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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 John Robert Kelley

PRESSING THE RESET BUTTONS AFTER JANUARY 20
JAN 27, 2009 - 10:33AM PDT
Posted by John Robert Kelley
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Seldom have incoming presidents of the United States used the platform of the inaugural address to go beyond the necessary task of speaking to millions of Americans by including a message intended for the hundreds of millions watching worldwide. In a gesture comparable to that of John F. Kennedy in 1961, President Barack Obama imparted commitments to peace, security and prosperity and directed them to friends and foes alike. Like Kennedy before him, Obama methodically churned through a checklist of critical audiences: the Muslim world, the poor and the wealthy, the despots and the disillusioned. If the global public fascination... FULL TEXT
 
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ALL THUMBS OR AL-QAEDA’S PUBLIC DIPLOMACY?
NOV 28, 2007 - 11:42AM PDT
Posted by John Robert Kelley
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For all the seething scorn and vitriol Americans have hurled toward Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in recent years one would never suspect a kindly word of either uttered privately, let alone publicly. But when it comes to public diplomacy such inhibitions seem to disappear even amongst the highest ranking political leadership and in the most public fashion. In a speech on November 26 before an audience at Kansas State University, it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates' turn to wax profoundly on the subject. (Washington Post, 10/27/07) Gates declared al-Qaeda to be “better at communicating its message on the Internet... FULL TEXT
 
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VIEWPOINT: HUGHES’ WORK HAS JUST BEGUN
AUG 8, 2006 - 6:17PM PDT
Posted by John Robert Kelley
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It was just over a year ago that Karen Hughes, then nominee for Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before her swift appointment as the nation's chief public diplomat. Striking all the right chords along the way, Hughes affirmed that "the mission of public diplomacy is to engage, inform, and help others (read 'foreign populations') understand our policies, actions and values. "But," she continued, "I am mindful that before we seek to be understood, we must first work to understand…I recognize that the job ahead will be difficult. Perceptions do not... FULL TEXT
 
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