>
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For the first time in 2017, the PDAA joined forces with the PDC and USC in co-sponsoring First Monday informal lunchtime roundtables at George Washington University’s School of International Affairs. These are led by expert public diplomacy advocates — private sector and government — at the beginning of each month. According to Adam Powell, there now have been nearly a hundred First Monday sessions since 2010. Attendance has now approached capacity crowds, including a growing number of GWU students.</div>
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Recent roundtable leaders have included:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">U.S Peace Corps director Dr. Jody Olsen, who shared success stories from her organization’s volunteers in 64 countries as diverse as Albania, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Macedonia and even the People’s Republic of China.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce on American educational and cultural exchanges, in all their variety and richness, as they build person-to-person friendships globally.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Sister Cities International President Roger-Mark De Souza, who noted that “by sharing ideas with other countries’ municipal leaders, here and abroad, we help shape America’s foreign relations unofficially, one handshake at a time.”</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">VOA anchor Greta van Susteren, who produced an on-scene documentary, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Displaced</em>, reflecting the horrific conditions in a refugee displacement camp for Burma’s Rohingya refugees in neighboring Bangladesh.</li>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Monthly Seminars with Mid-Level Foreign Service Officers</span></h4>
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<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-2454" height="225" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-300x225.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG-1005-600x450.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
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Former US Ambassador to North Macedonia Jess L. Baily discusses the Role of Public Diplomacy in Resolving the Greece-Macedonia Name Dispute. Photo by Hunter B. Martin.</div>
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As part of the Public Diplomacy Council’s continuing commitment to foster the people and practice of public diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State we work with two FSO volunteer co-chairs to sponsor informal seminars around a variety of professional themes. The seminars provide an opportunity for mid-level public diplomacy officers, many of whom are on their first Washington tours and widely dispersed around the Department, to meet each other, discuss professional and policy issues, learn about different types of public diplomacy assignments and consult with senior or retired officers in an informal setting. Themes for discussion are chosen by the 30-50 FSOs who regularly participate and expert speakers are invited to address the contributions of public diplomacy to critical U.S. Department’s foreign policy challenges. The PDC provides lunch; the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) kindly provides a conference room at their headquarters.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">PDAA Annual Awards to Recognize Public Diplomacy Successes</span></h4>
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PDAA works with the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs to recognize annually outstanding public diplomacy efforts. The awards have gone to foreign service, civil service, and locally employed staff, both overseas and in the U.S. A worldwide cable solicits nominations for innovation in serving U.S. policy objectives through a range of public diplomacy tools. The winners each year receive a certificate, a cash prize, a year’s membership to PDAA, and are honored at an annual brunch.</div>
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To fund the award program, PDAA raises money throughout the year, as well as contributing some funding from membership dues. This year on May 5 at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, DC, four awards were given:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Niles Cole, CAO Kampala, received an award for reaching 32 schools in 15 districts with the bus “Explorer Lab,” equipped with computers and encouraging learning through problem solving. The students’ interest led to the government purchasing US air quality equipment and drafting new environment regulations.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Christopher Hodges, PAO in the Palestinian Affairs Unit, US Embassy Jerusalem received his award for extraordinary leadership during a period of low public opinion of US policy. He maintained effective contacts and shaped messaging through media interviews in fluent Arabic.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Natella Svistunova, PAO US Embassy Belmopan was awarded for an innovative plan to combat gender violence. She designed a successful media campaign to create an anti-violence label for a sauce. The product with the label was rolled out in an event attended by the Prime Minister’s spouse and family, engendering Belize-wide attention.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Debra Torbiong, Public Affairs Specialist at U.S. Embassy Koror in Palau. She was cited by the Ambassador for a program that redesigned the Palau school lunch program and encouraged healthy eating and exercising. The Ambassador said she promoted health and food security through an “innovative, responsive , interactive and effective” campaign. Both Svistunova and Torbiong were present to receive their awards. The others were accepted by representatives from the respective geographic regional offices.</li>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Coordination Initiatives Continue</span></h4>
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-2187 size-medium" height="300" sizes="(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker-274x300.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker-274x300.jpg 274w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/smaller-Adam-and-speaker.jpg 457w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="274" /><br />
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Adam Clayton Powell III greets Roger-Mark De Souza, president of Sister Cities International, at the First Monday Forum Speaker on Feb. 11.</div>
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I asked USC scholar Adam Clayton Powell how he first became interested in public diplomacy. He has headed USC’s Washington office for more than a decade. He wanted to move to DC from California in 2010 and asked the former USC president, Max Nikias, what the office assignment here entailed. President Nikias replied: “Connect the links.”</div>
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That meant from USC’s perspective, enhancing the contacts between the separate PD-related organizations in the nation’s capital: the Council (primarily an advocacy group in U.S. media and on Capitol Hill) and the Association (focused on perfecting public diplomacy practice in State and at missions overseas). Another key goal was to share knowledge about PD practices with newly-named FSOs and to encourage them to value 21st media vehicles (listening and viewing as well as counseling) as their careers are built. Adam Powell offered one example in “connecting the links”: an introductory seminar for new FSOs entitled: “What do expect to happen in your first day at your first overseas post?”</div>
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The PDC and PDAA continue to increase their links.</div>
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All those interested in the activities I mentioned above can learn more on their new, shared website at <a href="http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">www.publicdiplomacy.org</a>. There, you can learn about all the initiatives of both PDC and PDAA, which are expanding programs that are available to members of both organizations.</div>
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<img alt="Cynthia and Panel" class="wp-image-1915" height="185" sizes="(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-300x169.jpg" srcset="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-768x434.jpg 768w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-1024x578.jpg 1024w, https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cynthia-600x339.jpg 600w" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="328" /><br />
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Ambassador Cynthia Efird addresses the crowd at a First Monday Forum.</div>
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The PDAA’s former president Efird reports that its board last month voted to “request the PDC to form a joint exploratory group with it to look at how to move further on closer cooperation, keeping in mind the organizational legal and other issues both memberships might have. “Cooperation,” she added, “is a work in progress, but a work that could be important in securing the health of both organizations and increasing the understanding of public diplomacy among our memberships and in a wider audience, as well.”</div>
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Two veteran public diplomacy advocates and nominees to succeed as presidents of the PDC and PDAA, Dr. Sherry Mueller of the Council and Jan Brambilla of the Association, appear to recognize the importance of sustaining the unprecedented contributions of their two predecessors. Dr. Mueller, former President of Global Ties U.S. is a professor teaching cultural diplomacy at American University and Jan Brambilla is a longtime member of PDAA and a former distinguished personnel director at VOA.</div>
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I submit that the late great journalist and head of the former U.S. Information Agency, Edward R. Murrow, once offered a perfect prescription for public diplomacy all might easily agree on: “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.”</div>
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<img alt="Alan Heil" class="avatar avatar-100 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-100 alignnone photo" height="100" src="https://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ALAN-HEIL_large-150x150.jpg" style="border-radius: 50%; border: 0px; float: none; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 10px; max-width: 100px; padding: 0px;" width="100" /></div>
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As a 36-year veteran of the Voice of America (VOA), Alan Heil traveled to more than 40 countries a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, and later as director of News and Current Affairs, deputy director of programs, and deputy director of the nation’s largest publicly-funded overseas multimedia network. Today, VOA reaches more than 275 million people around the world each week via radio, television and online media. <a href="http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/dt_team/alan-heil/" style="color: #0ca2e0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Read More</a></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-42497890927225976832019-06-01T13:51:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:24:58.614-04:00Russian sharp power targeting the European elections in Central-Eastern Europe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/">euromaidanpress.com, 2019/06/01<br />
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<a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/"><img src="http://euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Orban.jpeg" /></a></div>
Image from article: <i class="post-thumbnail-caption" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #545454; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px;">Vladimir Putin (left) with Victor Orban, one of the pro-Russian politicians in the Central-East European regoin. Photo: wikipedia </i><br />
<a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/"><br />
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Article by: Lóránt Győri and Péter Krekó</h5>
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While much attention has been paid in the international media to the abilities of the Kremlin to influence foreign elections, relatively little is known about why and how everyday citizens resonate to these attempts in post-communist countries of Central-Eastern Europe. Political Capital, therefore, explored the vulnerability and resilience to Russian hostile influence by focusing on the horizontal, online “grassroots” communication between citizens. Our research revealed not only the basic societal drivers behind these influence operations but how these came into play during the 2019 European elections campaign in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.</div>
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International polling, such as Pew’s 2018 <a href="https://www.pewglobal.org/2018/12/06/image-of-putin-russia-suffers-internationally/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">research</a>, has been proving the failure of Russian “soft power” since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. According to Pew, just 34% and 26% of the global public (covering 25 countries) expressed a favourable view of Russia or President Putin respectively. Similarly, only a fraction of the population of the V4 countries (3-13%) would consider themselves as “part of the East” culturally or politically based on the <a href="https://www.globsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GLOBSEC-Trends-2018.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Globsec Trends 2018</a> data in Central-Eastern Europe. So, we can quite confidently say that Russian “soft power” or the “<a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/news.php?article_read=1&article_id=66" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">weaponization of culture</a>” that relies on cultural and political appeal, the beauty of Mother Russia’s landscapes etc. is failing, despite the Kremlin’s expansive and expensive international media empire (RT, Sputnik) and their local media clones’ presence in Europe.</div>
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The rise of Russia’s “sharp power”</h3>
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Instead, our research proved the significance of the Kremlin’s so-called “<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2017-11-16/meaning-sharp-power" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">sharp power</a>,” one’s ability to influence and manipulate the geopolitical perceptions of foreign target audiences through feeding them negative or positive messages, disinformation.</div>
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Compared to hard power based on military or economic means or soft power mostly relying on<b> public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] and culture, sharp power tries to make the Kremlin and Russia look bigger, better, stronger on the world stage, a force to reckon with among great powers such as the USA or China.</div>
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Political Capital’s big data research in cooperation with Bakamo.Social has revealed that the formula has worked excellently in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. An explicit aim of the research was to leave behind the “elitist,” top-down approach of analyses on hybrid warfare and investigate ordinary conversations, so BakamoSocial’s social listening methodology mapped millions of “natural,” spontaneous online conversations of average citizens related to Russia or the Kremlin in a two-year period (between 20 November 2016 and 19 November 2018).</div>
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The number of conversations sampled in the three countries between 20 November 2016 and 19 November 2018</div>
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Based on our research <a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/pc-admin/source/documents/pc_larger_than_life_eng_web_20190410.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">data</a>, the Kremlin’s perceived international “omnipotence” could be confirmed by “folk perceptions” in the three countries under revision. Although, the majority of online conversations related to Russia were either negative (46% of messages) or neutral (33% of messages), the two leading views in each country attributed direct and unrealistic influence to the Kremlin as a military “aggressor” or an “invisible manipulator,” capable to spying on people and/or changing their minds on certain issues.</div>
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The six basic perceptions about Russia and their representation in the three countries</div>
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Hungarian people seemed to be the most charmed by Russian influence and looking to the Kremlin as a “strong protector” (10%), which reflects the positive and uncritical approach of the Hungarian government to Hungarian-Russian bilateral relations. Moreover, we could identify “consumer groups” of Russia-related news or disinformation.</div>
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Around the third or 30% of each society belongs to three pro-Russian consumer groups or public segments with markedly different profiles in their relation to Russian sharp power.</div>
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The group we called “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Russian fan boys</strong>” (10% of the sample) is receptive primarily to the masculinity and militarism of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin; the group of “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">admirers of Russia</strong>” (10%) is more interested in high culture and the Soviet legacy. The third consumer group with positive attitudes was labeled “<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Russia is the safer bet than the West</strong>” (8%). They interpret Russia’ role in pragmatic economic and political terms based on Russia’s geopolitical proximity and economic or military power, so they provide a fertile ground for anti-sanctions rhetoric.</div>
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Russian fanboys are easily found among Eastern European and European far-right parties or paramilitary organizations maintaining excellent political relations with the Kremlin, while Soviet nostalgia is typically present among the older generations who spent their youth in the communist era and were especially hard hit by the economic outfall of the democratic transitions in the 1990s.</div>
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We also revealed a regional or Central-European pattern and basic drivers of the Russian sharp power. Foreign authoritarian influence in the CEE is strengthened by three main societal factors connected to the region’s geopolitical crisis.</div>
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First, there is a <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">pro-Russian political elite</strong>, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Czech President Milos Zeman, Slovak far-right leader Marian Kotleba, who overestimate the significance or influence of the Kremlin for their own political or financial interests and whose rhetoric is <a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/11/16/how-hungary-became-a-weapon-of-russian-disinformation/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">echoed</a> by Russian or pro-Russian media throughout the region. Second, <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">specific ideologies</strong>, such as Pan-Slavic historical narratives in Slovakia or the Czech Republic, Soviet nostalgia in Hungary, create special bonds between Russia and Central-Eastern European societies. Finally, <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Eurosceptic rhetoric</strong> against Brussels makes Russia look like as an alternative power, partner to turn to preserve “national sovereignty” or escape the “colonization” efforts of the European Union.</div>
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Russian sharp power in the European elections</h3>
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The <a href="https://www.globsec.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EP-Elections_Information-Operations-Disinformation-Campaigns-1.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">monitoring</a> of the current European elections campaign (by Political Capital, Globsec Policy Institute and Prague Security Studies Institute) has proven the interplay of these drivers of Russian sharp power.</div>
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Most of the pro-Russian disinformation narratives disseminated by local pro-Russian media networks in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia centered around the issue of “immigration” to highlight the Eurosceptic political players nationalist and anti-Brussels political platforms.</div>
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On the one hand, disinformation framed the European Union as some sort of a non-democratic “monster” crushing national identities, for instance, Sputnik CZ quoted SPD representative Radim Fiala’ parallel between the EU and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, or forcing Hungarians to abandon their Christian faith and traditions in favour of Muslim mass migration allegedly “enabled” by Brussels.</div>
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On the other hand, the Kremlin clearly supported the new far-right and pro-Russian political group titled Alliance of Peoples and Nations (EAPN) to be established by Matteo Salvini (League Party) and Marine Le Pen (National Rally Party) in the new European Parliament – an initiative that would welcome PM Orbán and his Fidesz-KDNP ruling coalition as well. Different narratives about the Union’s responsibility for immigration and related conspiracy theories all contribute to the EU’s negative issues, as seen on the chart below.</div>
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-129640 jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="129640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="word-image" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?fit=648%2C217" data-lazy-src="1" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?fit=300%2C100" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?fit=648%2C217" data-orig-size="648,217" data-permalink="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/word-image-1027/" data-recalc-dims="1" height="217" sizes="(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px" src="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?resize=648%2C217" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?w=648 648w, https://i0.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/word-image-2.png?resize=300%2C100 300w" style="border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="648" /><br />
