The Morsi Visit and New Guideposts for U.S. Public Diplomacy

Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi, is visiting the United States for the first time since taking office, and in an interview with the New York Times shortly before departing Cairo, he provided insights not only about his style of leadership but also about how Egypt has changed since the 2011 revolution that marked the end of Hosni Mubarak’s lengthy rule. Read More

Setting the Table for Diplomacy

In the latest instance of flag following fork, the U.S. State Department launched a new culinary diplomacy program, entitled "Diplomatic Culinary Partnership: Setting the Table for Diplomacy” The new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative was unveiled on September 7, 2012 at the penthouse of the State Department, and this gastrodiplomat was on hand for the lovely soiree. Read More

Diplomatic Security: Tweeting the Public Diplomacy Gospel

APDS Blogger: Marissa Cruz-Enriquez Read More

Culture Posts: Giving Voice to Publics

Last week, before the world caught on fire over a film clip, I wrote about the paradox of value promotion in public diplomacy. No matter how appealing promoting one’s values may be, trying to do so in a global arena is fraught with difficulty. Yet, because values are integral to a nation’s communication, public diplomacy will inevitably reflect those values. What’s happening between the U.S. Read More

Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad

David W. Lesch

In his 2005 book about Bashar al-Assad, The New Lion of Damascus, Trinity University professor David W. Lesch gave the young ruler of Syria the benefit of the doubt, engaging in what Lesch today admits was wishful thinking. He had hoped that Bashar would not follow in the bloody footsteps of his father, Hafiz, but rather would begin the reforms Syria so badly needed.

500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars

Kurt Eichenwald

American efforts to counter the threat of terrorism have spawned their own literary genre. Some of the books are little more than partisan tirades, some give credence to far-fetched conspiracy theories, but others are solidly researched and impart important lessons about fighting evil without demolishing essential national values.

The Challenges of YouTube Diplomacy

Ten years ago, the Innocence of Muslims controversy would not have happened. YouTube did not exist, and without this means of reaching a global audience the offensive snippets of the “film” would never have been seen. Read More

Culture Posts: Paradox of Promoting National Values in the Global Political Arena

I have always been intrigued by the desire of countries to convey their cultural, political or social values as part of their public diplomacy mission. On the surface, it is appealing. However, in practice, it is fraught with challenges and is something of a paradox. Read More

Washington DC USC forum focuses on person-to-person contacts

WASHINGTON – The personal touch was the focus of a USC public diplomacy forum here last week, the first in a series of 2012-2013 USC public diplomacy programs in the nation’s capital. Read More

The ‘Smart Power’ of Books in Building Bilateral Relations

On August 10, 1878, along the shore of a hazy blue lake in southwestern New York state, a Methodist Bishop and his flock of summer retreat parishioners kicked off a book club with big ambitions. Their four year course of independent reading aimed to raise education levels all across small town and rural America. More than 8,400 people enrolled that first year, returning to their homes to start over 10,000 local “circles” by 1900. Read More

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