Academics are extremely privileged. They are paid to think and to express their ideas--it's incredible." Image from
--Molly Bettie, writing in her blog, "Public Diplomacy and Student Exchanges: Possibly the first study of the Fulbright Program to be conducted by someone who isn't affiliated with it in any way..."
ESSAY
A final nail in the USSR coffin? - Thank you from NATO, Vladimir Vladimirovich! - John Brown, Notes and Essays: "Vladimir Putin, perhaps unknowingly, is putting a final nail in the coffin of the performer (artist is too strong a word) formerly known as the
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Off the Shelf - harvardmagazine.com: "Through a Screen Darkly, by Martha Bayles ’70 (Yale, $30). The author, a lecturer at Boston College, finds that the United States, in deemphasizing 'public diplomacy,' cedes to popular culture the role of conveying American values around the world.
The result is images of violence and vulgarity—at the expense of messages about freedom and human dignity." Image from entry, with caption: The wrack at your feet, made lovely: Josie Iselin’s photograph of Botryocladia pseudodichotoma, sea grapes, from San Clemente Island, California
Moscow turns off Voice of America radio - To Inform is to Influence: IO, SC, PD, what's in a name?: "In a merciless blow to American Public Diplomacy, Russia has turned off the final vestiage of international broadcasting into Russia. All that is left is satellite broadcasts and the internet.
Again, Russia is demonstrating they [sic] are terrified of the truth from beyond their borders. This is a sign of an oppressive government who fears the truth most." Image from entry
U.S. eyes on Japan’s security 4/China’s ADIZ declaration challenges regional order - the-japan-news.com: "In this fourth installment of an interview series on Japan’s diplomacy and military strategy in East Asia, Prof. Toshi Yoshihara
of the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I., explains Beijing’s intentions behind the declared air defense identification zone (ADIZ). ... [Yoshihara:] There’s a battle of narratives going on. My concern is that the Chinese are telling a better story than the Japanese. There are some audiences in the United States that are inclined to be more receptive to the Chinese narrative than the Japanese one. Japan thus needs to shore up its public diplomacy and outreach efforts. The Chinese are really good at this business. We need to recognize that the art of persuasion is an important element of this competition." Yoshihara image from entry
The decline of Iran’s Blogestan - Fred Petrossian, Arash Abadpour, Mahsa Alimardani, Washington Post: "Already the nature of Facebook and Twitter as a platform of communication between members of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration and Iranian and non-Iranian Internet users has begun to change the nature of Iranian public diplomacy, despite the prevailing filters on these Web sites. The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance has also stated that more than 4 million Iranians are members of Facebook (although an exact figure is hard to find) – a number far beyond the amount of Iranian bloggers that ever existed.
This transition has in effect expanded the participatory potentials of Iran’s online public sphere. While membership on these social networks remains restricted by state censorship, it is almost ubiquitous with the use of circumvention software. ... Discussions are often now relegated to likes and shares as opposed to the discussions and debates that long-form blog posts used to incite. ... Fred Petrossian is online editor-in-chief of Radio Farda." Image from entry
The external perceptions literature and the construction of gaps in European Union foreign policy - Henrik Larsen, palgrave-journals.com [susbcription]: Sentence from Google blog search: "Unsurprisingly, the official European Commission line does not refer to gap between the EU's public diplomacy and external perceptions of the Union."
The Hope That Never Dies - Monica Ellena, Civil.ge: "[There are] 2,000 people whom the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) says are unaccounted for from the 13-month war in Abkhazia in 1992-1993. ... Parents from both sides began to search for their missing relatives immediately after the conflict ended. ... Two associations – Georgia’s Molodini (Expectation) and Abkhazia’s Mothers of Abkhazia for Peace and Social Justice – led the way. ... Eventually, the parents’ public diplomacy
paid off, as over 314 people returned to Abkhazian and Georgian families over the years." Image from entry, with caption: A memorial dedicated to those fallen in the war in Abkhazia in early 1990s lays in the centre of Park Slavy (Park of Glory) in the heart of Sokhumi. Created by the sculptor Amiran Adleiba, it features a stylized sword stuck into the ground.