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Dominant types of Eurosceptic narratives on the monitored Hungarian pages over time</div>
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While anti-Russian attitudes and narratives are still dominating the political discourses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, research pointed to the fragility of this kind of societal resilience to Russian sharp power. Russia’s image is shaped by a relatively small minority of active users that amount to only 30-60,000 users or opinion leaders in each of the three countries we examined. Consequently, it would take only a small effort to fundamentally change the current anti-Russian perceptions in the CEE. More importantly, Russian sharp power already has the ability to circumvent the official communication channels via the existing, strong pro-Russian discussions and consumer groups on the grassroots levels of everyday communication.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Disclaimer</em></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The authors are grateful for the generous support of the </em></strong><a href="https://www.ned.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">National Endowment for Democracy</em></strong></a><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> that made these researches possible. For more on Russian sharp power in the CEE see Political Capital’s dedicated </em></strong><a href="https://www.politicalcapital.hu/russian_sharp_power_in_cee/index.php" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">website</em></strong></a><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">.</em></strong></div>
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<img class="alignleft jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-lazy-src="1" height="163" src="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/L%C3%B3r%C3%A1nt-Gy%C5%91ri.png?resize=187%2C213" style="border: 0px; display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 4px 20px 10px 1px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="143" /></div>
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Lorant Gyori is a sociologist and political analyst, with a masters in social sciences from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, where he is currently working as a geopolitical analyst for the <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Political Capital</a> think-tank on issues such as <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/wp-content/uploads/PC_reactionary_values_CEE_20160727.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">Russian soft power</a>, <a href="http://www.politicalcapital.hu/hireink.php?article_read=1&article_id=314" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">disinformation</a>, and <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/populism-in-europe-and-its-russian-love-affair/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">populism</a> in Europe.<br />
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<img alt="" class="wp-image-129646 alignleft jetpack-lazy-image--handled" data-attachment-id="129646" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="peter2" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=346%2C310" data-lazy-src="1" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=300%2C269" data-orig-file="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?fit=346%2C310" data-orig-size="346,310" data-permalink="http://euromaidanpress.com/2019/06/01/russian-sharp-power-targeting-the-european-elections-in-central-eastern-europe/peter2/" data-recalc-dims="1" height="148" sizes="(max-width: 165px) 100vw, 165px" src="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?resize=165%2C148" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?w=346 346w, https://i2.wp.com/euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/peter2.png?resize=300%2C269 300w" style="border: 0px; display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 4px 20px 10px 1px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="165" /></div>
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Péter Krekó is a social psychologist and political scientist. He has been the executive director of Political Capital since 2011. During 2016-2017, he worked as a Fulbright Visiting Professor in the United States at the Central Eurasian Studies Department of Indiana University. He focuses on Russian ‘soft power’ policies and political populism and extremism in Europe. His publications include a book on <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-hungarian-far-right/9783838211848" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">The Hungarian Far Right</a>, and another <a href="https://www.lira.hu/hu/konyv/ismeretterjeszto-1/tarsadalomtudomany/tomegparanoia-az-osszeeskuves-elmeletek-es-alhirek-szocialpszichologiaja" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">one</a> on the phenomena of fake news and conspiracy theories.</div>
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Read also:</h3>
<a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="the-rise-of-russias-sharp-power" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="russian-sharp-power-in-the-european-elections" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><a class="mwm-aal-item" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="read-also" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; color: #05acfa; font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;"></a><br />
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<li class="post entry-title" style="border: 0px; list-style: disc outside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 5px;"><a href="http://euromaidanpress.com/2018/11/16/how-hungary-became-a-weapon-of-russian-disinformation/" style="border: 0px; color: #05acfa; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in 0s;">How Hungary became a weapon of Russian disinformation</a></li>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-25598825226585902872019-06-01T12:11:00.001-04:002019-06-01T13:25:27.014-04:00The revival of realist thinking in international relations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Tarık Oğuzlu, <a href="https://www.dailysabah.com/op-ed/2019/05/31/the-revival-of-realist-thinking-in-international-relations">dailysabah.com</a>, 31.05.2019<br />
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<img alt="The revival of realist thinking in international relations" height="260" src="https://iadsb.tmgrup.com.tr/bbf89b/645/420/0/48/1000/700?u=https://idsb.tmgrup.com.tr/2019/05/30/1559242907428.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<i><b>While realist power politics take precedence over liberalist opportunism, the great powers are both shaping and confronting this new reality</b></i><br />
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Excerpt:<br />
<blockquote>
[T]he world has recently witnessed a strong comeback of realist thinking in international relations. As nationalism and geopolitics have seen a strong revival, we are no longer on the verge of transcending into a borderless world in which universalism overshadows particularism. ...<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The evolution of Chinese foreign policy over the last decades does also suggest that a realist turn has become more noticeable in recent years. The more powerful China has become in terms of material power capabilities, the more assertively it has begun to question the decades-old American hegemony in East and Southeast Asia, as well as promote its political-economy model beyond its borders through such initiatives as Belt and Road. China's efforts to entice its neighbors through lucrative free trade agreements and <b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis] initiatives seem to have underlined that it is no longer an easy and cost-free exercise for those countries to view the United States as their ultimate security provider at the expense of their rewarding economic relations with China.</span> China is now trying to create fissures between the United States and its allies in the region. ...<br />
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The decline of Western powers' primacy in global politics, as well as the erosion of the U.S.-led liberal world order, has accelerated under Trump's watch. It is not only that the Trump administration has adopted a pseudo isolationist and nativist foreign policy but also America's European allies have simultaneously begun to devote much of their time and energy on intra-European challenges with a view to salvaging what has been left from the post-modern European Union integration process.<br />
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On the other hand, <span style="background-color: white;">emboldened by the gradual decline of the West, non-Western powers have in recent years begun to play more decisive and influential roles in global politics. A realist world is now in full swing.</span></blockquote>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-65240561990453804442019-06-01T11:51:00.003-04:002019-06-01T11:51:55.173-04:00Jackson native fights North Korean propaganda as an American diplomat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Brianne Twiddy, btwiddy@mlive.com, <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2019/06/jackson-native-fights-north-korean-propaganda-as-an-american-diplomat.html">mlive.com</a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Beau Miller (center left) supporting the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games. (Courtesy Photo)" height="425" src="https://www.mlive.com/resizer/RJU5zwIr_2bPcyOrJgX3vyS3FEc=/600x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-advancelocal.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JVHPUZSCKJET7BZYW7YERVGKLE.jpeg" width="640" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "benton sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.2015px;"><i><span style="background-color:; font-size: xx-small;">Beau Miller (center left) supporting the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games. (Courtesy Photo)</span></i></span></div><span style="background-color: #f0f0ed; color: #666666; font-family: "benton sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15.5px; letter-spacing: 0.2015px;"><br />
</span> JACKSON, MI -- When a person escapes North Korea, they gain freedom but they face other obstacles, like learning English and unlearning propaganda against the western world.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Beau Miller, whose parents live and work in Jackson, is a <b>public diplomat</b> [JB emphasis] and informant in Seoul who helps defectors once they reach South Korea. He also helped launch an English Access program, which teaches North Korean defectors the language and adjust to their new life, he said.</span><br />
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Miller and his colleagues won the prestigious Gears in Government award on April 30 for his work launching the program. It was a surprise to win because it’s the program’s first year, Miller said.<br />
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“It was nice to be acknowledged,” Miller said. “The work itself is incredible. I came (to Seoul) four years ago and it’s been a wild ride with everything going on here with the Olympics, and the president and North Korea.”<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">For the last decade, Miller has worked to connect American officials with South Korean university and high school students through exchange programs, he said. His priority is to keep the U.S. a study abroad destination because it adds millions of dollars to the economy and creates alliances between the countries, Miller said.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">More than 100 North Korean defectors are in the exchange program. They can take classes in the U.S., experience its culture and come back to share it with their North and South Korean contacts. This is an important way to combat propaganda against the Western world, Miller said.</span><br />
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“(Korean exchange students) get a great education and learn about values of countries while studying in America and it ties our countries together,” Miller said.<br />
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His inspiration for his education-based diplomatic job came from his parents, who were raised in and currently live in Jackson. His dad works for Jackson College and his mother for the Western School District. Miller was born in Charlevoix and attended preschool in Jackson. He moved to Japan in kindergarten, where he lived throughout high school.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Growing up with educator parents inspired his career in <b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis], Miller said. It made him want to share educational opportunities with other people and advance interest in it, he said.</span><br />
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After establishing a home in a community, a person can become a sort of global citizen who feels most at home while traveling and meeting new people, he said. That’s all part of his job as a diplomat, he said.<br />
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However, there’s nothing better than to come home to his parents in Jackson, he said.<br />
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“I like the path I chose. I know where I came from and where I go home to, but have lived in so many other places,” Miller said. “It’s been a cool path.”<br />
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</div>John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-84261621692221684632019-06-01T11:05:00.000-04:002019-06-01T17:38:28.764-04:00Embassies Embrace Fashion as Public Diplomacy Tool<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Stephanie Kanowitz, <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19911:embassies-embrace-fashion-as-public-diplomacy-tool&catid=1584&Itemid=428">The Washington Diplomat</a>, May 31, 2019<br />
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.charles.ron.story" height="500" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.charles.ron.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="352" />Better known for high tempers than high fashion, Washington, D.C., has seen catwalks pop up in the unlikeliest of places recently: embassies, historic buildings and even the State Department.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">That’s because people in the diplomatic community are realizing — and relishing — fashion’s role in diplomacy. Much as food, art and sports can say a lot about a nation’s culture, fashion does, too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“There’s tremendous power in what we wear,” said Jan Du Plain, president and chief executive officer of Du Plain Global Enterprises, an international public relations and events company that helped launch Cultural Tourism DC’s Passport DC program. “If one of our high-level women or men wears something that is inappropriate or can be seen as questionable, fashion speaks. When we wear something, it can have such a strong impact on people because we are watching, particularly those that are high up in government.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Du Plain recently worked with <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16084&Itemid=421" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Indira Gumarova</a>, wife of Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmoníček, and the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) to host “Glamour & Diplomacy,” a fashion show at the State Department. The April 9 event featured female ambassadors and ambassadors’ wives wearing ensembles by contemporary designers from around the world. More than a dozen countries and five continents were represented.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Three days later, the Embassy of Uzbekistan presented <a href="https://www.diplomacyandfashion.com/events/uzbek-textile-fashion" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marhamathon Umarova</a>, founder of the MarU brand and one of the country’s leading fashion designers. She spoke about the evolution of ikat, a textile, and presented her latest collection.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The style and the patterns that they used and the cloth that they created from their own country was fascinating to learn about,” Du Plain said.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In March, the embassies of the Czech Republic, Malta and Slovenia hosted “Fashion Night Ignites” featuring several designers, including Burnett New York; Charles & Ron; Dur Doux; Maja Stamol; and Poner. After the show, cocktails and cuisine from each country were served. More than 250 people attended the event at the historic Perry Belmont House.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gumarova — a PR consultant who previously hosted a showcase of designer shoes by Manolo Blahnik, whose father was Czech — had a hand in all three events and said more fashion shows are in the works. She is working with the Alliance Française Washington DC on a program at the French Embassy in September, and she has been approached about doing shows in New York and London.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Now is the right time for fashion to take its place in Washington because people are less judgmental of cutting-edge clothing, said Gumarova, founder of the newly formed group <a href="https://www.diplomacyandfashion.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy & Fashion</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Now with the Trump administration, you actually can wear color, you can wear anything you want and you will be less judged,” Gumarova said. “And also, the money is here. The uber rich people are here and they don’t want to wear the same dress that was already in the magazine, so they start to pay more attention.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">While D.C. has traditionally been a fairly conservative city dress-wise — and still is to a large extent — Gumarova said it is an ideal hub for innovative, unconventional fashion given its international character. “Washington is the right place because we have almost 200 embassies and every embassy promotes their culture so why not promote through fashion when they already promote through food or through sport?”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.gumarova.story" height="403" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.gumarova.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="469" />Style, Substance and Double Standards</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The idea of using fashion as a public diplomacy tool has been building for quite some time. Over the years, various D.C. embassies have hosted fashion or jewelry shows to promote their native designers — among them Estonia, Lebanon, the Philippines and Canada, just to name a few.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Former Secretary of State John Kerry also recognized the power of fashion. In 2016, he welcomed ambassadors and diplomats from about 80 countries to “Diplomacy by Design,” an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Protocol and ELLE Magazine that highlighted fashion as a diplomatic platform (also see “‘<a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14511:diplomacy-by-design-examines-what-clothes-say-about-us&catid=1551&Itemid=428" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy by Design’ Examines What Clothes Say About Us</a>” in the December 2016 issue).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“The clothes we create, the food we eat, the sports we play and the traditions that we honor are all part of a nation’s identity and therefore an integral part of how countries relate to one another,” Kerry told the audience via video link. “We know that America’s standing in the world isn’t determined solely by political and security policies,” he added. “On many occasions, cultural diplomacy can achieve what traditional diplomacy cannot because it speaks a universal language.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">But sometimes that message can get lost in the clothes we wear.</span> Also, with greater freedom in fashion choices comes greater responsibility — and scrutiny, especially for women. Take first lady Melania Trump’s $39 “I really don’t care. Do u?” jacket that she wore in June 2018 to McAllen, Texas, the site of many family separations of illegal immigrants. The media, and many others, had a field day trying to discern whether the former fashion model’s choice held a hidden message. Was it a rebuke of her husband’s immigration crackdown, or a show of support that she didn’t care what his detractors thought?</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The topic of Melania’s mysterious jacket came up at another discussion on fashion called “<a href="http://www.washdiplomat.com/PouchArticle/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=745" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Diplomacy X Design</a>” sponsored by the Meridian International Center and held the National Museum of Women in the Arts last November. There, Robin Givhan, fashion critic for The Washington Post, said first ladies in particular can send powerful messages via the clothing they wear — but only if there’s a clear strategy behind it. In Melania’s case, however, the message seemed muddled.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“I haven’t seen much evidence of Melania Trump having a real, clear message behind her tenure of first lady, thus far,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/fashion/michelle-obama-stylist-meredith-koop.html" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Meredith Koop</a>, Michelle Obama’s stylist and one of the panelists, said at the discussion. “I hesitate to analyze it because I feel like it gives it too much weight.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Of course, Koop might be a bit biased given her close relationship to Michelle Obama, but there’s no doubt that as first lady, Obama endured her fair share of fashion scrutiny, both positive and negative.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.african.union.story" height="325" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.african.union.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="196" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Obama worked to highlight emerging American designers and break the mold of staid skirts and suits. She <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/red-carpet-dresses/g8148/michelle-obama-gowns/?slide=4" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">wore everything</a> from striking pink silk suits, to intricately patterned wrap dresses, to bold red off-the-shoulder ball gowns. At the time, even wearing dresses that bared her shoulders and toned arms caused a stir.