This is the first book to frame U.S. public diplomacy in the broad sweep of American diplomatic practice from the early colonial period to the present. It tells the story of how change agents in practitioner communities – foreign service officers, cultural diplomats, broadcasters, citizens, soldiers, covert operatives, democratizers, and presidential aides – revolutionized traditional government-to-government diplomacy and moved diplomacy with the public into the mainstream. This deeply researched study bridges practice and multi-disciplinary scholarship. It challenges the common narrative that U.S. public diplomacy is a Cold War creation that was folded into the State Department in 1999 and briefly found new life after 9/11. It documents historical turning points, analyzes evolving patterns of practice, and examines societal drivers of an American way of diplomacy: a preference for hard power over soft power, episodic commitment to public diplomacy correlated with war and ambition, an information-dominant communication style, and American exceptionalism. It is an account of American diplomacy’s public dimension, the people who shaped it, and the socialization and digitalization that today extends diplomacy well beyond the confines of embassies and foreign ministries.

This book is about the domestic dimension of public diplomacy, which must be understood within the context of public diplomacy’s evolution over time. In the virtually connected world of today, newcomers such as supranational organizations, sub-states and Asian countries have had less difficulty than Western nation-states including a domestic dimension in public diplomacy. Doing so does not separate the domestic and international components; rather, it highlights that there is a holistic/integrative approach to public involvement at home and abroad. In Huijgh’s comprehensive analysis, including case studies from North America, Europa and the Asia-Pacific, public diplomacy’s international and domestic dimensions can be seen as stepping stones on a continuum of public participation that is central to international policymaking and conduct.

New technologies have opened up fresh possibilities for public diplomacy, but this has not erased the importance of history. On the contrary, the lessons of the past seem more relevant than ever, in an age in which communications play an unprecedented role. Whether communications are electronic or hand-delivered, the foundations remain as valid today as they ever have been. Blending history with insights from international relations, communication studies, psychology, and contemporary practice, Cull explores the five core areas of public diplomacy: listening, advocacy, cultural diplomacy, exchanges, and international broadcasting. He unpacks the approaches which have dominated in recent years – nation-branding and partnership – and sets out the foundations for successful global public engagement. Rich with case studies and examples drawn from ancient times through to our own digital age, the book shows the true capabilities and limits of emerging platforms and technologies, as well as drawing on lessons from the past which can empower us and help us to shape the future. This comprehensive and accessible introduction is essential reading for students, scholars, and practitioners, as well as anyone interested in understanding or mobilizing global public opinion.

Strategic public diplomacy, once commonly called propaganda, has existed since the twelfth century, when Richard I, crusading sovereign of England, plucked the eyes from his prisoners and returned them to his arch-rival Saladin--an unmistakable message intended to mold the image that Richard's foreign enemies had of him. Although their methods have grown more sophisticated and gentrified since the Middle Ages, the goal of governments employing strategic public diplomacy has remained essentially the same: to influence public or elite opinion in a foreign country for the purpose of turning the foreign policy of the target country to advantage. The first systematic analysis of the growing foreign public relations industry in the U.S., this remarkable text traces the impact that the political "image management" of other nations has had on the American foreign policy agenda. Documenting the evolution of these campaigns in both scale and sophistication, this book includes an analysis of the Justice Department's foreign agent registration records, numerous interviews with journalists, consultants, and key government officials, and a systematic assessment of media content to gauge the effectiveness of these attempts at news management. The author presents and tests elements of a general model of agenda-related communication effects, presenting case studies that illustrate the extent to which the American media are saturated with foreign diplomatic messages, including the recent effort of the Kuwaiti government-in-exile to influence public opinion in the U.S. during the Gulf War, and concludes with an inventory and discussion of the issues raised by the "export" of the knowledge-base and skills underlying new, sophisticated communication strategies now being employed on behalf of foreign interests. Based on fifteen years of exhaustive research, this book is ideal for courses in foreign policy, media, and politics.

Using newly declassified archives and interviews with practitioners, Nicholas J. Cull has pieced together the story of the final decade in the life of the United States Information Agency, revealing the decisions and actions that brought the United States' apparatus for public diplomacy into disarray.

Public diplomacy describes a government¿s efforts to conduct foreign policy and promote national interests through direct outreach and commun. with the population of a foreign country. Activities include providing info. to foreign publics through broadcast and Internet media and at libraries and other outreach facilities in foreign countries; conducting cultural diplomacy, such as art exhibits and music performances; and admin. internat. educational and professional exchange programs. This report discusses the issues concerning U.S. public diplomacy. Determining levels of public diplomacy funding. Establishing capabilities to improve monitoring and assessment of public diplomacy activities. Charts and tables.

This book tackles the pressing need to expand the vision of strategic US public diplomacy. It explores the interplay of power politics, culture, identity, and communication and explains how the underlying communication and political dynamics have redefined what 'strategic communication' means in today's international arena.