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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 Neal Rosendorf

NEW MEXICO’S DEATH PENALTY REPEAL AS US SOFT POWER ASSET
MAR 26, 2009 - 5:45AM PDT
Posted by Neal Rosendorf
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On March 18, 2009, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed legislation overturning the state’s longstanding death penalty. The “Land of Enchantment”, as the state calls itself, joined fourteen other US states that ban capital punishment and became only the second to do so since the end of a four-year national execution hiatus in 1976.

At the signing ceremony, the Governor spoke about his rationale for backing the legislation; focusing on issues like the skewed application of the death penalty toward the poor and minorities, the potential abuse of prosecutorial powers, and the possibility of executing an innocent person. Near the... FULL TEXT
 
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VLAD THE PRODUCER: PUTIN SCORNS SOFT POWER; USES RUSSIAN FILM INDUSTRY FOR DOMESTIC PROPAGANDA
JAN 30, 2009 - 11:38AM PDT
Posted by Neal Rosendorf
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Vladimir Putin is obsessed with cinema’s potential to sway hearts and minds. Over the past several years, Russia’s paramount leader has been tightening the screws on his country’s film industry. What is most remarkable about Putin’s move is not his power grab per se, Radio Free Europe’s anxiety-laden reportage in late December notwithstanding. As an instinctive autocrat in a country with a notorious history of state control of cinema, the logic of his strategy is straightforward. Rather, what is noteworthy and disquieting is the goal of his strategy. Putin’s program evinces little evident interest in burnishing Russia’s overseas reputation. Internal... FULL TEXT
 
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HOLLYWOOD’S INVESTMENT BET ON INDIA OVER CHINA: DEMOCRACY MATTERS
SEP 17, 2008 - 11:03AM PDT
Posted by Neal Rosendorf
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In the aftermath of the Beijing Olympics, there's been much discussion about an increase in China's soft power, not least by Joseph Nye, the originator of the concept. [Link] Nye and others (this writer included) have evaluated China's film industry and U.S.-Chinese co-productions as a strategic asset for the Middle Kingdom. I was discussing the subject recently with a U.S. motion picture industry executive, who agreed that Hollywood production in China is an important soft power issue. Still, she told me, at least as important is that Hollywood is betting with its Asian production investments not primarily on China, but... FULL TEXT
 
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MAESTRO DUDAMEL, VENEZUELAN SOFT POWER AND LESSONS FOR AMERICA
MAR 6, 2008 - 7:09PM PDT
Posted by Neal Rosendorf
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The New York Philharmonic's recent Pyongyang concert has garnered extensive international news coverage over the momentary piercing of North Korea's thick carapace. But rather than seeking as far as the Hermit Kingdom for evidence of a truly effective use of classical music as soft power, we'd arguably do better to look in our own back yard: Los Angeles to be precise, in the guise of the L.A. Philharmonic's next music director, Gustavo Dudamel. The extraordinary young conductor is the embodiment of Venezuela's one real soft power asset. The U.S. has much to learn from Maestro Dudamel's story and experience as... FULL TEXT
 
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COMMENTS ON THE CONGRESSIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON AMERICAN FILM AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 11/14/2007
DEC 18, 2007 - 4:39PM PDT
Posted by Neal Rosendorf
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I would like to commend Congresswoman Diane Watson for organizing the Congressional Symposium on American Film and Public Diplomacy and her sponsorship of legislation that includes establishing the Johnny Grant Film Series featuring classic American cinema in U.S. embassies and missions overseas. I think it is a grand idea that allows us to tap into one of the United States' most significant contributions to culture over the past century as an element of public diplomacy outreach. I also think, parenthetically, that any effort that works to make our representative buildings around the world seem more accessible and friendly, instead of... FULL TEXT
 
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