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POLAND - BELARUS PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
MAR 31, 2011
 Posted by Mitchell Polman
All posts by Mitchell Polman


One of the more poorly understood aspects of public diplomacy is that it is not a tool for short-term policy goals. Public diplomacy is a tool with long-term benefits that are often difficult to measure. Public diplomacy is of limited value in short-term crisis situations. However, during a prolonged struggle, such as the Cold War, a sustained public diplomacy program can have profound effects. One public diplomacy program that is currently in play that bears watching is Poland's efforts with respects to its totalitarian neighbor of Belarus. Poland has taken the lead in Europe in supporting the Belarussian opposition and…... Full Text
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SECRETARY CLINTON’S CULTURE COMPLAINT
MAR 22, 2011
 Posted by Mitchell Polman
All posts by Mitchell Polman


During recent testimony in front of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee Secretary of State Clinton made a splash when she commented, "I remember having an Afghan general tell me that the only thing he thought about Americans is that all the men wrestled and the women walked around in bikinis because the only TV he ever saw was Baywatch and World Wide Wrestling.” She went on to comment about the effect American media has on the image of the U.S. abroad. Predictably, the significance of her remarks were lost in the usual cacophony of howls about Al Jazeera and Russian…... Full Text
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THE USA-WORLD TRUST IS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME
JAN 6, 2009
 Posted by Mitchell Polman
All posts by Mitchell Polman


The Brookings Institution's report on its proposed USA-World Trust has unleashed a predictable torrent of criticism from the public diplomacy community. To be sure, not all of the commentary has been negative, but much of it has been. The critics are rehashing many of the same tired arguments that have been used to kill any ideas to deal with today's public diplomacy realities. Predictably much of the discussion has centered on how the trust is or is not like the old US Information Agency (USIA). Many seem to be asking why if we are going to create the Trust then…... Full Text
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LET’S NOT FORGET PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 1.0
DEC 8, 2008
 Posted by Mitchell Polman
All posts by Mitchell Polman


In the new movie "Slumdog Millionaire" there is a poignant scene that all public diplomacy experts should have etched in their minds. It's of a classroom full of boys in a Mumbai slum inhabited by Moslems passing around one copy of the "Three Musketeers" as part of their English lesson. Later we watch one of those boys evolve into a gangster. He could just as easily have joined Al Qaeda. The scene takes place in the early 1980's, but I suspect that in spite of India's growth that similar scenes can be found today. I say public diplomacy experts should…... Full Text
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WE NEED A PUBLIC DIPLOMACY STRATEGY FOR RUSSIA
AUG 20, 2007
 Posted by Mitchell Polman
All posts by Mitchell Polman


Since September 11th much of our nation's public diplomacy efforts have been focused, appropriately enough, on the Middle East and the Islamic world. However, while much energy and attention has gone to improve understanding of America and its policies in those regions another important sphere has been neglected. The Russian government is now clearly conducting a concerted effort to indoctrinate its people, particularly its young people, in anti-Americanism. America is hardly the Kremlin's only target. Indeed, the list is a long one -- Georgia, Ukraine, Estonia, Britain, etc. Its recent forays in the Arctic have actually sparked the Canadians to…... Full Text
Tags: united states • russia
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