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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 Jill Schuker

THE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
APR 4, 2008 - 3:53PM PDT
Posted by Jill A. Schuker
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Understanding and influencing public attitudes and those who shape them, beyond the traditional diplomacy of government-to-government contact, is the "work" of public diplomacy in our globalized world.

More than ever, almost daily improvements in communications technology and the ability to have a true transnational flow of ideas and information, has transformed the conduct of public diplomacy. It has made it both more important and more challenging for the successful formation and execution of foreign policies by governments and a range of multi-national authorities.

Conducting effective public diplomacy is a serious global security challenge. While the engagement of civil society, non-state... FULL TEXT
 
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ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT …
DEC 18, 2007 - 5:28PM PDT
Posted by Jill A. Schuker
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Public diplomacy is no substitute for smart foreign policy, nor can it fix a myopic one. But miscalculations of both its power and place have left it a hobbled tool in our diplomatic arsenal.

Hopefully the newest designated chief of public diplomacy, Jim Glassman, understands this. His bona fides for the job are solid; but the challenges, unhappily, remain as distinct today as they did seven years ago under Charlotte Beers, the first Public Diplomacy chief of the Bush administration.

Simply put, we have been floundering in our attempts to run an effective public diplomacy for too long, with disastrous... FULL TEXT
 
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ANOTHER WAKE UP CALL
SEP 11, 2006 - 7:42PM PDT
Posted by Jill A. Schuker
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Is it any wonder that U.S. public diplomacy is on life support?

While perhaps the truest measure of our effectiveness around the globe and an essential tool for U.S. national interests long-term, public diplomacy is in deep trouble -- undervalued at home and under siege abroad. From Katrina to Iraq, our communication wounds are deep -- hostage to policies that are viewed as bankrupt in both their rhetoric and application.

At the core, our credibility is on the line, at home and abroad. The challenge is how to stop the hemorrhaging and get back to winning hearts and minds. When... FULL TEXT
 
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FIVE YEARS AFTER 9/11, WHERE IS THE ‘PUBLIC’ IN U.S. DIPLOMACY?
SEP 6, 2006 - 5:48PM PDT
Posted by Jill A. Schuker
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Let's face it, America. We're having more than just a bad day.

No, this isn't malaise, but a serious condition brought on by prolonged exposure to really bad news.

Like everything else, it seems to date from Sept. 11, 2001, when we faced the unthinkable on our own shores. We've been reeling ever since, seeking answers and leadership and policies that work. But it's been a bitter harvest.

War and despair seem to be pervasive - from Iraq to Darfur to Lebanon to North Korea. The nuclear threat seems more real than at any time since the early 1960s. Terrorists... FULL TEXT
 
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