Public Diplomacy
- KEY PEOPLE
- PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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The Baker Institute plays an active role on public diplomacy, and at the request of the U.S. administration, the institute has entered into direct consultations with senior administration officials to provide them with a strategic game plan on Public Diplomacy in the Muslim World. Many of the recommendations have been implemented by the U.S. Department of State.
The following is excerpted from a March 2005 Baker Institute Policy Report, Public Diplomacy Game Plan: A Strategy for Reaching Defined United States Interests and Objectives in the Arab and Muslim World. This report was presented to the State Department.
Strategic Direction and the Struggle for Ideas
Recommendation- The enhanced definition of public diplomacy should be "to first listen and understand, and then inform, engage, and influence foreign audiences." This is the modus operandi of public diplomacy. What follows is how to get this done effectively, with clarity of purpose and vision.
The Interface of United States Values and Policies with Public Diplomacy
Recommendation- United States values and policy goals in the Arab and Muslim world need to be communicated more clearly, candidly, and tailored to specific audiences in different countries and regions of the broader Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the rest of the Muslim world. We must underscore the common ground between our values and our policies. United States policy in the region must also address concomitantly all three of the major "prisms" through which opinions of us are mainly formed and each at its own pace: namely the Arab-Israeli conflict and especially the issue of Palestine, Iraq, and the issue of political and economic governance and the pressing need for reforms.
The Organizational Challenge for a Transformed Public Diplomacy Architecture and Operations
General Recommendations
- U.S. interests and the policies to pursue them should be clearly identified. Public diplomacy must be part of the process of policy formulation ("in on the takeoffs as well as the crash landings"). Public diplomacy officials must have access to the formulation of foreign policy in order to advise on methods of presentation and likely responses in other countries. Warnings of adverse reactions should not alter policy, but rather prepare policymakers.
- The public diplomacy strategy to support the policies should include elements that are both long-term and short-term.
- Based on extensive research, specific programs within the strategy should be set and responsibilities carried out among different government departments in partnership with the private sector, including nongovernmental organizations, wherever possible. Those programs should have clear, quantifiable goals and avoid unnecessary layers, and managers must be held accountable.
- Progress toward achieving the goals should be tested and course corrections made.
- At the end of this process, the goals should be achieved--though, in many cases, the long-term objectives will never be fully met and those programs must continue.
Recommendations for the White House
- We urgently recommend that the interagency NSC/PCC be reactivated and co-chaired by the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and by a high-level representative of the National Security Council who will report to National Security Advisor Steve Hadley.
Recommendations for the State Department
- As was done some years ago with regard to trade promotion, the President‚s letter of instruction to Chiefs of Mission should be revised to emphasize the critical importance of public diplomacy to national security and to highlight the expectation that Chiefs of Mission will personally participate in public diplomacy activities and ensure that the members of their staffs do likewise. The Secretary of State should reinforce this step by reiterating the same message in a formal communication to U.S.-based employees through the Assistant Secretaries.
Summary Recommendations for the Secretary of State
- Formally empower the Under Secretary to require missions abroad to formulate country-specific public diplomacy program and resource plans for the Under Secretary‚s approval in consultation with the geographic Assistant Secretaries;
- Formally empower the Under Secretary to review financial resources and shift them in accordance with the current priorities and needs in consultation with the geographic Assistant Secretaries and the Assistant Secretary for Resource Management; and
- Formally give the Under Secretary the authority to concur in the assignment of public affairs officers abroad and Public Diplomacy Office Directors at home and to contribute to the evaluation of their performance and to have a direct input into the Performance Evaluation reports of the regional assistant secretaries of state and Chiefs of Mission on their performance in advancing public diplomacy objectives.
Summary Recommendations for the Under Secretary of State
- Establish as a high priority a "Communications Unit for the Arab and Muslim World.”
Human Resources:
Recommendations for Human Resources- A full scale review of the Foreign Service's language and regional training programs should be undertaken to develop a future course of action that will train sufficient numbers of personnel in the languages of the Arab and Muslim world at levels of professional fluency. For example, a goal of 600 4/4 Arabic speakers by 2008-2010 should be set.
- An overall review of the assignment and career patterns of language and regional trained personnel is important to assure that Foreign Service Officers maintain their language skills and regional expertise throughout their careers.
- A special effort should be made to recruit into the Foreign Service first-generation Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans who understand the languages and cultures of both the United States and the Arab and Muslim countries.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for Access to American Education & Exchange Programs- Expand, where appropriate, academic and cultural exchange programs and international visitors programs, especially in areas like journalism and media studies that can have a direct impact on how the United States and its policies are viewed in the Muslim world.
- Strike the right balance between security requirements post 9/11 and student visa policies and procedures in order to stem the decline in foreign student visa applications and issuance.
- Major increases in resources to help Arabs and Muslims gain access to American education and creatively finding ways to link American educational institutions with those in the Arab and Muslim countries.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for English Language Training- Expand the English Language Fellows Program which places approximately 100 American teachers in local host institutions each year on a 10-month grant to teach, train teachers and develop curricula.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for American Corners- The American Corners concept should be expanded in the Arab and Muslim world. They can be launched with outlays of approximately $30,000-40,000.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for Technology & Communications- Substantially more public diplomacy resources must be set aside for the translation of Internet-linked information and news on U.S. Government web sites in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Urdu, Bahasa Indonesia and other key regional languages.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for the Private Sector Role, Including NGOs- United States public diplomacy should support local NGOs in the Arab and Muslim society as such organizations develop independent of extremist groups and ideas. These local groups and initiatives could provide the building blocks for a new middle class that could be the basis of a democratic cadre and an indigenous force for economic and political reforms.
The Instruments of Public Diplomacy:
Recommendations for Al-Hurra/TV and Radio Sawa- U.S.-sponsored international broadcasting, with the exception of the news function itself, should be brought under the strategic direction of the public diplomacy policies and goals of the United States Government as defined by the President, the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.
- Conduct a thorough review of the strategy and operations of Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra, both in terms of substantive content of programs and personnel and administrative policies and controls.
- Create a tax-exempt foundation for public diplomacy, supported by both private and public funds, that acquires and produces high-quality American programs to be provided free-of-charge to TV channels in the Arab and Muslim countries. This organization would also make grants to individual producers and to independent, indigenous media channels with the aim of creating and disseminating quality programming in the region. This foundation would complement the outreach of the U.S.-sponsored international broadcasting operations.
- PUBLICATIONS
- 2008
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Video Briefing Transcript: Prospects for Peace in the Middle East
Feb 26 2008Edward P. Djerejian
- 2007
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Final Status: Jerusalem and Return
Oct 25 2007Sari Nusseibeh
- 2006
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From Conflict Management to Conflict Resolution
Nov 01 2006Edward P. Djerejian
- 2003
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Changing Minds Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab & Muslim World
Oct 01 2003Edward P. Djerejian
