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The Public Diplomacy Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

Posts by Craig Hayden

CAN BRANDING DEFINE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 2.0?
FEB 9, 2007 - 2:09PM PDT
Posted by Craig Hayden
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The next round of the seemingly endless frustration over U.S. public diplomacy is underway. Rod Dreher's recent rebuke of contemporary public diplomacy programs succinctly recapitulates the "problem" with U.S. public diplomacy -- at least according to how he frames the subject. For Dreher, the U.S. public diplomacy is losing the "information war," because it is being outflanked by jihadist media campaigns. For Dreher, U.S. efforts look absurdly anachronistic. The U.S. relies on message strategies rooted in Cold War models and appears increasingly unresponsive to audiences in the Middle East and Islamic world.

Dreher's arguments come as Undersecretary of State Karen... FULL TEXT
 
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A ‘NEW PARADIGM’: THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
FEB 1, 2007 - 12:43PM PDT
Posted by Craig Hayden
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On January 10, 2007, the State Department hosted a Private Sector Summit on Public Diplomacy. The purpose of the conference was to bring together professionals from the public relations sector to consider how U.S. public diplomacy programs and objectives could be improved by input from the corporate communications world. Given the recent BBC polls showing that U.S. popularity continues to plummet worldwide -- it's no surprise that the State Department is reaching out to organizations that are defined by their communication expertise.

A corporate vision for public diplomacy appears to be on the rise again. On January 29, Sebastian Mallaby... FULL TEXT
 
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THE FERNANDEZ ‘STUPIDSTORM’: MISUNDERSTANDING A DIPLOMAT’S CANDOR
OCT 23, 2006 - 7:57PM PDT
Posted by Craig Hayden
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U.S. news media outlets were awash this morning in news about how Alberto Fernandez, a U.S. foreign service officer, described U.S. Iraq policy in less than flattering terms on a major Arab satellite nework. His controversial statement came during an interview program on Al Jazeera, where he admitted that United States policies in Iraq had showed "arrogance" and "stupidity."

Taken out of context, these words do not seem like an argument strategy designed to build confidence and understanding about U.S. intentions in the region. The entirety of his speech during the interview, however, reveals a significant shift in U.S. public... FULL TEXT
 
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FACING RESOURCE NATIONALISTS WITH A CLEAR, CREDIBLE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
SEP 28, 2006 - 1:41PM PDT
Posted by Craig Hayden
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Joshua Kurlantzick, in "Can Public Diplomacy Counter Resource Nationalism?," paints a rather alarming geo-strategic picture for the United States. The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization showcased the warming relations between oil-rich Iran and Russia with the budding super-consumer, China.

Kurlantzick argues that these nations, along with Venezuela and Bolivia, constitute a nascent alliance of authoritarian regimes united not so much by ideology, but in their opposition to the United States. They represent a resurgance of "resource nationalism" not seen since the early 20th century.

Kurlantzick goes to great lengths to show how increased coordination between these nations herald problems for the... FULL TEXT
 
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