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Looking back, the shock of seeing bare shoulders on a first lady seems quite tame compared to the risqué attire Melania wore as a top model. But as first lady, even Melania has hewed close to tradition, often opting for elegantly restrained, though still eye-catching, gowns reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy’s classic style.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">But perhaps no other woman in politics has had to navigate the minefield of fashion more than the woman Melania’s husband beat for the presidency. Long before becoming the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, Hillary Clinton struggled against the fashion microscope she found herself under as first lady in the 1990s.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">She was often criticized for her bulky, dowdy suits and various hairstyles. Once she entered the presidential race, however, her look evolved to embrace more form-fitting, sleeker suits, although her overall style remained minalimist and unmemorable as she fought to keep the focus on her politics and not her appearance.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Clinton’s cautious clothing choices serve as a reminder that in the top echelons of politics, where people take notice of smarts and savvy, clothes are still an afterthought and design shouldn’t serve as a distraction. Yet Clinton is also a prime example of the double fashion standards applied to women, who often feel pressured to look attractive but not <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">too</i> attractive in a professional environment.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Givhan agreed that American women tend to sacrifice style for being taken seriously. “There often seems to be a sublimation of the pleasure and delight in fashion in exchange for being perceived as authoritative and powerful.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Vanessa Friedman, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/fashion/hillary-clinton-theresa-may-michelle-obama-power-dressing.html?_r=0" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">writing</a> in a July 2016 piece in The New York Times, said that high-level women often tone down style in favor of substance and “that for a woman to wield power in what was historically a man’s world, she had to pretty much dress like a man — but brighter!”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Global Imprint</b></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Female political figures continue to play it safe, as evidenced by the bland button-down suits worn by every single female candidate in the current race to become the Democratic presidential nominee.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.dur.doux.story" height="226" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.dur.doux.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="293" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">But times are gradually changing as people venture out of their closet comfort zone. And part of that evolution is due to a greater appreciation of fashions from other countries, both traditional and up-and-coming, among Western consumers and designers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">American designers are increasingly incorporating elements of signature styles from abroad, such as Indian saris, Japanese kimonos and Nigerian headdresses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">This international trend was on full display at the “Glamour & Diplomacy” runway show at the State Department, an event that itself symbolized how far a modestly dressed government city like Washington, D.C., has become. “Let’s face it, when is the last time you had a DJ in the State Department,” joked Czech Ambassador Kmoníček at the show.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Glamour and diplomacy has arrived in Washington, D.C.” said <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs</span>,” opening the program to loud cheers. “It’s cutting-edge designs,” she continued. “It’s innovation, it’s entrepreneurship. These are all important values that we promote in the United States and around the world.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Each costume that these lovely women wore had its own special motif, ethnic in origin and international in style,” Gumarova said, “and each costume recaptures with elegance the modern and sophisticated style of each designer’s respective country.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For example, Arikana Chihombori-Quao, ambassador of the African Union, burst onto the stage donning a yellow robe, with pearl accent jewelry, that represented a Selma design from Ghana. Meanwhile, Changu Newman, wife of the ambassador of Botswana, wore a number designed by Isabel dos Santos, wife of the ambassador of Mozambique, who plans to develop her own fashion line in her home country (also see “<a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19668:mozambican-wife-a-former-diplomat-enters-world-of-high-fashion&catid=1583&Itemid=401" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mozambican Wife, a Former Diplomat, Enters World of High Fashion</a>” in the May 2019 issue). Other notable models included Hemal Shringla, wife of the Indian ambassador, and <a href="https://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16751&Itemid=421" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ivonn Szeverényi</span></a>, wife of the Hungarian ambassador. The dresses and designs spanned from lesser-known labels like Carolina Estefan of Colombia to Roberto Cavalli and Lilly Pulitzer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For countries large and small, breaking into the world of high fashion is critical, both from a financial and cultural standpoint. Today, fashion is a $<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion-2019-a-year-of-awakening" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2.4 trillion global industry</a> that employs tens of millions of people. For decades, it was — and still is — dominated by luxury Western fashion houses. But as developing nations such as India and China increasingly enter the middle class and become fashion consumers, the industry is poised for change.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s also key for countries to export their own brand of fashion to raise awareness of their cultures and growing economies in a globalized world. Gumarova often mentions the struggles that countries face trying to overcome inherent prejudice and stereotypes when it comes to foreign designers, with traditional national attire often overlooked by the mainstream fashion industry.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">On the opposite end of the spectrum, the trend of cultural appropriation can go too far if it’s not handled carefully.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.pink.story" height="283" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.pink.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="221" />For instance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were ridiculed by Indians after wearing elaborate traditional outfits that the BBC called “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43151115" style="border: 0px; color: #657ba7; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Bollywood-style bling</a>.” Gumarova, speaking at the “Diplomacy X Design” event, said the problem with Trudeau’s attire was that many viewed it as a cheap public relations stunt that didn’t convey authenticity. Audience members pointed out that instead of going all-out like Trudeau did, diplomats can opt for simpler gestures such as wearing the national color of a country as a sign of respect.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s these kinds of tricky subtleties that can speak volumes, particularly in the protocol-dictated world of diplomacy, where public interactions and events are carefully orchestrated to avoid any faux pas.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Fashion — what we wear — at [diplomatic] events is a big statement to the other country as well as what we want to represent of our country,” Du Plain said. “Fashion speaks. Fashion has a language all its own.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It makes a statement to others about not only how we feel about ourselves, but how we feel about others — and that we’ve taken the time to dress appropriately, she added.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Diplomacy, for me, is really the art of interacting with others and the art of making others feel comfortable because from the interaction that we have with people, then we can trade with them, then we can talk about the political strife, then we can discuss things of, shall we say, more challenging levels,” Du Plain said. “If the setting is right and the food and the dress and all of that comes together and sets an atmosphere for people to have really good diplomacy … all of that is, I feel, what diplomacy is about.”</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Gumarova said she frequently fields questions about what to wear to diplomatic events. It can be confusing because countries have different protocols. She noted that “business casual” can mean very different things in two places.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">For instance, the most popular outfit choice in D.C. for an event that requires “smart casual” attire is a black dress with pearls for women, she said, but in Prague, that means a jacket and high heels or flats.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Attendees also have to be mindful about the designer of the clothes they wear to events. “If you go to a Palestinian reception and wear a dress made by a Jewish designer, it can be offensive,” Gumarova pointed out.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img alt="c1.living.fashion.models.story" height="239" src="https://washdiplomat.com/images/stories/issues-covers/2019/June%202019/c1.living.fashion.models.story.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px;" width="335" /></span><span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Additionally, it’s a sign of disrespect to wear gloves in Asia because it impedes handshaking, she noted.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“On the diplomatic level, we have to follow diplomatic protocol, but we also want to follow fashion protocol,” Gumarova said.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hats Off to Power of Fashion</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fashion and diplomacy aren’t new bedfellows. When Benjamin Franklin traveled to France in 1776 to present his ambassador credentials to King Louis XVI, he wore a fur hat to keep his head warm. The French so admired his “rugged American frontiersman” look that he ordered more hats to wear during his visit. While Franklin choose the hat out of necessity (his head was cold), his choice was a breath of fresh air in a country fed up with the gilded excesses of Marie Antoinette’s court.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fashion has come a long way since Ben Franklin’s time, although fur hats of all varieties remain in vogue today. Moreover, just as Franklin’s hat symbolized a newly independent country’s grit and break with tradition, fashion continues to convey a country’s heritage and values — whether it’s America, Azerbaijan or Argentina — while also serving as a cultural bridge.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It’s a jumping off point to help people relate to one another, Du Plain said. Ultimately, that lays the foundation for relationships that can withstand differences when they arise.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“I love the idea of people learning about different cultures and countries and therefore when we do, we have more empathy and understanding,” she said. “If we’re ultimately talking about a better world, a perfect world, a peaceful world, it’s going to come from our relationships and our ability to interact with people.”</span></div>
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About the Author</h3>
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<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Stephanie Kanowitz is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat. Editorial assistant Samantha Subin contributed to this report.</em></div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-88226211653012021062019-06-01T06:24:00.003-04:002019-06-01T06:24:53.816-04:00Diplomacy organization discusses embassy move with Canadian MPs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/263992"><br />
Arutz Sheva</a> North American staff, 31/05/19; original article contains additional photographs<br />
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<b>Chaim Silberstein, founder and president of Keep Jerusalem, meets Canadian Members of Parliament, discusses embassy relocation.</b><br />
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<img alt="Chaim Silberstein with Canadian Parliament Members" src="http://k6s3v6r4.ssl.hwcdn.net/pictures/902/902333.jpg" itemprop="image" style="border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%;" title="Chaim Silberstein with Canadian Parliament Members" /><br />
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Chaim Silberstein with Canadian Parliament Members<br />
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Courtesy</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Chaim Silberstein, founder and president of the <b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis] organization Keep Jerusalem, paid a visit to Canada last week, culminating in an important visit to the Canadian Parliament and meeting with Members of Parliament from the Conservative and Liberal parties, as well as the heads of CIJA, an Israel advocacy organization with headquarters in Ottawa.</span><br />
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Silberstein told <em>Arutz Sheva</em> that he met with the Members of Parliament to push the idea of implementing <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/251112" style="color: #046eb9; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">a decision made by the Conservative party</a> that, if they return to power, they will move the Canadian embassy to Jerusalem. He provided them with talking points for the media and for their colleagues as to why Canada should move its embassy to Jerusalem.<br />
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Silberstein also discussed the establishment of a Jerusalem Caucus in the Canadian Parliament, in order to promote the education advocacy for Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal united capital.<br />
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The Members of Parliament accepted the idea with enthusiasm and promised to work together to implement it after the October elections.<br />
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Silberstein also met with former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and his wife, Ariela, who also expressed enthusiasm and partnership in these ideas and promised to help promote them with the Liberal side of the Parliament in Canada.<br />
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Silberstein expressed great satisfaction from the visit and received invitations for follow-up visits which he hopes to do in the near future.<br />
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-13041858748494499012019-06-01T06:11:00.002-04:002019-06-01T06:11:48.895-04:00Pentagon marks a year without press secretary briefings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="inline-content inline-photo inline-photo-normal " data-elm-loc="0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 0px; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: FranklinPro, FranklinITCProLight, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Myriad Set Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Helvetica Neue Light", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px !important; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><img class="" data-hi-res-src="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/DhepYXNArETKsO4J2-EJh0-MdI0=/1484x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/OHSWBQDYDII6TN5OHEG6IJMWME.jpg" sizes="(min-width: 768px) 50vw, 100vw" src="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/DhepYXNArETKsO4J2-EJh0-MdI0=/1484x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/OHSWBQDYDII6TN5OHEG6IJMWME.jpg" srcset="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/3efaAod5feId47r8gaBRviYMkk8=/480x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/OHSWBQDYDII6TN5OHEG6IJMWME.jpg 480w,https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/DhepYXNArETKsO4J2-EJh0-MdI0=/1484x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/OHSWBQDYDII6TN5OHEG6IJMWME.jpg 1484w" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: zoom-in; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 462.841px;" /><br />
<span class="pb-caption" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6e6e6e; display: block; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 4px 23.1364px 0px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">Kiss singer Gene Simmons spoke in the Pentagon briefing room on May 16. (Idrees Ali/Reuters)</span></div><br />
<article class="paywall" itemprop="articleBody" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: FranklinPro, FranklinITCProLight, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Myriad Set Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Helvetica Neue Light", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-sig-line-wrapper" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; display: inline-block; flex-direction: column; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 23.1364px 18px 27.7614px; max-width: inherit !important; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div class="author-sig-line" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-byline multiple" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row wrap; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-wrapper" data-authorname="Missy Ryan" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-info" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="by-lbl" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By</span> <a class="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/missy-ryan/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-family: FranklinITCProBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Myriad Set Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Helvetica Neue Light", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Missy Ryan</a> <span class="byline-divider-comma" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 6px 0px -4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span></div></div><div class="author-wrapper" data-authorname="Dan Lamothe" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-info" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/dan-lamothe/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-family: FranklinITCProBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Myriad Set Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Helvetica Neue Light", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dan Lamothe</a> <span class="byline-divider-lbl" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 3px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">and</span></div></div><div class="author-wrapper" data-authorname="Paul Sonne" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="author-info" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/paul-sonne/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1955a5; font-family: FranklinITCProBold, "Franklin Gothic Medium", "Franklin Gothic", "ITC Franklin Gothic", "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Myriad Set Pro", "Helvetica Neue", "Helvetica Neue Light", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul Sonne</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-marks-a-year-without-press-secretary-briefing/2019/05/31/dd6c299e-1289-4a19-bde7-09bbc1b2c480_story.html?utm_term=.158242c7ce35">The Washington Post</a></div></div></div></div><span class="author-timestamp" content="2019-05-31T04:48-500" itemprop="datePublished" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">May 31 at 4:48 PM</span></div><div data-elm-loc="1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">The Pentagon on Friday marked a year without regularly scheduled press briefings, underscoring what journalists and former officials have described as a decline in transparency and public engagement at a time when the military faces growing threats from China, Russia and Iran.</div><div data-elm-loc="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">The halt to what for years had been at least weekly televised briefings by a department press secretary, along with a reduction in other media engagements, reflects a broader chill in news organizations’ dealings with the Trump administration, which has depicted the press as an adversary. President Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Sanders, has given formal briefings in the White House briefing room only twice this year, while the State Department this week resumed televised press briefings after an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/return-of-the-state-department-news-briefing/2019/05/28/60b804ef-d4d5-4073-b5b0-ee4e370d9a57_story.html?utm_term=.55a0388c9c5a" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c6cb4; font-size: 18.1398px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">on-and-off hiatus</a>.</div><div data-elm-loc="3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><span style="background-color: white;">Dana White, who served as the department’s press secretary under former <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-forces-mattis-out-two-months-early-names-shanahan-acting-defense-secretary/2018/12/23/b78a0478-06d2-11e9-a3f0-71c95106d96a_story.html?utm_term=.dfff49d0eaef" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c6cb4; font-size: 18.1398px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Defense Secretary Jim Mattis</a>, gave her final televised briefing on May 31, 2018. Since then, some of the few individuals who have appeared on the Pentagon podium have included actor Gerard Butler — who was promoting a submarine movie — and Kiss singer <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2019/05/17/gene-simmons-kiss-pentagon-briefing.cnn-business" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); box-sizing: border-box; color: #2c6cb4; font-size: 18.1398px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gene Simmons</a>.</span></div><div data-elm-loc="4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">The curtailment began under Mattis, a retired Marine general who sought to avoid being seen disagreeing with the president, an avid consumer of television news. Mattis departed the Pentagon in late December over differences with Trump. White also resigned.