Reform is the best public diplomacy - Zhang Zhongkai (Xinhua) - peopledaily.com: "As Friday's curtain came down on this year's Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a public diplomacy event, the lasting effect on China should be progress and reform. It is fair to say that the four days of the conference, covering sixty topics and attracting over 3,000 global figures from all walks of life, were a good example of public diplomacy itself. As we know, actions speak louder and better than words, and this is especially true when enhancing a country's influence in the diplomatic world. Enduring international appeal does not come from publicity campaigns, but from competitiveness fuelled by continuous reform. China is indeed attractive to the world with its history and culture, but more importantly, it is now a marketplace of middle class consumers for global investors. The rosy future is not without thorns, however. While barriers still exist in many sectors - intellectual property rights protection is weak and regional development, uneven - China is well aware of its problems, evident during the forum events attended by officials with a clear reform map in mind. From entrepreneurship to innovation, from microfinance to opening up capital markets, from the Shanghai FTZ to the maritime Silk Road, the range of reforms shows an eagerness for new growth, through both domestic reform and international cooperation. Cross-market trading by mainland and Hong Kong investors on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges was announced during the forum, and we can expect more reforms, as mentioned in Premier Li Keqiang's speech at the opening ceremony. China is committed to opening up markets, economic restructuring and improving the lives of its people. Credibility is the cornerstone of effective public diplomacy, and China now has to honor its promises to earn global trust and approval. Reform cannot be achieved overnight and it will be an uphill journey. A China story with twists and turns will be a more interesting -- and convincing -- form of public diplomacy."
Would love to dance on Gangnam style with Psy, says SRK - niticentral.com: "Superstar Shah Rukh Khan was appointed the ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ of Korea in a glittering ceremony in Gurgaon on Friday. Shah Rukh also expressed his desire to dance with Korean rapper sensation to the tunes of his global smash hit ‘Gangnam Style’. ... The Korean Government initiated the public diplomacy agenda ‘The Goodwill Ambassador’ in 2012. Shah Rukh is the eighth foreign celebrity to have been given
this honour." Image from entry, with caption: Shahrukh Khan with martial artists after receiving the certificate for ‘Goodwill Ambassador of Public Diplomacy’ for Korea, in Gurgaon on Friday. See also
Minister for foreign policy overhaul - ekantipur.com: "Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahendra Bahadur Pandey has said that time has come to reform the foreign policy given the changed political context of the country. He said it is becoming pertinent to redefine the neighborhood policy altogether with the overall policy conduct. Speaking at an interaction with some editors and correspondent held at ministry to discuss measures to be taken for successful conduct of the country’s external relations in the changed context, Pandey said the ministry is undertaking some concrete steps on the matter. ... Minister Pandey also informed that a separate public diplomacy division is in the offing."
AK Party gov't treats critical letters, columns as ‘treachery' - cihan.com: "In an attempt to defame the Hizmet movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish government and its media outlets have presented letters sent by civil society representatives affiliated with the faith-based movement to foreign officials providing them with information about the situation in Turkey as 'treachery.' ... A letter sent by Cemalettin Haşimi, coordinator of the Prime Ministry Office of Public Diplomacy, says: “The group known as the Gülen movement, involved in the recent attacks on the government, has for the last two years been critical of the government ... Until the last couple of years, the Gülen movement had been pro-government during the struggle against military tutelage, but then their members began to get positions and specifically they got stronger both in the police force and the judiciary (In official positions, they usually reject any kind of connections). ... The creation of such a network within the state, I personally believe, is the biggest danger to a democratic, transparent state.'"
Exhibition showcases Czech artistry in glass and porcelain - blogs.praguepost.com: “'Brilliant By Design' is the title of an exhibition showcasing the work of current Czech designers as produced by the country’s premier glass and porcelain manufacturers. The contemporary designer pieces are set against their historical predecessors, highlighting different aspects of the Czech glass and porcelain manufacturing tradition.
The traveling exhibition can now be viewed at the Design museum Gent between March 28 and June 1, 2014. Czech glass and porcelain rank among the Czech Republic’s most successful exports. A long manufacturing tradition has contributed to their current high quality and artistic excellence. Since the mid-19th century, when showcasing their products at exhibitions around the world, