VOL. IV NO. 25, November 21-December 04, 2008

A New Road for Public Diplomacy

According to former Assistant Secretary of State Kim Holmes for the Washington Times, the US is ill-equipped to win today's struggle for the hearts and minds. He notes, "We lack the focus and means to convince people around the world of the rightness of our cause of freedom."

Pointing out the shortcomings in communication and coordination between the State Department and the Pentagon on information strategy and public diplomacy effectiveness, Holmes adds that numerous other bureaucratic obstacles paired with insufficient language skills hinder outreach capacities.

According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2007 the State Department failed to evaluate its communication strategies impact and conducted no polls to assess the success and failures of policies.

Although President-elect Obama vowed to implement changes for a more effective public diplomacy, notes Helle Dale of the Heritage Foundation for the Washington Times, he failed to propose "plans for any major overhaul of existing structures and institutions," despite a "desperately needed" strategic direction.

Helle Dale suggests that what is needed above all is a new US Agency for Strategic Communication whose director would "coordinate the informational activities of the entire US government, including the vast resources currently commanded by the Pentagon." The director of this new agency would also address the "activities of US public affairs, public diplomacy, international broadcasting and military information operations."

Dale remarks that the State Department is in need of reforms and should limit itself to state-to-state diplomacy, while the Pentagon's task would be limited to coordinating command tasks. He concludes that the need to address the future of public diplomacy will eventually catch up with Obama, regardless of his popularity.

Kim Holmes concurs with Dale regarding the fact that strategic communication encompasses public diplomacy and should therefore be run by a specific agency. Additionally, it should explain the purpose of foreign policy to Americans. "Some members of Congress also support overturning the Cold War-era Smith-Mundt Act, which restricts the State Department from disseminating US public diplomacy materials domestically," he comments.

These are recommendation that President-elect Obama should take seriously if his commitment to reform public diplomacy is to occur, heeds Holmes.

According to the Baltimore Examiner, persuading of foreign publics and promoting American interests should be the priorities of President-elect Obama when it comes to achieving objectives in foreign policy. Far from being mere "propaganda," public diplomacy should be a strategic effort to understand and engage foreign populations and to help them appreciate how US policies would help advance their own interests, adds the news site.

Jeffrey Gedmin, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, explained during the Ethics and Public Policy Center Forum on Public Diplomacy in November that "it is not for the United States to be popular, [The goal should be] to advance American interests consummate with American values." Pointing to Obama's communication skills, he added that the president-elect's unpaired ability to communicate with people should be used advance US interests rather than just to serve his own popularity.

Emphasizing his commitment to communication, President-elect Obama appointed Ernest J. Wilson,Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California to his advising team, reports Annenberg News. An expert on global communications issues and sustainable innovation, Dean Wilson is the author of numerous articles and books on the subject.

The news site adds, "Dean Wilson is the ranking senior member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, nominated by Presidents Clinton and Bush and confirmed by the Senate. He chairs the Board's Digital Media Committee."

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