</div><div data-elm-loc="5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">So far this year, there have been only a handful of on-camera briefings. No combatant commanders have answered questions from the Pentagon press corps, nor have the uniformed or civilian military service leaders. Neither of the commanders of the military’s two most active operations — Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, who heads U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan, and Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera, who commands U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria — have conducted briefings since taking command.</div><div data-elm-loc="6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">“The long absence in the Pentagon Briefing Room has deprived journalists of an important part of that access and has removed opportunities to compel officials to answer for decisions they make on behalf of the American people,” said Robert Burns, a veteran Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press who is the president of the Pentagon Press Association. “We are hopeful that this will change soon,” he said in a statement.</div><div data-elm-loc="7" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">Acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan has conducted off-camera briefings at the Pentagon and taken questions from reporters on the road but has not done any on-camera briefings since taking over at the beginning of the year. White’s successor was put in place only in the past few weeks. But Jonathan Hoffman, who came to the Pentagon from the Department of Homeland Security, has not yet given a briefing and it’s unclear if he plans to do so.</div><div data-elm-loc="8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">For years, the televised press secretary briefings were supplemented by regular off-camera media “gaggles” by a senior uniformed spokesman, who could field reporters’ questions about military operations and other news of the day. Those became less frequent in 2018 until they stopped altogether. It is not clear whether they will resume.</div><div data-elm-loc="9" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">The department has also stopped providing the news media what used to be routine information, including approximate numbers of troops stationed in foreign countries.</div><div data-elm-loc="10" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">The trend has made for confusion at moments of intense scrutiny, including when Trump in December announced what appeared to be an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria — a decision that was interpreted differently by officials at the time and has since been walked back. It also allowed for speculation about an imminent conflict with Iran when the White House, in a terse Sunday-night statement, announced it would send additional troops and weaponry to the Middle East because of increased threats from Tehran.</div><div data-elm-loc="11" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">David Lapan, who served as a Pentagon spokesman under Republican and Democratic secretaries and as a Department of Homeland Security spokesman under Trump, said regular on-the-record briefings by spokesmen and other officials provided valuable information to troops’ families and other taxpayers.</div><div data-elm-loc="12" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">“The people who send us their family members to do the nation’s bidding need to hear from senior leaders about how the military is being employed,” he said. Such briefings also serve as an important way for rank-and-file service members to hear from their leaders about the missions in which they’re involved, he said.</div><div data-elm-loc="13" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Pentagon was “committed to transparency to the media and the public.” He said the department had “facilitated numerous on- and off-camera press engagements on a variety of topics, in addition to written press statements, social media posts, and other products made available on defense.gov.”</div><div data-elm-loc="14" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">He noted that credentialed journalists are free to roam much of the Pentagon as well as Shanahan’s decision to invite journalists to accompany him on trips overseas. While the Pentagon has restricted media access to those trips since Trump took office, officials serving under Shanahan have taken steps to restore at least some of that access.</div><div data-elm-loc="15" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: calc(16.4px + 0.175vw); line-height: calc(1.5em + 0.3333vw); margin: 4px 23.1364px 16px 27.7614px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">Crosson also said that military press officers are available “24/7” to answer reporters’ questions. But lower-ranking spokesmen often do not have swift access to a full range of information and are typically unable to comment on sensitive matters.</div></article></div>John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-74665814804355393652019-05-30T18:38:00.001-04:002019-05-31T20:16:56.541-04:00Indian Diplomacy during the Kargil War<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Debak Das, <a href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/">South Asian Voices</a>, May 29, 2019<br />
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<div class="has-content-area" data-title="Indian Diplomacy during the Kargil War: Success with a Limited Legacy" data-url="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/" style="box-sizing: inherit;" title="undefined">
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<span style="background-color: white;">The Kargil [JB - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kargil_War">see</a>] war marked a significant shift for Indian diplomacy at both the domestic and international levels.</span> By the third week of May 1999, it was clear that India would have to engage in military operations to clear the infiltrators from the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC). The challenge was to do this in a manner that saw India remain legitimate and gain support from both the domestic and international audience. <span style="background-color: white;">India’s success in the Kargil war was a result of its <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="successful combination (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.thehindu.com/2000/08/03/stories/05032523.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: black; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">successful combination</a></strong> of diplomacy and the use of force.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "crimson text" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: lighter;">At the domestic level the Indian government, particularly the military, engaged in </span><b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis]<b> </b><span style="font-weight: lighter;">embracing the TV with the aim of controlling the narrative and rallying citizens together.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "crimson text" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-weight: lighter;"> </span><span style="font-weight: lighter;">At the international level, India sought to ensure that it was seen as a victim of Pakistan’s aggression and was acting purely in self-defense. More importantly, in the aftermath of the 1998 tests, India sought to ensure that it did not lose further standing in the international community. <span style="background-color: white;">While India achieved considerable successes in both these endeavors, twenty years on, some of these lessons from these successes may have been forgotten as India backslides into </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">ad hoc </em><span style="font-weight: lighter;">public and international crisis diplomacy.</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">Public Diplomacy</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Kargil was India’s first <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="television war (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.idsa-india.org/an-jan00-10.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: black; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">television war</a></strong>. For the first time on Indian television, journalists reported from the frontline and images from the war saturated TV screens. </span>This <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="rallied (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/18/world/kashmir-war-shown-on-tv-rallies-india-s-unity.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">rallied</a></strong> public opinion in favor of Indian action. Among other things, this manifested in blood donations to the Indian Red Cross Society in New Delhi—which tripled during the war. Additionally, donations to soldiers’ welfare funds increased exponentially—while <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="movie stars and cricketers (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19990726-actors-cricketers-play-football-to-raise-fund-for-kargil-martyrs-824476-1999-07-26" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">movie stars and cricketers</a></strong> did this publicly, school children across the country collected money to donate to these funds. Images of wounded soldiers, coffins, and bereaved families created <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="awareness and solidarity (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/media/story/19990726-tv-coverage-of-kargil-war-becomes-indian-army-biggest-ally-moulds-public-opinion-824507-1999-07-26" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">awareness and solidarity</a></strong>. Furthermore, the use of the media was seen as a “force multiplier” for the Indian armed forces—it boosted morale of Indian soldiers in the frontlines.<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-1-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-0" data-hasqtip="0" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-10909" oldtitle=" Satish Chandra Tyagi, <em>The Fourth Estate: A Force Multiplier for the Indian Army, (with the Specific Backdrop of Kargil Battle)</em> (New Delhi: Gyan Pub. House, 2005), 21. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">1</span></a></span></div>
<img alt="" class="wp-image-10912" height="736" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" src="https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM-1024x647.png" srcset="https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM-1024x647.png 1024w, https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM-300x190.png 300w, https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM-768x485.png 768w, https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM-800x505.png 800w, https://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-29-at-12.27.02-PM.png 1184w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The Indian government aimed to capitalize on this dynamic by engaging with the media more and controlling the information in circulation to its advantage.</span> To this end, routine media briefings by the Ministry of Defense were upgraded by the end of May to daily briefings conducted jointly by Indian Army, Air Force, and Ministry of External Affairs spokespersons.<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-2-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-1" data-hasqtip="1" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-2-10909" oldtitle=" Kargil Review Committee, <em>From Surprise to Reckoning: The Kargil Review Committee Report, New Delhi, December 15, 1999</em> (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2000), 216. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span></a></span> However, this was an <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">ad hoc</em> arrangement and not an institutionalized one.</div>
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Pakistan was enabled to portray Indian censorship as “fear of the truth”—an ill-considered policy that cast India in negative light.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-weight: lighter;">Despite the ostensible success of Indian government in managing the narrative during the Kargil war, there were some shortcomings. </span><span style="font-weight: lighter;">The </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">Kargil Review Committee Report</em><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> (chaired by K. Subrahmanyam) stated that with regard to information policy and media relations, India did “fairly well in some respects, but not well enough.”</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-3-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-2" data-hasqtip="2" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-3-10909" oldtitle=" Kargil Review Committee, 215. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">3</span></a></span><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> The report highlighted that there was no media cell to assist reporters and that few of the journalists at the front had any training in war reporting.</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-4-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-3" data-hasqtip="3" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-4-10909" oldtitle=" Kargil Review Committee, 215. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">4</span></a></span><span style="font-weight: lighter;">Furthermore, the report criticized the Indian </span><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><a aria-label="ban on cable operators (opens in a new tab)" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/359757.stm" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">ban on cable operators</a></strong><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> showing Pakistani TV and access to the </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">Dawn</em><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> newspaper’s website on the internet. This enabled the Pakistan to portray Indian censorship as “fear of the ‘truth’”—an ill-considered policy that cast India in negative light.</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-5-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-4" data-hasqtip="4" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-5-10909" oldtitle=" Kargil Review Committee, 218. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">5</span></a></span><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: lighter;">Ultimately, even though India successfully made use of </span><b>public diplomacy</b><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> at this scale for the first time in 1999, there remained critical issues to be addressed and the Kargil Review Committee rightly pointed that out. However, two decades on, it is not clear if these lessons were learnt by the Indian government.</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">International Diplomacy</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">India’s biggest success during the Kargil war was in the realm of international diplomacy. </span>In the aftermath of the 1998 nuclear tests India was under sanctions—the UN security council resolution <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="1172 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://undocs.org/S/RES/1172(1998)" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">1172</a></strong> had condemned its actions, and multilateral and bilateral sanctions had India on the back foot when 1999 came around. It was in this context that India decided to not cross the Line of Control (LoC). It needed international opinion to be in its favor—much like the support of the domestic audience, the support of the international community was seen to be a potential “major force multiplier.”<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-6-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-5" data-hasqtip="5" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-6-10909" oldtitle=" V. P Malik, <em>India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy: An inside View of Decision Making</em> (Noida: HarperCollins Publishers India, 2013), 127. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">6</span></a></span></div>
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As General V.P. Malik highlights in his book <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy, </em>India’s goals with regard to the international community were:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;">To convince the world that India was a victim of Pakistan’s aggression—the latter had violated the Simla Agreement.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;">Demonstrate that the infiltrators were not militants but Pakistani Army regulars.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;">Demonstrate ‘responsibility and restraint’ as a nuclear power that had recently caused a setback to the nuclear non-proliferation regime.<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-7-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-6" data-hasqtip="6" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-7-10909" oldtitle=" Malik, 127. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">7</span></a></span></li>
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These goals were achieved by the Indian diplomatic corps and enabled by <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="India’s restraint (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402390.2019.1570144" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">India’s restraint</a></strong> from crossing the LoC. By the end of June, the U.S. government, the European Union, and the G-8 all threatened sanctions on Pakistan if it did not withdraw to its side of the LoC.<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-8-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-7" data-hasqtip="7" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-8-10909" oldtitle=" Lowell Dittmer, <em>South Asia’s Nuclear Security Dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China</em> (Taylor & Francis Group, 2004), 145. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">8</span></a></span> International pressure was building up. Even Pakistan’s traditional allies in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) chose to <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="water down (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.thehindu.com/2000/08/03/stories/05032523.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">water down</a></strong> its resolutions against India. When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to Washington, D.C. to meet President Bill Clinton on July 4, 1999, there was no international ally for Pakistan to turn to. As General Pervez Musharraf later admitted in his book <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">In the Line of Fire</em>, India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically had worked and created a “demoralizing effect on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.”<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-9-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-8" data-hasqtip="8" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-9-10909" oldtitle=" Pervez Musharraf, <em>In the Line of Fire: A Memoir</em> (New York: Free Press, 2006), 93. " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">9</span></a></span> Sharif would eventually cave to Clinton’s pressure thus bringing the war to an end. Until the end of the negotiations, the U.S. State Department kept the Indian government in the loop—marking a shift from earlier India-U.S. relations during India-Pakistan conflicts.<span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-10-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span><span class="easy-footnote" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-describedby="qtip-9" data-hasqtip="9" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-bottom-10-10909" oldtitle=" Bruce Riedel, “American Diplomacy and the 1999 Kargil Summit at Blair House,” Policy Paper Series (Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, 2002). " style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" title=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">10</span></a></span> Indian military successes in Kargil notwithstanding, Indian diplomacy scored a clear win during this conflict.</div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">Legacy</strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The legacy of the success of Indian diplomacy during Kargil is mixed. The main legacy of Indian diplomacy is the positive turn in Indo-U.S. relations. </span>The Kargil war marked the <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="first instance (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.thehindu.com/2000/08/03/stories/05032523.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">first instance</a></strong> in the history of South Asian conflicts that the United States strongly supported India. It lay the foundation of the current United States-India relationship by leading to the Strobe Talbott-Jaswant Singh talks that eventually culminated in the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal almost a decade later. Furthermore, in subsequent conflicts too, India was able to bear international pressure down on Pakistan—particularly in the aftermath of the <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="2001 Parliament attacks (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/15/world/group-in-pakistan-is-blamed-by-india-for-suicide-raid.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">2001 Parliament attacks</a></strong> and the <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="2008 Mumbai attacks (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/29lXP57cHDAloqUf2uJOHM/Why-India-didnt-attack-Pakistan-after-2611-Mumbai-attacks.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">2008 Mumbai attacks</a></strong>. This was a legacy of diplomatic precedent set during Kargil.</div>
