The United States and the Challenge of Public Diplomacy

Through personal experience and a lively narrative, this book examines the difficulty of communicating in adversarial environments like Iraq and Afghanistan, the complexity of multi-linguistic communications, and the importance of directing American cultural power in the national interest. "The attacks of September 11th established a new era of US foreign policy - one marked by a profound focus on public diplomacy. With tremendous resources poured into diplomatic efforts to curry favor with foreign audiences, the efficacy of these efforts are subjected to continual debate in the American political consciousness. Some of the most crucial players in this topic - public diplomats themselves - have been missing from this discussion. Using his personal experience in NATO's Public Diplomacy Division, Snyder examines the difficulty of communicating in adversarial environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the complexity of multi-linguistic communications, and the importance of directing American cultural power in the national interest. The book also critically examines the use of rhetoric, new communications technologies such as the Internet and virtual worlds, and the role of non-governmental organizations that promote cross-cultural understanding and engage in private diplomacy. Finally, the book looks closely at American political culture itself to provide perspective for the nation's image abroad."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Introduction: Crossing the Last Three Feet....Pages 1-8 Fighting Words....Pages 9-26 What We Are Talking about When We Talk about Engagement....Pages 27-61 Extreme Public Diplomacy....Pages 63-71 Overt Operations....Pages 73-89 Virtual Diplomacy....Pages 91-101 Radio Free America....Pages 103-111 Matters of Interpretation....Pages 113-130 See What They Do....Pages 131-139 Nongovernmental Diplomacy....Pages 141-151 The Diplomatic Arts....Pages 153-168 The Americans....Pages 169-181 Back Matter....Pages 183-215