The Practice of Public Diplomacy: Confronting Challenges Abroad

264 Pages·2011·2.77 MB·English

by  William A. Rugh (eds.)

The Practice of Public Diplomacy
Palgrave Macmillan Series in Global Public Diplomacy
Series editors:
Kathy Fitzpatrick, Quinnipiac University, USA
Philip Seib, University of Southern California, USA
Advisory Board:
Nicholas J. Cull, University of Southern California, USA
Teresa LaPorte, University of Navarre, Spain
Donna Lee, Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom
Jan Melissen, Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Clingendael,
Netherlands
Abeer Najjar, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
William A. Rugh, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen and
United Arab Emirates, USA
Cesar Villanueva Rivas, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico
Li Xiguang, Tsinghua University, China
At no time in history has public diplomacy played a more significant role in world
affairs and international relations. As a result, global interest in public diplomacy has
escalated, creating a substantial academic and professional audience for new works in
the field.
This series examines theory and practice in public diplomacy from a global per-
spective, looking closely at public diplomacy concepts, policies, and practices in vari-
ous regions of the world. The purpose is to enhance understanding of the importance
of public diplomacy, to advance public diplomacy thinking, and to contribute to
improved public diplomacy practices.
The editors welcome submissions from scholars and practitioners representing a
range of disciplines and fields (including diplomacy, international relations, interna-
tional communications, public relations, political science, global media, marketing/
advertising) and offering diverse perspectives. In keeping with its global focus, the
series encourages non-U.S.-centric works and comparative studies.
Toward a New Public Diplomacy: Redirecting U.S. Foreign Policy
Edited by Philip Seib
Soft Power in China: Public Diplomacy through Communication
Edited by Jian Wang
Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia
Edited by Sook Jong Lee and Jan Melissen
The Practice of Public Diplomacy: Confronting Challenges Abroad
Edited by William A. Rugh
The Practice of Public
Diplomacy
Confronting Challenges Abroad
Edited by
William A. Rugh
THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Copyright © William A. Rugh, 2011.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-11322-0
All rights reserved.
First published in 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-29495-4 ISBN 978-0-230-11865-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230118652
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The practice of public diplomacy : confronting challenges abroad /
edited by William A. Rugh.
p. cm.
1. United States. Foreign Service. 2. Diplomatic and consular service,
American. 3. United States—Officials and employees—Foreign countries.
4. United States—Foreign relations administration. 5. United States—
Foreign relations. I. Rugh, William A.
JZ1480.A5P73 2010
327.73—dc22 2010040667
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: April 2011
C O N T E N T S
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Contributors xv
Part I Public Diplomacy in Europe and
in Southwest Asia
1 Ameliorating Strained Relations: Public Diplomacy in Serbia 3
Lucija Bajzer
2 Revitalizing Relations with Turkey 21
Nicole E. Farina
3 Iran and the United Kingdom: A Study in Contrasts 37
Sarah M. Riley
4 Afghanistan and Pakistan: Public Diplomacy
during Conflict and Instability 55
Rachel E. Smith
Part II Public Diplomacy in Africa
5 Kenya’s “Native Son” and Enduring Local Issues 75
Mabel Ntiru
6 Sierra Leone: Public Diplomacy Unwired 91
Tulani N. Elisa
Part III Public Diplomacy in Asia
7 The Staying Power of Personal Contact in
South Korean Public Diplomacy 109
Yoon-Jeong Huh
vi Contents
8 Economic Issues and Anti-Americanism in Japan 125
Yohei Ogawa
Part IV New Media or Old?
9 U.S. Public Diplomacy 2.0 in Asia: Beyond Catch-up 143
Takahiro Yamamoto
10 New Media or “the Last Three Feet” in Africa? 159
Rachel O. Okunubi
11 New Media or Old in Egypt and South Korea? 175
John Rahaghi
12 Finding the Right Media Formula—from the
Soviet Union to Russia 191
Elise S. Crane
Part V New Thinking about Public Diplomacy
13 Should Public Diplomacy Be Privatized? 209
Nicole Gabrielle Kravec
14 Do Peace Corps Volunteers Do Public Diplomacy? 227
Minta Madeley
15 Conclusion: Field Experiences and Best Practices 243
William A. Rugh
Index 259
P R E F A C E
This book seeks to convey an understanding of public diplomacy as it is
practiced by professionals at American embassies abroad.
“Public diplomacy” is a term that has recently acquired new defi-
nitions, as respected scholars have sought to broaden the concept to
acknowledge new circumstances, by saying that nongovernmental
actors also engage in public diplomacy.1 But this book uses the tradi-
tional definition—that is, a government’s effort to reach out to the public
in foreign countries—because this definition is still in use by the U.S.
government, and this book focuses on government practice.
Public diplomacy has been the subject of considerable discussion
and debate in the United States since the 9/11 events, when many
Americans sought to identify the motivation for the anti-American
hostility behind the attack, and wanted to address the problem. Media
commentators, think tank reports, and the academic literature offered
a variety of ideas and reform proposals. Many believed that the attack
showed the United States’ failure to communicate its values and poli-
cies abroad to foreign publics, and suggested that something was amiss
in our public diplomacy. Has the U.S. government failed in its duty to
address foreign complaints and misunderstandings about the United
States? Was the task so difficult that the government should call upon