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The Kargil war marked the first instance in the history of South Asian conflicts that the United States strongly supported India.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-weight: lighter;">On the flip side however, there was no institutionalization of the process. The shift towards the use of </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">ad hoc</em><span style="font-weight: lighter;"><span style="background-color: white;"> force instead of diplomatic means in recent conflicts with Pakistan demonstrate the lack of permanence of the lessons of Kargil. This is particularly evident in the context of </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><b>public diplomacy</b><span style="font-weight: lighter;">.</span><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> In subsequent crises—the most recent one after the Pulwama terror attack—the Indian government and armed forces appeared to be scattered and unable to produce a coherent and transparent narrative for </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="public and international consumption (opens in a new tab)" href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/03/14/smoldering-volcano-pakistan-and-terrorism-after-balakot-pub-78593" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: black; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><b>public and international consumption</b></a></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: lighter;">. This is a far cry from the successful </span><b>public diplomacy</b><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> during the Kargil war. </span><span style="font-weight: lighter;">The </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">Kargil Review Committee Report</em><span style="font-weight: lighter;">’s suggestion of a media cell to assist reporters with packets of information and coordinate crisis reporting was not taken up, leading to </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">ad hoc </em><span style="font-weight: lighter;">uninstitutionalized nature of public information dissemination.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: lighter;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: lighter;">Twenty years later after Ka</span><span style="font-weight: lighter;">rgil, India needs to revisit the finer points of its diplomatic successes at both the domestic and international level. <span style="background-color: white;">The main lesson for strategists from 1999 is that the effective use of force must be accompanied by diplomacy to attain concrete political goals</span>. Given the low ebb in the relations between India and Pakistan at the moment—coupled with greater Indian willingness to use force—it is important for the Indian government to learn from Kargil, and lay out specific political goals and use diplomatic means to attain them. This needs to be in the form of an institutionalized agenda to put diplomacy first and the </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: lighter;">ad hoc</em><span style="font-weight: lighter;"> show of strength second. </span></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Editor’s Note: This piece is part of an SAV series on the enduring debates and legacies of the Kargil conflict twenty years later. Read the series </em><a href="https://southasianvoices.org/20-years-since-kargil/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit;">here</strong></em></a><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">.</em></div>
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Image 1: <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="Guarav Chaturvedi via Flickr (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tazz_2004/9628124880/in/photolist-fENE67-8hGirP-6AamjT-8hK8i5-2eYvm3L-fEvSUp-8hHMUJ-fEvdbk-fEvfqe-8h1mMC-fEMLe9-fEME7Q-fEvaZK-fENtdS-fEMTgu-8gWH26-fENGV3-fEMRxm-8GGvB1-fEwGrZ-9FU8V2-fEwfPF-8gWxdB-8hJ7jE-fEwhAx-fEMmNq-fENeeC-fEwwYK-8hEMe8-fEMPmC-fEMpJf-fEweZt-fEMRZ5-fEwQWH-fEuXf8-a84czT-8h1ixf-fEvufR-fEuZHa-fEMzsm-fEMLKG-8gXgGk-fEwxug-fEvbrx-fEMBJ9-8gZDhj-8AQ95p-fEwbUa-fEvWq6-8h1jEb/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Guarav Chaturvedi via Flickr</a></strong></div>
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Image 2: <strong style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a aria-label="The India Today Group via Getty (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-collecting-voluntary-donations-for-kargil-war-relief-news-photo/88865214?adppopup=true" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">The India Today Group via Getty</a></strong></div>
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<ol class="easy-footnotes-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 1em;">
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-1-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Satish Chandra Tyagi, <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Fourth Estate: A Force Multiplier for the Indian Army, (with the Specific Backdrop of Kargil Battle)</em> (New Delhi: Gyan Pub. House, 2005), 21. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-1-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-2-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Kargil Review Committee, <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">From Surprise to Reckoning: The Kargil Review Committee Report, New Delhi, December 15, 1999</em> (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2000), 216. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-2-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-3-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Kargil Review Committee, 215. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-3-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-4-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Kargil Review Committee, 215. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-4-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-5-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Kargil Review Committee, 218. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-5-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-6-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>V. P Malik, <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy: An inside View of Decision Making</em> (Noida: HarperCollins Publishers India, 2013), 127. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-6-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-7-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Malik, 127. </li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-8-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Lowell Dittmer, <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">South Asia’s Nuclear Security Dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China</em> (Taylor & Francis Group, 2004), 145. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-8-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-9-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Pervez Musharraf, <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">In the Line of Fire: A Memoir</em>(New York: Free Press, 2006), 93. <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-9-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
<li class="easy-footnote-single" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 736px;"><span class="easy-footnote-margin-adjust" id="easy-footnote-bottom-10-10909" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>Bruce Riedel, “American Diplomacy and the 1999 Kargil Summit at Blair House,” Policy Paper Series (Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, 2002). <a class="easy-footnote-to-top" href="https://southasianvoices.org/indian-diplomacy-during-kargil-war/#easy-footnote-10-10909" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;"></a></li>
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<img alt="Debak Das" class="avatar avatar-150 photo" src="http://fbfy83yid9j1dqsev3zq0w8n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Debak_Photo_Sep-2018-150x150.jpg" height="150" scale="0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="150" /></div>
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Debak Das</h3>
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Debak Das is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the Department of Government, Cornell University. His doctoral dissertation examines how regional powers build their nuclear force structures. This research is based on extensive fieldwork in India, the United Kingdom, and France. Debak is also interested in historical archives, public opinion and foreign policy, and South Asian politics. He received his M.Phil in Diplomacy and Disarmament, and his M.A. in Politics and International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He also holds a B.A. (Honors) in History from Presidency College, Kolkata. Debak has formerly held research positions at Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, New Delhi. In 2019-20, Debak will be a MacArthur Nuclear Security Pre-doctoral Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University.</div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-89135600486318405192019-05-30T18:31:00.000-04:002019-05-30T18:32:50.028-04:00View Vacancy - Political and Press Officer (AZE19.735)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Communications, Press and Media<br />
<br />
<b>Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities) </b><br />
The British Embassy in Azerbaijan is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a permanent, full-time Political and Press Officer based in Baku.<br />
<br />
Main Purpose of Job is to communicate with Azerbaijan’s media and population in pursuit of HMG objectives.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Main Duties and Responsibilities</u>:</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Press and <b>Public Diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis]</span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Develop and implement a communications strategy to secure high profile, positive media coverage of British Embassy activity. This will include sourcing content for the British Embassy website and social media, and identifying and maximizing opportunities for media engagement; </li>
<li>Develop and maintain strong working relations in order to ensure the Embassy has a strong media profile; </li>
<li>Lead on drafting press lines and other official communication; </li>
<li>Organise and manage interviews;</li>
<li>For high level visits prepare and manage media plans</li>
<li>Provide twice-weekly press summaries.</li>
</ul>
<b style="background-color: white;">Public Diplomacy</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Responsible for the Embassy’s <b>public diplomacy</b> work;</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Oversight of <b>public diplomacy</b> budget;</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Working with partners e.g. the British Council, UK Alumnus and project implementers to maximise <b>public diplomacy</b> projects;</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Responsible for the Embassy online presence - website, Facebook and twitter</span></li>
</ul>
Political<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>To keep the Embassy informed of current affairs in Azerbaijan through circulation of key articles, reports and commentaries; </li>
<li>Lead on human rights and media related reporting;</li>
<li>Monitor high-profile trials, political prisoners and political demonstrations;</li>
<li>Member of the Embassy’s project evaluation board;</li>
<li>Providing translation in high-level meetings;</li>
<li>Cover Political/Projects and Political/Economic officers during absences;</li>
<li>Plus all reasonable duties as directed by Embassy management.</li>
</ul>
<b>Essential qualifications, skills and experience</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Excellent command of English and Azerbaijani languages (verbal and written)</li>
<li>A track record of successful communication including developing communication strategies and lines to take and the ability to use media contacts and social media to share UK messages with a wide reach.</li>
<li>Experience monitoring, analysing and reporting on political developments</li>
<li>Experience of producing clear written reports in English</li>
<li>Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Projects a professional image and builds contacts and networks to help get the job done. Able to speak confidently with political and other experts to present UK positions and extract information for Embassy reporting.</li>
<li>Think strategically and be able to identify opportunities for UK interventions and activity – including project work – to help achieve our objectives</li>
<li>A team player, ready to help colleagues and share knowledge willingly</li>
<li>Strong IT skills, in particular all main social media platforms, Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel</li>
</ul>
<b>Desirable qualifications, skills and experience</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Availability to travel occasionally within Azerbaijan or internationally as needed</li>
<li>Good verbal Russian skills</li>
</ul>
<b>Required competencies</b><br />
Seeing the Big Picture, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service<br />
<br />
<b>Application deadline </b><br />
12 June 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Grade </b><br />
B3 (L)<br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Type of Position </b><br />
Full-time, Permanent<br />
<br />
<b>Working hours per week </b><br />
35<br />
<br />
<b>Region </b><br />
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia<br />
<br />
<b>Country/Territory </b><br />
Azerbaijan<br />
<br />
<b>Location (City) </b><br />
Baku<br />
<br />
<b>Type of Post </b><br />
British Embassy<br />
<br />
<b>Number of vacancies </b><br />
1<br />
<br />
<b>Starting monthly salary (USD) </b><br />
2,037.52<br />
<b><br />
</b> <b>Start Date </b><br />
29 July 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Other benefits and conditions of employment </b><br />
This is a permanent full-time position of five working days, 35 hours net per week.<br />
<br />
The salary is USD 2,037.52 gross per month and shall be paid in AZN monthly.<br />
<br />
Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Azerbaijan is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service of the FCO according to local labour legislation.<br />
<br />
All applicants should have the right to live and work in Azerbaijan. The British Embassy does not sponsor, nor does it provide assistance for obtaining work & resident permits.<br />
<br />
<b>Additional information </b><br />
Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.<br />
<br />
We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered. <br />
<br />
Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.<br />
<br />
Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Local Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://fco.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/appcentre-1/brand-2/user-3284645/xf-ceb0e4851842/candidate/eform/4688836/page/1">APPLY</a><br />
<br /></div>
John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-81381147722070495892019-05-30T17:20:00.000-04:002019-05-30T17:20:26.434-04:00Permitting aggressive tactics in the South China Sea is in no one’s interests<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Michael Shoebridge, <a href="http://%2C%2030%20may%202019%3B%20original%20article%20contains%20links/">The Strategist</a>, 30 May 2019; original article contains links<br />
<br />
<img height="428" src="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2905IPE.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">uncaptioned image from article</span></i></div>
<br />
Excerpt:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">Canberra, we have a problem. It’s the <b>public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] around Australia’s relationship with the Chinese state—in particular, the People’s Liberation Army and the civilian and militia elements that operate with it in the South China Sea.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The Royal Australian Navy has just finished its largest task force deployment in recent years, called Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019. Four RAN ships visited 13 ports in seven countries and covered approximately 16,000 nautical miles.</span> The naval flotilla, which embarked air force and army personnel, together with Seahawk, MRH-90 troop transport and Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters, travelled from Sri Lanka right through Southeast Asia and into the South China Sea.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">A ream of ‘public affairs’ material was produced for Australian and international media over the three- month deployment—more than 800 images, 100 articles and 40 videos covering a range of activities including disaster assistance planning, community engagement, multinational naval manoeuvres and military training with regional partners in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">No doubt, the deployment achieved much good in deepening Australia’s relationships in the region. </span>It’s been a fine exercise in regional presence and showcasing of Australian capability, along with building the capacity to work closely with regional militaries in an increasingly difficult part of the world. Let this deployment become the new normal and be part of a persistent operational presence working closely with regional partners’ forces.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">But in all the words and images that were produced by what was apparently the largest public affairs team ever deployed on a RAN ship, there was not a word about one of the biggest things that happened during the three months at sea: the crews of fishing vessels used lasers against Australian helicopter pilots operating in international waters in the South China Sea, causing them to have to land their aircraft for precautionary reasons.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">That’s a dangerous set of acts against Australian service personnel. Affecting the vision of helicopter pilots in the difficult environment that defines seaborne operations exposes them to additional risks.</span> ...<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">What I don’t get about the way this has been handled to date is whose interests it serves to hide what happens when Australian service personnel operate lawfully in the waters of the South China Sea.</span><br />
<br />
I know it’s in the interests of the Chinese state to have those subject to its aggressive behaviour keep silent—that helps portray those who do speak up, notably the US, as isolated on this issue.<br />
<br />
However, part of the rationale for the task force going through the South China Sea is to affirm international law and maintain free international waterways. That’s necessary because of the aggressive militarisation of that body of water by Chinese forces in recent years.<br />
<br />
Clearly, working with the Vietnamese navy in the South China Sea was part of this—and according to Euan Graham, again, this required the task force to go out of its way to include Vietnam in the activity.<br />
<br />
But <span style="background-color: white;">to have the strategic communications effect that you would hope would be at the heart of the deployment, it seems essential to publicise the aggressive and dangerous behaviour of these fishing vessels—and to make every effort to identify the nation operating them so that the incidents can be raised formally to prevent a recurrence.</span><br />
<br />
I would be surprised if imagery and other information from the deployment at the time of the incidents can’t show this right now.<br />
<br />
Pretending that none of this happened, and that it was an entirely problem-free and friendly time in the South China Sea, is self-defeating. It leaves the Australian public out of the loop when it comes to the risks our service personnel are running to preserve freedom of navigation and push back against aggressive on-water tactics that are licensed by the highest level of national leadership in China.<br />
<br />
It also downplays the commitment of our defence force in protecting national and international interests in the security and openness of the waters of our region.<br />
<br />
Lastly, this episode raises questions about what else might have happened on this deployment, and whether there were any other actions by Chinese fishing vessels—or militia, coastguard, aircraft or even PLA Navy vessels themselves—that we have yet to hear about. Maybe there are other ways they said g’day.<br />
<br />
AUTHOR<br />
Michael Shoebridge is director of the defence and strategy program at ASPI. Image courtesy of the Department of Defence.</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-823268637443030612019-05-30T16:15:00.000-04:002019-05-30T18:24:45.295-04:00Europe’s Deep Reservoir of Goodwill in the Middle East: Lessons for Public Diplomacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy"><br />
mei.edu</a> [JB note: I was not able to identify the author of this article]<br />
<br />
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<img alt="" class="img-responsive" height="394" src="https://mei.edu/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image_article/public/2019-05/Euro%20Med.png?itok=245827-6" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 40px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 535.83px;" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" /></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b63500; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The MENA and Southeast Asia have undergone and continue to undergo massive political transitions. Differences in the process and outcomes of their transitions can be viewed through the lens of a “civil society infrastructure.” This essay series explores the roles and impact of civil society organizations (CSOs) in these two regions during the transition and pre-transition periods as well as in instances where the political transition is completed. </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mei.edu/content/civil-society-and-political-transitions-mena-region-and-southeast-asia" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #337ab7; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.85714em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Read more ...</a></span></div>
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Political and economic transitions are seldom, if ever, compartmentalized processes, insulated from regional and global influences. On the contrary, they are often informed and shaped by exogenous forces and the policies of external actors, including states and international organizations. How can external actors develop interventions that are more likely to be well received and thus support transitions to democracy?</div>
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Last fall I took part in a conference on “Europe and the Middle East & North Africa: Building Bridges, Mapping the Future”<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[1]</a> hosted by the Kuwait Program at SciencesPo in Paris. In his keynote speech, Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) founder and Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salamé posed the question, “Is the ‘Europe-MENA’ strategic bond a myth?” The conference raised questions about internationalism and yielded important insights about the importance and practice of <b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis]<b>.</b></div>
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My contribution at the conference was to speak about public opinion examining the view of Europe from the Arab world. Based on surveys conducted by the Arab Barometer<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" name="_ftnref2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[2]</a> and the Transitional Governance Project<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" name="_ftnref3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[3]</a>, I found that there is a deep reservoir of goodwill in Arab countries toward Europe. In all eight Arab countries in which questions about Europe had been asked, citizens regarded the European Union more positively than almost every other country or bloc, including the US. This surprising finding holds important lessons for the <b>public diplomacy </b>benefits of promoting internationalism and the costs of unwanted interventionism.</div>
