The United States is continuing to act as a Mideast peace broker, with Secretary of State Clinton making her first visit to the region and setting the stage for what will inevitably be many future visits. This AP report notes that her visit has raised expectations for the “two state solution” while signaling that the […]
Now is the time for all good men — and women — to come to the aid of public diplomacy. I have in mind citizen travel to countries that, until recently, were off-limits to Americans, like Iran, Libya or Syria. Or Cuba, the only country that Americans need a “license” from their own government to […]
In a presidential address (text, video) to both houses of Congress, President Obama tonight sought to reassure the American public and the world at large that the financial crisis was being dealt with efficiently and comprehensively. I was not surprised that the address barely touched on foreign policy, after all, the focus was meant to […]
The news out of Philadelphia is that there is no news — no newspapers, that is. The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News have joined the swelling ranks of American print media that have gone bankrupt. Last month, it was the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. Late last year, the Los Angeles Times and Chicago […]
It doesn’t count as public diplomacy — not yet. But the way in which the Iranian authorities have permitted foreign media visits, especially coverage by major American media (e.g., NPR and the NYT) , not to mention official Iranian comments on bilateral relations, suggests a whiff of change toward caring what the Western world thinks. […]
I’m off to the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, normal posting will resume the week of the 23rd.
President Obama’s first prime-time news conference featured three questions about U.S. foreign policy, chief among them, relations with Iran. Caren Bohan from the Reuters news service asked about President Obama’s strategy for dealing with Iran, and in his reply, President Obama made clear that he is starting over, conducting a formal review of relations with […]
Genuine Fractals PrintPro 5 + Autodesk Inventor Professional + Steinberg Hypersonic 2.0 The Obama administration has signaled the Russians that they are interested in continuing the process of nuclear arms reductions that stalled over the recent past. This AP report notes that Secretary of State Clinton is spearheading the issue: The Obama administration, reversing the […]
A few weeks ago I noted an op-ed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who counseled the Obama Administration to move quickly to improve U.S. relations with China. On the surface, it appears that Team Obama may be doing that. According to this CNN report, Hillary Clinton's first official trip abroad as Secretary of […]
Students of public diplomacy and propaganda are quick to point out the difference between the two, but sometimes it's not so easy. One man's strategic government effort to communicate with foreign publics can be another man's tendentious information blitz to smear the reputation of another country. Nowadays, the clumsy and blunt-edged attacks that characterized the […]
Things have been difficult for U.S. ally Turkey lately. The rebuff from the EU over accession has sent ripples of shock and consternation through the secular military and the increasingly Islamic political class. Tensions between them are high and there have been rumors of a coup. The stress may be getting to the prime minister, […]
In his inaugural address President Obama offered a new engagement with the Muslim world, specifically addressing them by name and telling them, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” That new way forward was on full display today as he granted the Arabic satellite network […]
Popular from Press