the American private sector, known to be skilled at marketing and
branding, to step in and help repair America’s image? Were officials of
the Department of Defense better able to manage communication with
foreign audiences than the State Department’s diplomats, because we
were now fighting a “Global War on Terror”?
This discussion and debate reinvigorated a conversation about public
diplomacy, a topic that in the past had failed to attract significant pub-
lic or scholarly attention. The books and articles on public diplomacy
published since 9/11 have provided many new insights and theories
viii Preface
that constitute a rich literature. Yet one aspect of the topic has received
relatively little attention: the actual daily practice of public diplomacy
by U.S. officials at embassies and consulates abroad. The central impor-
tance of field offices has rarely been stressed.2
There are several reasons for the neglect of public diplomacy prac-
tice “in the field.” First, it is admittedly difficult for anyone sitting
in the United States to know much about the daily functioning of an
American diplomat working at an embassy or consulate in a foreign
country. How does an American official charged with carrying out a
public diplomacy program abroad go about its planning, execution, and
evaluation? What tools and methods are used? Is the official simply a
conveyor of U.S. policy as enunciated in Washington, or is there some
room for creativity and leeway in the process? Many Americans have
heard about the Fulbright Program or VOA, but do they know how
useful these and other public diplomacy instruments are in actually
communicating with foreign publics?
These are important questions, but ones that very few Americans
can answer because they have not had an opportunity to observe
an embassy operation from the inside. In fact, not even members of
Congress, or the administration’s political leaders, have a thorough
understanding of how an embassy works. As one experienced Foreign
Service officer has written, among the U.S. public, “and even among
Washington policy makers and politicians, there is little knowledge
of what it [public diplomacy] is, what it can and cannot do, how it is
practiced and by whom.”3
Second, the U.S. media have been unhelpful in educating the
American public on this topic. Prior to 9/11, the New York Times rarely
mentioned public diplomacy; even when it did the writer was often
unfamiliar with the topic and it only created “confusion on the part
of readers about what public diplomacy is.”4 Today there are very few
American correspondents stationed abroad, so media reporting on
diplomacy naturally focuses on the more visible actions of officials in
Washington.
Third, while scholars have substantially increased their research
and publication efforts on public diplomacy, they have found it much
easier to study the Washington end of the process than to investi-
gate the particulars of our diplomatic missions. Speeches by senior
U.S. officials are well documented, as are public statements by mem-
bers of Congress. While this constitutes an important part of public
diplomacy because these are official communications heard by foreign
audiences, there is a dearth of material available on public diplomacy
Preface ix
activities conducted by American diplomats abroad, which is arguably
equally important.
This book seeks to fill that gap and serve as a companion to other
basic works. It does not attempt to make a detailed review of public
diplomacy theory, but instead seeks to present the field officer perspec-
tive on public diplomacy by means of case studies. These studies offer
empirical evidence of field practices as they are taking place today, fill-
ing a hole in the literature. They should be read in conjunction with
the existing theoretical works in order to form a complete picture of
the subject.
What about writing by those who have actually practiced the pro-
fession of public diplomacy? Although some books have deliberately
included essays by practitioners, most of these practitioners have not
been career officers with field experience; instead they have been
Washington-based policymakers or short-term political appointees.5 It
is true that a few retired public diplomacy professionals with field expe-
rience have written books about their experiences doing public diplo-
macy abroad,6 and others have written short articles in the same vein7
These works provide valuable insights into local conditions that shaped
public diplomacy programs abroad but they are rare. As one book points
out, while the former public diplomats focus on what happens abroad,
everyone else focuses only on what happens in Washington, because
“Unfortunately there is a dearth of field-based research” on the subject.8
Moreover, most of these accounts by diplomats are accurate for the time
periods they are talking about in a particular country; by nature, they
deal with divergent eras and are difficult to use comparatively.9
One scholar, concerned that the opinions of public diplomacy
experts had not been heard, conducted a survey of more than two
hundred former U.S. Information Agency officers who had been pro-
fessional public diplomacy practitioners between the 1950s and 2007.10
This USIA Alumni Study is valuable, presenting a composite picture of
the practitioners’ views and offering generalizations about the practice.
The study has been very helpful in analyzing consistent factors through
time and across geographic boundaries. But by its nature it does not
provide local context. As every public diplomacy practitioner who has
worked abroad for the U.S. government knows, his or her working
environment and the circumstances of the moment have an enormous
impact on the actual public diplomacy strategy and program. Every
country in the world is different, and the practice of public diplomacy
in the field varies significantly with the public’s concerns and priori-
ties, the political constraints, and the available tools. Most publications