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Survey Data on Attitudes toward Europe</h3>
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Surprisingly, few survey questions exist to might offer insights into how Arab citizens see Europe in relation to other regions. Questions about views of Europe were included in a nationally representative survey of 1200 Libyans I conducted with Ellen Lust and JMW Consulting in 2013 as part of the Transitional Governance Project with funding from the National Democratic Institute. The Arab Barometer also asked questions about Europe in Wave 4, a series of surveys conducted in 2016 among nationally-representative samples in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. And Wave 3, which was conducted in Algeria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, between 2012 and 2014, asked important questions about the types of US engagement Sudan, Iraq, Libya, and Kuwait, citizens welcomed. These surveys provide some of the few clues available concerning how Arab citizens see Europe in relation to other countries and international organizations.</div>
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Libya: The Post Arab Spring Environment</h3>
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In Libya in 2013, as part of the Transitional Governance Project, we asked citizens to state whether they would like to cooperate closely with different international organizations to achieve economic development in their country (Figure 1). Libyan citizens held more positive views toward the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) than any other international organization included in the questionnaire. Eighty-seven percent of Libyans stated that they wanted to cooperate closely with OPEC. Citizens also saw cooperation with the European Union and the United Nations as highly desirable, with 83 and 82 percent holding this view, respectively.</div>
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Libyans held warmer views of France and Italy than Russia and Qatar (Figure 2). Seventy-two percent of Libyans saw France in a positive light, while 70 percent saw Italy in this way. Libyans also held positive views of the US (69 percent), despite its central role in the NATO intervention. Similarly, 68 percent had a positive view of the UK and 67 percent toward Turkey. Only 48 percent held a positive view of Qatar and 39 percent did in the case of Russia, the least popular actor.</div>
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<img alt="Lindsay Benstead Figure 1" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1e703ccf-6fe3-477b-87a1-8492cbdad831" src="https://mei.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/Lindsay%201.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 1.85714em; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" />Libyans saw other regional organizations, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in a less positive light. Seventy-one percent regarded the Arab League in positive terms, compared to 65 percent for NATO and 61 percent for the African Union. The latter is perhaps not surprising, given that NATO had recently intervened in Libya’s civil war by enforcing a no-fly zone. The US-led NATO intervention in Libya was welcomed by many Libyans at the time, though certainly not by all. This was reflective of the early optimism both among Libyans as well as internationally about the prospects for transition to democracy. As of 2013, 81 percent of Libyans were optimistic or very optimistic about the future of their country,<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" name="_ftnref4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[4]</a> while only 19 were pessimistic. This optimism was already beginning to fade by 2014 when the Arab Barometer was fielded in Libya.</div>
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Attitudes toward Europe across the Arab World</h3>
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The Arab Barometer asked nationally-representative samples of Arab citizens in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia in 2016 whether they wanted their economic relationships with other countries to become stronger, remain the same, or become weaker. In these seven Arab countries, attitudes toward economic ties with the European Union were overwhelmingly positive with 55 percent of citizens in all of these countries wanting stronger ties, 28 percent wanting similar ties, and 17 percent wanting weaker ties (Figure 3). Only Saudi Arabia had a warmer perception than the EU with 59 percent of Arab citizens wanting stronger ties, 23 percent wanting similar ties, and 18 percent wanting weaker ties. Views of Turkey were also favorable with 52 percent of citizens in all of these countries wanting stronger ties, 25 percent wanting similar ties, and 23 percent wanting weaker ties.</div>
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The US and Russia, in contrast, were seen as less appealing economic partners than Saudi Arabia, the EU, and Turkey. This is striking for American policymakers. Only 48 percent of Arab citizens wanted stronger ties with the US, just two percent higher than for Russia, at 46 percent.</div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #363636; font-family: "DIN Next™ W01", sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 38px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">
<img alt="Lindsay Benstead Figure 3" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6dcf575f-0044-4734-9641-dbbbf9d5f97a" src="https://mei.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/Lindsay%203.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" />Yet attitudes across the seven Arab countries varied dramatically (Figure 4). The most favorable views of the EU were in Morocco and Tunisia, while the least favorable were in Algeria, which was colonized by France for 130 years. Fully 82 percent of Tunisians and 72 percent of Moroccans desired stronger ties with the EU while about half of all Palestinians, Lebanese, and Jordanians did. Only 42 percent of Egyptians and 40 percent of Algerians would like to see stronger economic ties with Europe.</div>
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<img alt="Lindsay Benstead Figure 4" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ae731825-3a81-47e9-a679-fea0b1d76168" src="https://mei.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/Lindsay%204.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" />The positive views that Tunisians hold toward Europe are striking given that Europe, and France in particular, supported the Ben ‘Ali regime. But European countries have generally had strong productive relationships of trade and tourism and no European country has generally directly intervened in either country since their independence from France.</div>
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The negative views of Europe among Algerians also stand out. Many Algerians see France as the fifth column<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" name="_ftnref5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[5]</a> in their domestic politics. And colonial wounds have not healed. Even though President Macron<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" name="_ftnref6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[6]</a><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20180914-macron-maurice-audin-historical-wrong-french-torture-algeria" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;"> </a>has taken more concrete steps than any other French president to confront the difficult colonial past — and even though he recently admitted that France tortured and executed members of the Algerian resistance during Algeria’s revolutionary war — France has yet to apologize for colonizing the country.</div>
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Egyptians also held fairly negative views of Europe, while Libyans held a positive view of their former colonizer, Italy, according to the Transitional Governance Project. The negative views that Egyptians hold of the EU is striking and merits further exploration. It is perhaps indicative of the differences between European and Egyptian leaders, as well as other Arab leaders,<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn7" id="_ftnref7" name="_ftnref7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[7]</a> on human rights, democracy, and press freedom.</div>
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Tailoring Engagement Strategies through Public Diplomacy</h3>
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Whether in Egypt or elsewhere in the region, it is critical to assess public opinion when developing a strategy to improve international relations and to support meaningful political and economic change,<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftn8" id="_ftnref8" name="_ftnref8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[8]</a> which many see as essential to achieving long-term stability in the region.</div>
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According to the Arab Barometer, Egyptians are among the least likely to desire US support for development in their country (Figure 4). In 2016, 62 percent did not want the US to intervene, while 15 percent wanted assistance to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and 13 percent wanted support for other objectives, which included economic development (7 percent), women’s rights (2 percent), and promote democracy (4 percent). This contrasts with much lower, though not insignificant, levels of opposition to support with development objectives in Jordan (35 percent), Morocco (31 percent), and Kuwait (28 percent). Importantly, in some countries, citizens are more interested in support for peacemaking in the Arab-Israeli conflict (Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, and, Jordan), while in others, economic development, democracy promotion, and women’s rights are more important (Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, and Kuwait).</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #252525; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Figure 5. Desired U.S. Assistance<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><img alt="Lindsay Benstead Figure 5" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2c230d69-8f03-4c3b-8228-e3696fe1228a" src="https://mei.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/Lindsay%205.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span>Source: Arab Barometer, Wave 3-4. (Not asked in Wave 1-2).</div>
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Question wording: “What is the most positive policy that the US can follow in our region? Promote democracy; Promote economic development; Contain Iran; Solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict; Promote women’s rights; The US shouldn’t interfere.” (‘Other forms of assistance’ includes Promote democracy; Promote economic development; Contain Iran; and, Promote women’s rights).</div>
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Conclusions</h3>
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Available data suggest that to a greater extent than toward the US, there is a reservoir of goodwill in the Arab world toward Europe, highlighting the benefits of Europe’s internationalism. Goodwill toward Europe appears to be deeper in countries with limited, unwanted interference in Arab politics.</div>
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The diversity in responses across countries (and time) in terms of whether support is wanted and what types of engagement are welcome underscores the importance of efforts to inform foreign policy and direct diplomacy with <b>public diplomacy</b>—listening to citizens through person-to-person initiatives and consulting public opinion surveys. Other less politicized forms of engagement, including educational exchange and trade and investment, may need to be priorities in countries such as Egypt where efforts to directly strengthen democracy, freedom of expression, and women’s rights are viewed as unwanted interference by a larger segment of the population. Taking positive steps toward addressing colonial legacies, listening, and engaging constructively through economic ties and education exchanges are also critical.</div>
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If extra-regional contributions to democratic consolidation are to be meaningful and effective, then the population must be receptive. And the types of support that the population desires must be taken into account. Engagement must be complemented by more than mere acquiescence by the local population, but by an active effort to listen to and offer the forms of assistance and support that are seen as helpful by Arab citizens. Effective <b>public diplomacy</b> should improve goodwill, and it will also likely support more effective foreign policy.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[1]</a> “2018 Conference on Europe and the Middle East & North Africa: Building Bridges, Mapping the Future,” SciencesPo Kuwait Program, October 3-5, 2018, <a href="https://www.sciencespo.fr/kuwait-program/europe-mena-conference-2018/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.sciencespo.fr/kuwait-program/europe-mena-conference-2018/</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" name="_ftn2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[2]</a> Arab Barometer, <a href="http://www.arabbarometer.org/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">http://www.arabbarometer.org/</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" name="_ftn3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[3]</a> Transitional Governance Project, <a href="http://transitionalgovernanceproject.org/contributors/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">http://transitionalgovernanceproject.org/contributors/</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" name="_ftn4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[4]</a> Lindsay Benstead, Ellen M. Lust, and Jakob Wichmann, “It’s Morning in Libya: Why Democracy Marches On,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Foreign Affairs</em>, August 6, 2013, <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/libya/2013-08-06/its-morning-libya" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/libya/2013-08-06/its-morning-libya</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" name="_ftn5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[5]</a> “Why France won’t officially apologize for its crimes in Algeria?” Quora, <a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-wont-France-officially-apologize-for-its-crimes-in-Algeria" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.quora.com/Why-wont-France-officially-apologize-for-its-crimes-in-Algeria</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" name="_ftn6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[6]</a> “Macron rights a historical wrong in admitting French torture in Algeria,” France 24, May 13, 2019, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20180914-macron-maurice-audin-historical-wrong-french-torture-algeria" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.france24.com/en/20180914-macron-maurice-audin-historical-wrong-french-torture-algeria</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref7" id="_ftn7" name="_ftn7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[7]</a> David M. Herszenhorn, “EU, Arab leaders draw lines in the sand,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Politico</em>, February 25, 2019, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/egypt-abdel-fattah-el-sisi-capital-punishment-death-penalty-europeeu-arab-leaders-draw-line-in-the-sand/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.politico.eu/article/egypt-abdel-fattah-el-sisi-capital-punishment-death-penalty-europeeu-arab-leaders-draw-line-in-the-sand/</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://mei.edu/publications/europes-deep-reservoir-goodwill-middle-east-lessons-public-diplomacy#_ftnref8" id="_ftn8" name="_ftn8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;" title="">[8]</a> Adel Abdel Ghafar, “Egypt’s long-term stability and the role of the European Union,” Brookings Institution, March 1, 2018, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/03/01/egypts-long-term-stability-and-the-role-of-the-european-union/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased !important; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff7200; font-size: 1em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility !important;">https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/03/01/egypts-long-term-stability-and-the-role-of-the-european-union/</a>.</div>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-72469346538383792362019-05-30T16:07:00.000-04:002019-05-30T16:07:06.768-04:00China deepens cooperation with Antigua-Barbuda, offers over 100 educational programmes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://menafn.com/1098578047/China-deepens-cooperation-with-AntiguaBarbuda-offers-over-100-educational-programmes">menafn.com</a>, 5/27/2109<br />
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(MENAFN - Caribbean News Now) St. Johns, <span style="background-color: white;">Antigua Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne welcomed Sun Ang, the newly appointed ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Antigua and Barbuda, and praised the excellent relationship that has developed between the two countries over the past 36 years.</span><br />
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China has been very benevolent to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda and has contributed significantly to the social and economic development of our country. The relationship is very important to us, in fact, it is easily one of the most important developmental partnership, Browne stated.<br />
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I am very happy that two countries located in two different hemispheres, two countries that have a significant number of asymmetries in terms of size of population and financial resources, could have such a close and fruitful relationship. I believe this is based on the relationship we have cultivated over the years and the mutual trust and respect that we have shown for each, he said.<br />
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Browne also noted that he is certain that Ang will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors in continuing to strengthen the bonds of friendship between Antigua and Barbuda and the People Republic of China.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Ang, in responding to Browne outlined that China places great importance to the relationship between the two countries. We think that no matter the size of each country, we respect each country as a member of the international community, he said.</span><br />
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In recent years, under your leadership, our countries have maintained the momentum of developing the relations further. China appreciates the positions that you and your government have taken in support of the policies of China, including China's calls for peaceful resolution to conflicts. The construction of our Embassy here in Antigua and Barbuda is a reflection of our good relations. It is also a foundation for our future cooperation, Ang said.<br />
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Ang also announced that as a sign of the development of the relationship, the Chinese government will sign an agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbuda for the waiver of the visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">In a quest to promote capacity building and cultural exchanges, the government of the People's Republic of China has joined with the Antigua and Barbuda government in offering over 100 programmes for Antiguans and Barbudans to pursue Masters and Doctoral studies in English in universities in the People's Republic of China.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The programme is handled by the prime minister's scholarship programme in collaboration with the ministry of foreign affairs and is opened to all qualified Antiguans and Barbudans and covers tuition fees, living expenses and international travel expenses along with a stipend.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The prime minister's scholarship committee announced that the scholarships are being offered in two categories: special planned programme which is offered by the Chinese Scholarship Council and offers programmes from 26 universities to include Peking University, Renmin University of China, Beijing Jiao Tong University, Fudan University and Tongji University. Deadline for this programme is May 31.</span><br />
<br />
Some of the programmes offered include Finance, Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning Studies, Civil Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Pure Mathematics, Chemical Engineering and Technology and e-Government.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The second initiative is offered under a direct enrolment system, whereby 38 programmes are being offered from 33 universities. This programme which has an application deadline of July 12, offers Masters and Doctoral degrees in a number of disciplines to include Education, <b>Public Diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis], Tourism and Hotel Management, Public Health, Mechanical Engineering and Meteorology.</span><br />
<br />
The Chinese ambassador, in pledging to continue to develop the relations between the two countries, also commended Browne for being a good friend of China and for his continued defense of complementarity and respect for each country's right to chart its own development.<br />
<br />
Your stance is appreciated by the Chinese government and people, prime minister, he said.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-29576636404176624332019-05-30T15:49:00.000-04:002019-05-30T15:49:15.608-04:00[National Security Decision Directive-77 to promote public diplomacy]<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.8em;">National Security Decision Directive 77</i></div>
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<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;"><a class="image" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NSDD77.jpg" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Directive showing signature of President Ronald Reagan"><img alt="Directive showing signature of President Ronald Reagan" data-file-height="792" data-file-width="618" decoding="async" height="254" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NSDD77.jpg/198px-NSDD77.jpg" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NSDD77.jpg/297px-NSDD77.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NSDD77.jpg/396px-NSDD77.jpg 2x" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="198" /></a><div>
