What's "In the Works" for CPD Perspectives Guest Editor Vivian Walker?

In 2016, we published this feature on Vivian S. Walker as part of our periodic roundup of news from the international PD scholarly community.

Since then, the CPD Faculty Fellow has embarked on several new projects, including joining the Center as Guest Editor for CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy, where she edits all submissions, oversees the peer-review process, and works with contributors to bring out the latest relevance of their cutting-edge research, analysis and recommendations.

Vivian is currently working with the American Councils, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Ukraine’s diplomats build their public diplomacy skills. Most recently, she launched the first mid-level professional training course in public diplomacy at Ukraine's diplomatic academy.

Here’s what else she’s been up to:

Central European University (CEU): Research Fellow, Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS)
Vivian has joined CEU’s cutting-edge media research group, which develops and promotes groundbreaking research and programming on the challenges to effective communication in the global information space. CMDS Director Marius Dragomir writes, "Our Center for Media, Data and Society - CMDS fellow Vivian S. Walker... is our key expert in strategic communications and narratives."

Adjunct Professor, CEU School for Public Policy
Most recent graduate-level course taught: "Strategic Security Narratives in a Post-Truth Environment."

Winter 2019: CPD Mini-Course in Brussels
Designed and taught a new module on transforming data into strategic narratives for CPD's first-ever mini-course in Europe. 

Winter 2017–2019: National Defense College of the UAE in Abu Dhabi
Delivering the annual keynote lecture on public diplomacy.

Summer 2016–2018: CPD Summer Institute
Designed and taught a module, "Crisis Communications: Managing the Message," for CPD's cutting-edge, flagship training program for public diplomacy professionals.

Fall 2017–2018: Strategic Communications Trainer, Tbilisi, Georgia. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Designed and taught an intensive short course for government officials, NGO leaders and journalists on strategic communication in complex media environments.

October 2018: Lecturer: Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tbilisi, Georgia
Delivered training sessions in public diplomacy/strategic communications for Georgian diplomats.

September 2018: Keynote Speaker: The Parliament of the Republic of Georgia 
Lectured on “Communicating Georgia Strategically” in the Georgian parliament’s first-ever public session on Strategic Communications—Key Objectives and Targets in a Complex Information Environment.

May 2018: Strategic Communications Trainer, Tbilisi, Georgia: The East-West Management Institute
Designed and taught an intensive course for USAID grantees (journalists, NGO leaders and academics) working on countering disinformation in the Georgian media space.

May 2018: National Democratic Institute’s International Conference, "The Power of Research in the Fight Against Disinformation and Its Impact," in Tbilisi, Georgia
Delivered keynote address, “Crafting Resilient Narratives in Post-Truth Environments.”

Fall 2017–Winter 2018: The Hungarian National Public Service University.
Lectured on “Disinformation Challenges in the Global Media Space” and “The Non-Military Instruments of Power.” Audiences included future Hungarian and international civilian and military leaders.

Publications:

• “San Bernardino: A Case Study in Crisis Messaging,” forthcoming in the new second edition of the Routledge Handbook on Public Diplomacy, edited by Nick Cull and Nancy Snow.
   
• “Say It with Statues: Brick-and-Mortar Revisionism in Orban’s Hungary,” War on the Rocks, (University of Texas: Texas National Security Network), February 8, 2019.
   
• “Migrants, Moral Panic and Intolerance in Hungarian Politics,” with Lorant Gyori, in War on the Rocks, (University of Texas: Texas National Security Network), July 24, 2018.
   
• “Public Diplomacy and the Decline of Liberal Democracy,” The Soft Power 30: A Global Ranking of Soft Power, 2018 (Portland, Facebook and USC Center on Public Diplomacy), July 2018.
   
• “Six Narratives in Search of a Truth: The Georgian “Rave Revolution,” CPD Blog, May 28, 2018.
   
• “The Floating Tree: Crafting Resilient State Narratives in Post-Truth Environments: The Case of Georgia," CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy (Los Angeles: USC Center on Public Diplomacy), October 2017.
   
• “From Pylos to Pyongyang: What Thucydides Can Teach Us about Contemporary Diplomacy,” Small Wars Journal, August 28, 2017.
   
• “Crafting Resilient State Narratives in Post Truth Environments: Ukraine and Georgia," Can Public Diplomacy Survive the Internet? Bots, Echo Chambers, and Disinformation, Shawn Powers and Markos Kounalakis, eds. (U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy), May 2017.
   
• “The Reem Island Ghost: Framing State Narratives on Terror,” CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy, (Los Angeles: USC Center on Public Diplomacy), September 2016.
   
• “State Narratives in Complex Media Environments: The Case of Ukraine,” Case 331 (Georgetown University, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy), December 2015.
   
• “Benghazi:  Managing the Message,” CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy (Los Angeles: USC Center on Public Diplomacy), April 2015.

Read Vivian's bio here.

About this series:

"In the Works" is CPD's periodic roundup of news from the international PD scholarly community. If you've taken up a new academic position, published a new work or recently embarked on a research project on a public diplomacy topic, let us know! All updates can be sent to cpd@usc.edu. Please be sure to use "In the Works" in the subject heading.