A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
Call For More Balanced Security Budget
As the United States struggles to deal with what some analysts say is its most serious financial crisis in decades, a group of experts called on Monday for major changes in the way Washington spends money to protect its national security...Indeed, the US is currently spending $16 on military programs for every dollar it spends on diplomacy. That ratio will increase to 18:1 next year, when the Pentagon is likely to get nearly $540 billion, while the State Department's allocation is likely to fall short of $40 billion.
Catherine Fieschi announced as Director of The British Council’s Think Tank Counterpoint
The British Council is delighted to announce the appointment of Catherine Fieschi as Director of Counterpoint, the British Council’s cultural relations think tank. Catherine Fieschi brings a wealth of experience to a role which will see her shape and develop the thinking on the future of public diplomacy and cultural relations.Catherine is the former Director of Demos, and is a regular commentator on identity politics in the UK and Europe.
S. 3546: A bill to establish the National Center for Strategic Communication
A bill to establish the National Center for Strategic Communication to advise the President regarding public diplomacy and international broadcasting to promote democracy and human rights, and for other purposes. [this link provides tracking of the bill's progress through the legislative process)
A Reliance on Smart Power - Reforming the Public Diplomacy Bureaucracy
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The hearing examines the elements of the federal government responsible for coordinating our public diplomacy, including their respective missions, organizational structures, workforce, and management.
US citizens call for better global ties
A big majority of Americans think the US should concentrate on repairing its world image to help restore its global influence, according to survey results just published. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey found that 83 per cent of respondents thought that improving their country’s world standing should be a “very important” foreign policy goal. This was the highest priority, ranking above the 80 per cent who saw protecting US jobs as very important.
Public Opinion Study 2008
On Monday, September 22, 2008, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released a report of findings on American attitudes toward a number of important foreign policy issues. The findings show the American public is concerned about the country’s standing in the world and favors major changes in U.S. foreign policy.
Europeans see Moscow as security threat
The Russian military’s recent incursion into Georgia means that many more west Europeans now regard Russia as a greater threat to global stability than states such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea, according to a survey for the Financial Times. Despite this, a clear majority of people in western Europe remain firmly opposed to their governments spending more on defence and diverting resources away from public health and social programmes.
Burma’s secret schools of dissent
Monks teach children critical thinking and human rights, to groom the next generation of activists. For decades, many of these activists had to learn about human rights and Burmese history by reading smuggled books or through underground political discussion groups. More recently, young Burmese in Rangoon have turned to the American Center, an appendage of the US Embassy that provides foreign books and magazines.
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