NSDD77</div>
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<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Author</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Security_Council" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="United States National Security Council">United States National Security Council</a></td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Country</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">United States</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Language</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">English</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Published</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">January 14, 1983 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Federal government of the United States">Federal government of the United States</a></td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Media type</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Print</td></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Pages</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">3</td></tr>
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<b>National Security Decision Directive 77</b>(<b>NSDD-77</b>; titled Management of Public Diplomacy Relative to National Security), was a U.S. National Security Directive signed on January 14, 1983 by President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a>. The directive established a Special Planning Group (SPG) under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Security_Council" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="United States National Security Council">National Security Council</a> (NSC) whose purpose was to strengthen, organize, plan, and coordinate public diplomacy of the United States relative to national security.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[1]</a></sup>This NSDD positioned the White House and the National Security Staff at the helm of public diplomacy coordination across government agencies. NSDD-77 lay the groundwork for the Reagan administration's aggressive public diplomacy strategy and included guidance for inter-agency working groups to execute wide ranging tactics for information dissemination both domestically and internationally.</div>
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A National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) is a kind of <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Directive" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Presidential Directive">Presidential Directive</a> in which a President gives instructions to senior advisors and departments concerning matters of national security.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FAS_2-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-FAS-2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[2]</a></sup></div>
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Contents</h2>
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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#Background" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="tocnumber" style="color: #222222; display: table-cell; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em; text-decoration: inherit;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Background</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#Overview_of_NSDD_77" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="tocnumber" style="color: #222222; display: table-cell; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em; text-decoration: inherit;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Overview of NSDD 77</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#Impact_of_NSDD_77_on_Reagan's_foreign_policy" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="tocnumber" style="color: #222222; display: table-cell; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em; text-decoration: inherit;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Impact of NSDD 77 on Reagan's foreign policy</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#Modern-day_public_diplomacy_initiatives" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="tocnumber" style="color: #222222; display: table-cell; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em; text-decoration: inherit;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Modern-day public diplomacy initiatives</span></a></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#References" style="background: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="tocnumber" style="color: #222222; display: table-cell; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em; text-decoration: inherit;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></a></li>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="Background">Background</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; user-select: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Security_Decision_Directive_77&action=edit&section=1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edit section: Background">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_diplomacy" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Public diplomacy">Public diplomacy</a> and international information programs have been used as instruments of foreign policy since World War II. The Department of State began sponsoring educational and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cultural_Exchange_Programs" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="United States Cultural Exchange Programs">cultural exchanges</a> as early as the 1930s as a method of combating German influence in Latin America. The CIA sponsored <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty">Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty</a>(RFE/RL) in the 1950s to broadcast messages into the Soviet Bloc.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lord_3-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Lord-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a></sup> The aggressive public diplomacy initiatives created under the Truman and Eisenhower administrations were not pursued by subsequent administrations until President Reagan in the 1980s. The Reagan administration's dedication to public diplomacy as a tool of foreign policy during the Cold War was unprecedented. Carnes Lord, a principal author of NSDD 77, stated that the "beleaguered and defensive bureaucracy was infused with money, high-caliber personnel, and a mandate, and for the first time in many years was admitted to an administration's inner councils. It is also important to underline the personal involvement in public diplomacy operations, not only of the president himself, but of other senior administration policy officials." <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lord_3-1" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Lord-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a></sup></div>
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"The idea of a coordinated national-level approach to public diplomacy was fundamental to the administration's outlook from the beginning. To the extent that public diplomacy was to serve as a genuine strategic instrument, it stood in need of more intense and coordinated support from the White House and senior levels of the major national security agencies than had been the case for a long time. In order to ensure this support on a continuing basis, another presidential directive established a mechanism within the National Security Council system for managing public diplomacy matters.</div>
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<cite class="right-aligned" style="display: block; font-style: normal; text-align: right;">— Dr. Carnes Lord, describing the necessity of NSDD 77</cite></div>
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President Reagan's background as a Hollywood actor, and later governor of California, provided him with access to many powerful individuals with backgrounds in communications, advertising, and entertainment. President Reagan appointed longtime friend and Hollywood financier, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Z._Wick" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Charles Z. Wick">Charles Z. Wick</a>, to head the USIA and Frank Shakespeare to chair the Board of International Broadcasting. This team of communication experts, many lacking any significant experience in Washington, enabled the Reagan administration to conceptualize and execute many revolutionary and risky tactics in their shaping of an effective public diplomacy strategy. Dr. Lord goes on to explain, "the strategic framework of the Reagan administration's public diplomacy effort featured among other things, direct engagement with Soviet propaganda and disinformation, democracy promotion, and revitalization of U.S. international broadcasting." <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lord_2_4-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Lord_2-4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[4]</a></sup></div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="Overview_of_NSDD_77">Overview of NSDD 77</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; user-select: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Security_Decision_Directive_77&action=edit&section=2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edit section: Overview of NSDD 77">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></h2>
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The Special Planning Group (SPG) was established under the chairmanship of the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (NSA), and consisted of five primary members including: the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the United States Information Agency, the Director of the Agency for International Development, and the Assistant to the President for Communications. Other senior officials were invited to attend at the request of the chairman.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_5-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-ReferenceA-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[5]</a></sup></div>
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NSDD 77 established four interagency committees that would report and be monitored by the SPG. These committees included: the Public Affairs Committee, the International Information Committee, the International Political Committee, and the International Broadcasting Committee. The NSC staff, in coordination with the SPG, called regular meetings of the committee chairmen to insure proper interagency coordination and execution of SPG directed initiatives and guidance.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_5-1" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-ReferenceA-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[5]</a></sup></div>
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1. The Public Affairs Committee was responsible for U.S. Government public affairs activities relating to national security objectives. This committee focused on speeches and public appearances for senior officials and was designed to ensure the American public understood and supported the major foreign policy initiatives throughout the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceB_6-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-ReferenceB-6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[6]</a></sup></div>
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2. The International Information Committee was led by a senior representative of the United States Information Agency. This group was responsible for the planning and execution of all activities associated with international information relative to national security policy. This committee took over for "Project Truth" and was tasked to implement information in specific geographic areas of interest.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceB_6-1" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-ReferenceB-6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[6]</a></sup></div>
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3. The International Political Committee was chaired by a Senior official from the Department of State. This committee was responsible for the coordination and implementation of international political activities relative to U.S. national security interests abroad. This group focused on the training, organization, and aid provided to foreign governments, groups, and institutions dedicated to the growth of democracy. This committee executed plans designed to quell the spread of communist and totalitarian ideologies through direct political action strategies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ReferenceB_6-2" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-ReferenceB-6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[6]</a></sup></div>
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4. The International Broadcasting Committee was chaired by a representative from the National Security Council. This group's responsibilities revolved around guidance outlined in National Security Decision Directive 45, United States International Broadcasting.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-7" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[7]</a></sup>Public Diplomacy Professor, Dr. J. Michael Waller, stated that NSDD 45 "firmly re-established U.S.-sponsored international broadcasting as a national security instrument, subject not only to the guidance of the Secretary of State but also of the National Security Advisor to the President." This portion outlined a plan for elevating U.S. sponsored international broadcasting to an instrument of national security." <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-waller_8-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-waller-8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a></sup></div>
<h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); color: black; font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;">
<span id="Impact_of_NSDD_77_on_Reagan.27s_foreign_policy"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Impact_of_NSDD_77_on_Reagan's_foreign_policy">Impact of NSDD 77 on Reagan's foreign policy</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; user-select: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Security_Decision_Directive_77&action=edit&section=3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edit section: Impact of NSDD 77 on Reagan's foreign policy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></h2>
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Though not specifically outlined in NSDD 77, there were a number of sub-groups and departments tasked with employing tactics in line with guidance included in NSDD 77. One of the most notorious was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Public_Diplomacy" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Office of Public Diplomacy">Office of Public Diplomacy</a> for Latin American and the Caribbean (S/LPD or ARA/LPD), a group in existence prior to the release of NSDD 77 and under the leadership of former CIA propaganda specialist, Walter Raymond, and Lieutenant Colonel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_North" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Oliver North">Oliver North</a> in the National Security Council. Managed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Reich" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Otto Reich">Otto Reich</a>, this task force worked with the CIA and U.S. Army to create "white propaganda" intended to influence Congressional and public opinion into the continued funding of Reagan's campaign against the <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sandinista">Sandinista</a> government of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a>. Reich and his group met with dozens of journalists and reporters during 1984 and 1985, intending to keep them on message with developments in Nicaragua. This inter-agency working group was instrumental in fundraising efforts and fund transfers between private groups and the Democratic Resistance in Nicaragua.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Parry_9-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Parry-9" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[9]</a></sup> The group was disbanded after a September 20, 1987 Iran Contra investigation report in which the Comptroller General discovered S/LPD violated numerous funding restrictions including the use of federal dollars to fund a non-authorized propaganda campaign.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Congressional_Report_10-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Congressional_Report-10" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[10]</a></sup></div>
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NSDD-77 also formalized the process for launching various initiatives that President Reagan and his supporters had been socializing since his inauguration including "Project Democracy" and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="National Endowment for Democracy">National Endowment for Democracy</a>. These initiatives showcased the political action arm of public diplomacy, underscoring again Reagan's commitment to the spread of democratic ideals worldwide.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lord_3-2" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Lord-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a></sup> NSDD-77 propelled numerous agencies throughout the U.S. government to aid in the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the emergence of open societies. Executive branch oversight of these information dissemination strategies insured engagement from high-ranking officials throughout the government and civilian sectors.</div>
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<span class="mw-headline" id="Modern-day_public_diplomacy_initiatives">Modern-day public diplomacy initiatives</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; user-select: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Security_Decision_Directive_77&action=edit&section=4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Edit section: Modern-day public diplomacy initiatives">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color: #54595d; margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></h2>
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Presidential Decision Directive-68, entitled "International Public Information" (IPI), was published on April 30, 1999 and remains classified today. The IPI system was designed to mitigate problems with bad press related to military missions in Kosovo and Haiti. This directive was issued with the intent of influencing foreign governments and combating the spread of misinformation from foreign media into the American press. This information policy was designed for use by all government agencies, expanding from solely USIA and State, and accounted for the advance of communication technologies that allowed numerous groups to be involved in information dissemination.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-11" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[11]</a></sup></div>
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President George H.W. Bush issued the still classified National Security Presidential Directive-16 in July 2002 outlining a variety of cyberweapons as a potential instrument of national security. The secret directive directs agencies within the U.S. government to establish guidance for cyberattacks against enemy computer networks.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-12" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[12]</a></sup> Karen Hughes later initiated multiple social networking tools to engage with the Arab community. Because they were not integrated with other government agencies' efforts, they failed to produce any short-term results.</div>
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On October 30, 2003, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="United States Department of Defense">Department of Defense</a> published a document entitled, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Operations_Roadmap" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Information Operations Roadmap">Information Operations Roadmap</a>," detailing the military's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Information warfare">information warfare</a> campaign. The plan, declassified in 2006, approved by then Secretary of Defense, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Donald Rumsfeld">Donald Rumsfeld</a>, details efforts to engage the enemy through <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_operations" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Information operations">information operations</a> (IO), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_warfare" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Electronic warfare">electronic warfare</a> (EW), <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_operations" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Psychological operations">psychological operations</a> (PSYOP), <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_security" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Operational security">operational security</a> (OPSEC), and military deception and computer network operations (CNO).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rumsfeld_13-0" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-rumsfeld-13" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[13]</a></sup></div>
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President Obama is yet to announce a strategy for public diplomacy or information outreach strategies as an instrument of foreign policy. Executive branch oversight, sufficient funding, and appointment of expert personnel will be required. As Dr. Carnes Lord stated,</div>
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...there is a need to reconceptualize public diplomacy in terms of the requirements of unforeseen crises and contingencies of the post-Cold War era. For instance, a way should be found to create a reserve of area and language expertise in the government that could be quickly mobilized for public diplomacy and other national information requirements. Infrastructure (e.g. new short-wave radio transmitters) should be configured for multiple uses and maximum flexibility. Above all, internal organization, doctrines, processes, and technologies for public diplomacy should be rethought so as to improve integration with national policy and interagency operations in the field.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lord_3-3" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Decision_Directive_77#cite_note-Lord-3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a></sup></div>
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Excerpt (<a href="https://johnbrownnotesandessays.blogspot.com/2019/05/how-reset-man-mcfaul-helped-torpedo-us.html">from</a>)<br />
<blockquote>
