In my recent book touring travels down under, I was struck repeatedly by the sense in which New Zealand and Australia seem for a North American at once remote yet accessible, exotic yet familiar. They are in, but not of the Global South. And while we might think of the Antipodes as the ends of the earth, it all depends which end of the telescope you are looking through. In public presentations and in meeting with colleagues at foreign ministries, I was impressed by the extent to which the necessity of adapting to the reality of power shift – notably…... Full Text

With the rising tide of violence in Pakistan, the controversial surge into Afghanistan, the multilateral meltdown on climate change at COP 15, and tales of possible terrorist plots, it is easy to overlook what has been going on in Europe, where I spent considerable time this fall on a book tour. On November 9th I found myself with friends at the Brandenburg Gate, attending the commemorative ceremony organized to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, the re-unification of Germany and Europe, and the end of the Cold War. That is a lot to celebrate, but…... Full Text

If public diplomacy (PD) is understudied as a discipline, then even less is known about PD as practiced - or not - by less developed countries (LDCs) and their representatives abroad. In constructing the research base upon which the argumentation presented in Guerrilla Diplomacy rests, I noted that the literature is largely silent on the thinking of developing country foreign ministries, diplomats or academics about PD per se. There is little data on their PD objectives, resources and performance. Not enough is known about how - and if - the tools and techniques of public…... Full Text

Lately I have been thinking and writing about the relationship between science, technology, diplomacy and international policy. I covered these issues in my new book, but because I will be teaching a course on this stuff at the University of Toronto in January, I have been updating my research and trying to push the analysis a bit. I have often made the case that although a diplomatic renaissance is long overdue, the fundamental reform of diplomacy’s major institutions (the foreign ministry and foreign service) and practices (traditional, state-centric representation) is an absolute prerequisite. This in turn will implicate a more…... Full Text

Notwithstanding its many virtues, there are all kinds of possible pitfalls associated with public diplomacy. For starters, PD is done mainly, though not exclusively, by diplomats. Diplomats work for states. States have interests. So when your friendly emissary wants to enjoin you in conversation, it is more likely to be directed rather than free-form. It is almost certain that he or she will be looking for something — a pearl of insight, a gem of intelligence, support for a policy or politician ... something. And that is just one of the many paradoxes which separate the theory of public diplomacy,…... Full Text