united states

Anyone who has ever patched up a relationship with a bouquet knows the power of flowers. Without having to say "sorry," hurt feeling seem to float away like petals in a breeze. [...] In her handsome, 144-page hardcover book, Dowling explains how diplomatic messages can be conveyed through botanical metaphors.

Anti-Islamophobia Rally

"How can U.S. public diplomacy...maintain any credibility given what appears to be an openly Islamophobic administration?" asks Mieczysław P. Boduszyński.

The State Department and USAID are often conflated as parts of America’s “soft power” apparatus. And it’s true that in the broadest sense they seek to, as a joint mission statement puts it, “shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world, and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere.” But beyond that they are dissimilar in every important way: The tasks they perform, what they value, their operating principles and how they carry out their work are profoundly different.

Rex Tillerson is clamping down further on hiring as part of his push to overhaul the U.S. State Department, in a move likely to exacerbate concerns that a large number of unfilled jobs is diminishing his agency’s role in shaping foreign policy. In a memo sent June 26 and obtained by Bloomberg News, bureaus are ordered to temporarily stop all transfers and reassignments and are barred from appointing new envoys. Any other request to “increase, expand or proliferate organization structures in the Department” must also be stopped.

Whether you are an executive working for an American multinational company, university, or NGO, or a diplomat serving in our embassies and missions abroad, in the age of President Trump we need to all radically rethink and reconsider our social engagement strategies.

Cari Guittard's advice for how both state and non-state actors can connect with the public under the current president.

The United States State Department’s Premier Leadership Programme is designed to expose international leaders in their field to the work done by their American counterparts. The theme of the exchange was centered on the sustainable use and management of ocean resources and numerous meetings and information exchanges were held with various governmental, non-governmental and industry partners.

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