Americans have every right to be concerned about the prospects of Russian interference in elections which serve as the foundation of American democracy. However, in seeking to find a solution to the problems that plague the relationship, it is imperative that the American people understand how we got to where we are today. <span style="background-color: white;">You can’t solve a problem without first accurately defining the problem, and as such any examination of the Genesis of the he-said/she-said aspects of alleged Russian interference in 2016 must take into account the fact that, if anything, the Russians were reacting to a lengthy history of U.S. interference in their internal affairs since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">One of the key players in this interference was Michael McFaul, a Stanford professor who, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, oversaw a policy of engagement with Moscow on behalf of the Obama administration and, when that policy failed, facilitated U.S. interference in the 2012 Russian Presidential election in an effort to keep Vladimir Putin out of office.</span> ...<br />
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McFaul’s academic credentials and training as a Russian specialist are impressive. McFaul graduated from Stanford in 1986 with a B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages, and went on to get his master’s degree, also from Stanford, in Russian and East European Studies, before heading off to Oxford, England, where he pursued his Doctorate in International Relations as a Rhodes Scholar. <span style="background-color: white;">McFaul returned to the Soviet Union in 1990 as a visiting scholar at Moscow State University, where he finished up his doctoral dissertation (he was awarded his Ph.D. the next year.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">It was during his time as a visiting scholar that McFaul began to blur the line between pure academia and policy activist. In 1990, McFaul signed on as a consultant with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), self-described as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world.”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The NDI was founded in 1983 as an action arm of the National Endowment for Democracy (NEC), created by Congress under the eponymously named National Endowment for Democracy Act. The congressional action was in response to an executive decision on the part of President Ronald Reagan, promulgated under <a href="http://national%20security%20decision%20directive-77%2C/">National Security Decision Directive-77</a> , to promote so-called “<b>public diplomacy</b>” [JB emphasis] operations in furtherance of U.S. national security interests. McFaul dual-hatted as a visiting scholar and as NDI’s official Field Representative in Moscow.</span><br />
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As the NDI’s representative in Moscow, McFaul actively supported “Democratic Russia,” a coalition of Russian politicians led by Boris Yeltsin, the president of the Russian Federation, even though the official U.S. policy at the time was to support Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of the Soviet Union. McFaul likened Yeltsin to the “catalyst for the Cold War’s end.” While recognizing Yeltsin as “the unquestioned leader of Russia’s anti-Communist movement,” McFaul noted that Yeltsin’s embrace of Democratic Russia was more a byproduct of the realization that such an alliance was needed to defeat the Soviet regime, rather than a genuine embrace of liberal ideas. ...</blockquote>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-62452670105876904582019-05-30T14:49:00.000-04:002019-05-30T14:49:40.907-04:00South African Foreign Policy under the Ramaphosa Government<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Natasha Domiro, Research Assistant, Indian Ocean Research Programme, <a href="http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/south-african-foreign-policy-under-the-ramaphosa-government/">futuredirections.org.au</a>; original article contains links <br />
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<img alt="Cyril Ramaphosa e Michel Temer 2 (cropped).jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Cyril_Ramaphosa_e_Michel_Temer_2_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Cyril_Ramaphosa_e_Michel_Temer_2_%28cropped%29.jpg" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ramaphosa image from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Ramaphosa">Wikipedia</a></i></span></div>
Excerpt:<br />
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<b>Summary</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Cyril Ramaphosa has safely secured his position as President for another five years and South Africans are now pinning their hopes on him to clean up the government and restore the country’s international reputation.</span> He ordered a review of foreign policy earlier this year and announced a renewed pivot towards Africa, so it appears that, in the Ramaphosa Presidency, African interests will again be at the forefront of the country’s international agenda. <span style="background-color: white;">President Ramaphosa intends to achieve his administrative and domestic goals through the use of international relations with a focus on economic diplomacy.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The successful implementation of South Africa’s foreign policy objectives will depend on whether the government can clean up its departments, especially the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO), and ensure that diplomats are effectively pursuing a foreign policy focused on economic diplomacy.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Despite the hopeful sentiments surrounding President Ramaphosa’s election victory, it does appear that foreign policy will remain stagnant and the practices that have shamed South Africa for much of the past two decades will persist. </span><br />
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<b>Analysis </b>...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">At the forefront of President Ramaphosa’s foreign policy review is the rekindling of the “African Renaissance” sentiment and, with it, South Africa’s potential to once again become an influential leader on the African continent.</span> The African Renaissance was popularised during Thabo Mbeki’s presidency. He encouraged South Africans to embrace an African identity and sought to promote the continent’s political, economic and social renewal, in an attempt to reintegrate Africa into the global economy. At the core of Mbeki’s renaissance was concern about the continent’s position within a rapidly globalising world economy.<span style="background-color: white;"> In short, therefore, the African Renaissance came to be defined as Africa’s political renewal and economic reintegration. The revival of the African Renaissance sentiment under President Ramaphosa appears to hold the same connotations. He has frequently reasserted his intention to grow the economy and expand South Africa’s soft power presence, by pursuing key leadership positions and agendas, both on the continent and internationally.</span><br />
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South Africa will assume the Chair of the African Union (AU) from 2020 and has asserted that the African Renaissance will be the driving force of its term in that position. There will be a particular focus on strengthening regional economic communities (Recs): the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO) and programmes such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).<br />
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The review panel tasked with assessing the strengths and weaknesses of South Africa’s current foreign policy trajectory acknowledged that the country has not lived up to its earlier promises. It conceded that: ‘The country has not sufficiently played the role it was expected to play or should have played in engaging a number of international issues.’ The panel urged the new administration to forge strategic alliances with specific African countries and to ensure that its other critical relationships – essentially economic in nature – are not neglected.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The need to leverage technology as a means of improving efficiency and effectiveness formed an essential part of the proposed new foreign policy path.</span> The panel acknowledged that globalisation has perpetuated, if not exacerbated, the divide between developing and developed countries, but also pointed to its potential to accelerate regional, continental and global economic integration and development. In line with that acknowledgment, economic diplomacy was emphasised as a means of optimising South Africa’s economic potential and the use of its abundant natural resources. <span style="background-color: white;">In the South African context, economic diplomacy can be defined as policies and activities that promote trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), tourism and technology transfers to South Africa. Its aim is to positively position the country in the world through imaging, branding, marketing and <b>public diplomacy </b>[JB emphasis], both domestically and internationally. South Africa’s economic diplomacy still requires a more specific definition, however, with distinctly expressed priorities. ...</span><br />
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<b>Implementation of Foreign Policy</b><br />
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South Africa’s diplomatic and consular missions implement the government’s foreign policy directives to enhance its international profile. They also serve as strategic mechanisms for the achievement of national interests. In so doing, South African diplomats currently face numerous obstacles and limitations in trying to implement the government’s foreign policy objectives. ...<br />
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One such limitation is insufficient budget allocation to achieve departmental priorities. Closely related to that is the mismanagement of departmental funds. ...<br />
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A second problem is the limited availability of appropriate human resources. ...<br />
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A third limitation is the lack of coherence and co-ordination in South Africa’s foreign policy. Although the foreign policy review calls for a return to the African Renaissance and putting African interests first, these objectives cannot be achieved with inadequate inter- and intra-departmental co-ordination on multilateral issues and institutions. <span style="background-color: white;"><b>Public diplomacy</b> strategies and programmes that enhance the understanding of South Africa’s foreign policy for all stakeholders, including national and international audiences, must be implemented to ensure the successful achievement of the government’s objectives. Presently, the implementation of South Africa’s foreign policy is difficult, due to the lack of clarity, definable goals and achievable objectives. ...</span><br />
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Before Pretoria can achieve any of its foreign policy objectives, South Africa’s international credibility needs to be restored. ...<br />
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Until the government deals with the domestic issues that are affecting the country’s foreign relations, however, Pretoria will only have limited success in achieving its foreign policy objectives.</blockquote>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-24755452897443267582019-05-30T14:12:00.000-04:002019-05-30T14:12:08.523-04:00National Security Today Through 2028: Women Leading the Next Decade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hillary Dickinson and Alexandra Trent, William & Mary Whole of Government Center of Excellence, <a href="https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/national-security-today-through-2028-women-leading-next-decade">smallwarsjournal.com</a>; original article contains additional links<br />
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<img alt="Banner Image" height="149" src="https://www.wm.edu/images/bannerphotos/about/v2_wren_walk.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image from Whole of Government Center of Excellence <a href="https://www.wm.edu/offices/wholeofgovernment/index.php">homepage</a></span></i></div>
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Excerpt:<br />
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A dearth of near-peer competitors in the post-Cold War era and the September 11th terrorist attacks incentivized more recent American decision-makers to treat non-state actors as the foremost danger to our national security. But in the years since the commencement of the global war on terror, our security environment has changed: near-peer competition from Russia and China; North Korean and Iranian nuclear capabilities; and threats in non-traditional domains like space and cyberspace all threaten American safety.<br />
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Such complex challenges cannot be solved in isolation by individual agencies; rather, they require cohesive strategies that involve all stakeholders, public and private. <span style="background-color: white;">As William & Mary (W&M) commemorates 100 years of coeducation and the inauguration of President Katherine A. Rowe, our <a href="https://www.wm.edu/offices/wholeofgovernment/index.php">Whole of Government Center of Excellence</a> held its Second Annual National Security Conference, “National Security Today Through 2028: Women Leading the Next Decade,” on Thursday, April 4, 2019 to discuss the future national security environment with some of the nation's top leaders.</span><br />
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The conference brought together over 100 experts from local, state, and federal governments, civilian agencies, and the military, as well as scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates. Together, they illustrated that all of society is needed to create comprehensive solutions to our toughest problems, and female national security experts—in addition to their male counterparts—provide invaluable contributions. Among the key themes of the day were the importance of a shared understanding, the escalation of cyber threats to our national security, and the need to cultivate long-term relationships. ...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Surveying Critical National Security Challenges </b>...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Alexis Sullivan, Chief of Staff, <a href="https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-public-diplomacy-and-public-affairs/bureau-of-global-public-affairs/">Bureau of International Information Programs</a> and former Senior Watch Officer, Operations Center at the U.S. Department of State, emphasized the importance of shared understanding to interagency collaboration. Conditions on the ground must dictate, for example, who participates in a task force responding to a natural disaster. Further, cultural, educational, and <b>public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] must be operating at all levels of national security. Recognizing that “humans are humans,” Sullivan emphasized how we are a results-driven species. This drive affects which strategies are executed and who is included. ...</span><br />
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<b>The Future of Women in National Security</b><br />
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This year’s conference showcased the instrumental contributions of female leaders to our nation’s security. Throughout the individual presentations, the importance of stakeholder collaboration came up repeatedly. The challenges to America’s safety are too complex to be tackled in isolation. Instead, they require a holistic approach that utilizes a range of expertise. Women are – and will remain – vital to the success of any national security solution, as are our male counterparts.<br />
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The conference participants demonstrated deep knowledge and discussed impressive accomplishments achieved while in senior leadership positions. These Herculean tasks, or should we say Athenean, included building coalitions under difficult and time-sensitive circumstances to achieve a mission objective in an efficient and collaborative manner. From drafting the National Security Strategy to heading off the next 9-11, getting the right players around the table at the right time is a prerequisite for lasting success. As W&M nurtures a Whole of Government approach to our country’s security challenges, we will serve as an important conduit with our interagency partners to the endurance of our values, country, and culture.<br />
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To learn more, contact wmcoe@wm.edu.<br />
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6287281224903607800.post-18310787533669910512019-05-30T13:38:00.000-04:002019-05-30T13:38:10.542-04:00Permitting aggressive tactics in the South China Sea is in no one’s interests<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Michael Shoebridge, <a href="http://%2C%2030%20may%202019%3B%20original%20article%20contains%20links/">The Strategist</a>, 30 May 2019; original article contains links<br />
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<img height="428" src="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2905IPE.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">uncaptioned image from article</span></i></div>
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Excerpt:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Canberra, we have a problem. It’s the <b>public diplomacy</b> [JB emphasis] around Australia’s relationship with the Chinese state—in particular, the People’s Liberation Army and the civilian and militia elements that operate with it in the South China Sea.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The Royal Australian Navy has just finished its largest task force deployment in recent years, called Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019. Four RAN ships visited 13 ports in seven countries and covered approximately 16,000 nautical miles.</span> The naval flotilla, which embarked air force and army personnel, together with Seahawk, MRH-90 troop transport and Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters, travelled from Sri Lanka right through Southeast Asia and into the South China Sea.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">A ream of ‘public affairs’ material was produced for Australian and international media over the three- month deployment—more than 800 images, 100 articles and 40 videos covering a range of activities including disaster assistance planning, community engagement, multinational naval manoeuvres and military training with regional partners in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">No doubt, the deployment achieved much good in deepening Australia’s relationships in the region. </span>It’s been a fine exercise in regional presence and showcasing of Australian capability, along with building the capacity to work closely with regional militaries in an increasingly difficult part of the world. Let this deployment become the new normal and be part of a persistent operational presence working closely with regional partners’ forces.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">But in all the words and images that were produced by what was apparently the largest public affairs team ever deployed on a RAN ship, there was not a word about one of the biggest things that happened during the three months at sea: the crews of fishing vessels used lasers against Australian helicopter pilots operating in international waters in the South China Sea, causing them to have to land their aircraft for precautionary reasons.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">That’s a dangerous set of acts against Australian service personnel. Affecting the vision of helicopter pilots in the difficult environment that defines seaborne operations exposes them to additional risks.</span> ...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">What I don’t get about the way this has been handled to date is whose interests it serves to hide what happens when Australian service personnel operate lawfully in the waters of the South China Sea.</span><br />
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I know it’s in the interests of the Chinese state to have those subject to its aggressive behaviour keep silent—that helps portray those who do speak up, notably the US, as isolated on this issue.<br />
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However, part of the rationale for the task force going through the South China Sea is to affirm international law and maintain free international waterways. That’s necessary because of the aggressive militarisation of that body of water by Chinese forces in recent years.<br />
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Clearly, working with the Vietnamese navy in the South China Sea was part of this—and according to Euan Graham, again, this required the task force to go out of its way to include Vietnam in the activity.<br />
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But <span style="background-color: white;">to have the strategic communications effect that you would hope would be at the heart of the deployment, it seems essential to publicise the aggressive and dangerous behaviour of these fishing vessels—and to make every effort to identify the nation operating them so that the incidents can be raised formally to prevent a recurrence.</span><br />
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I would be surprised if imagery and other information from the deployment at the time of the incidents can’t show this right now.<br />
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Pretending that none of this happened, and that it was an entirely problem-free and friendly time in the South China Sea, is self-defeating. It leaves the Australian public out of the loop when it comes to the risks our service personnel are running to preserve freedom of navigation and push back against aggressive on-water tactics that are licensed by the highest level of national leadership in China.<br />
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It also downplays the commitment of our defence force in protecting national and international interests in the security and openness of the waters of our region.<br />
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Lastly, this episode raises questions about what else might have happened on this deployment, and whether there were any other actions by Chinese fishing vessels—or militia, coastguard, aircraft or even PLA Navy vessels themselves—that we have yet to hear about. Maybe there are other ways they said g’day.<br />
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AUTHOR<br />
Michael Shoebridge is director of the defence and strategy program at ASPI. Image courtesy of the Department of Defence.</blockquote>
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John Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.com2