The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs

Edward R. Murrow’s contributions to public diplomacy are universally acknowledged but rarely explained. That’s a shame, because Murrow left behind more than just a few often-cited comments about the place of public diplomacy in foreign policy. His real legacy in this field is to be found in his unwavering insistence on maintaining values — often values rooted in journalism — to ensure the integrity of public diplomacy.

In April 2008, to mark the 100th anniversary of Murrow’s birth, the Fletcher School of Tufts University presented a conference about “credible public diplomacy.” Credibility is the essence of successful public diplomacy. Murrow, while director of the United States Information Agency, said, “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful.” He added, “It’s as simple as that.”

Murrow thought it simple because he equated good public diplomacy with good journalism in the sense that accuracy must be its core. But in practice, delivering truthful public diplomacy can be complicated. Pursuit of short-term political gain can subvert truthfulness, and when that happens, public diplomacy is undermined.

Murrow’s views about public diplomacy were just a starting point for the Fletcher symposium.  The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs presents articles by some of the conference’s speakers and, despite a bit of redundancy here and there, this collection provides a valuable overview of modern public diplomacy.

Among the offerings:

• Mark McDowell discusses contrasts between small- and large-state public diplomacy.
• Bernard Simonin considers the semantics and other elements of “nation branding.”
• Leonard J. Baldyga contends that American public diplomacy overemphasizes the Muslim world, saying, “We are robbing Petrov to pay Pasha.”
• Lauren Brodsky argues for the importance of “engaging in a conversation about the actual goals of public diplomacy, reassessing missions, and evaluating how missions translate into actual messages.”
• Mark J. Davidson reviews the sophisticated, multifaceted appeal of a cultural diplomacy project.
• Erik Iverson outlines the “revolution in informational affairs” and the public diplomacy battle versus Al Qaeda.
• Sandy Vogelgesang cites the importance of public diplomacy having a moral underpinning so it will “reflect the nation’s traditional moral values.”  She writes that “U.S. government officials should lecture less and listen more” (an opinion more recently voiced by Undersecretary of State Judith McHale).

The work of these and other contributors to the proceedings underscores the still evolving nature of public diplomacy. As the field has developed, it has become broader and more complex, with many players delivering messages in many venues. Sandy Vogelgesang notes that “an image of a suicide bomber on YouTube can trump the Pentagon’s latest press release on security success in Baghdad.” 

The early public diplomacy of the Obama administration reflects the intrinsically dynamic nature of the field; in this instance the personalization of American public diplomacy efforts to an extent unprecedented in recent times.

What has not changed, however, is something Murrow recognized early on: public diplomacy is dependent on policy. Without that linkage, the credibility Murrow stressed cannot be attained.  (In the nation-branding field, for example, “North Korea – friend to all” presumably wouldn’t work, no matter how lavish the campaign.)

A case can be made that as public diplomacy has become more sophisticated, its proponents have lost sight of the fundamental importance of truth. Cutting corners is easy; truth is susceptible to infringement by those who overvalue expediency.

No nation’s public diplomacy is immune to this. Succumbing to the degradation of truth will ultimately leave that public diplomacy ineffective or worse. Ed Murrow’s prescription for credible public diplomacy is as valid today as it was nearly a half-century ago. The Fletcher Forum provides a valuable service by reminding us of that.

The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Special Edition 2008, Vol. 32:3, pp. 110, The Fletcher School, Tufts University.