Righting the Wrong Smart Power in Afghanistan

New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote a piece on “Smart Power Setback,” harshly criticizing the international aid system and the way it has operated in Afghanistan over the past decade. Drawing on the recent U.S. Read More

“Radio In a Box”: Psyops, Afghanistan and the Aesthetics of the Low-Tech

Co-Author: Sam Jacobson During research on media and conflict in Afghanistan, Professor Price came across the interesting phenomenon of "Radio in a Box," or RIAB. Captivated by the phrase and concept, he sought to find out more about it. Read More

Israeli PD & Arab Publics II: An Addendum on Leon Wieseltier

In March 2011 I wrote a piece for the CPD Blog entitled "Israeli Public Diplomacy’s Longstanding Blind Spot: Arab Publics,” in which I posited that historical attitudes reaching back to the dawn of the Zionist movement provide a context, if not a continuous mode of thought, lying behind Israel’s inability and unwillingness to construct a public diplomacy program that directly en Read More

AIDS and Public Diplomacy

Thirty years ago this month, the first cases of what was to become known as AIDS were diagnosed. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 25 million persons have died from AIDS. More than 60 million people have been infected, and in southern Africa alone there are 14 million children orphaned because of AIDS. Read More

Xinhua, China’s Soft Power Initiative and the Return of the New World Information Order

I’ve been tracking elements of China’s complicated and ambitious policy of expanding its information sphere to a possibly waiting world. In late May, I heard Dr. Hu Zhengrong, one of China’s most distinguished ambassadors to the international academic world, give a talk on this “going out” policy to the International Communications Association in Boston. Read More

The Force of Rudd: Promoting Australia’s Campaign for the United Nations Security Council

Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is pressing ahead on a high profile public diplomacy campaign to secure support for Australia’s bid to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2013-14. There is much to be said about the public diplomacy value of political leaders in such campaigns. Kevin Rudd is a case in point. Previously Australia’s Prime Minister, Rudd is already well known and regarded among political and intellectual elite audiences across the globe. Read More

Judith McHale Departs

Judith McHale’s departure from her position as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs presents an opportunity not only to appraise her tenure, but also to consider the future direction of U.S. public diplomacy. Read More

Obama Tries Again in the Arab World

DUBAI --- Take a look at Barack Obama’s 2009 speech in Cairo. It was beautifully written and radiated good intentions. The U.S. government relied heavily on new media tools to disseminate it throughout the Arab world and beyond. Arab opinion of Obama improved significantly; and then it dropped like a rock. Read More

Opportunities for Southern California Public Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

APDS Blogger: Jerry Edling Read More

The Power of Mothers Globally

In honor of Mother’s Day and in preparation for a speech I’m due to give to the International Women’s Festival in Accra, Ghana this week I’ve been researching the impact and role of Mothers on societies globally. The ancient Chinese proverb and title of Nick Kristof’s groundbreaking book, “Women Hold up Half the Sky” which inspired me to become more involved in women’s issues. Read More

Search form

Pages

STAY IN THE KNOW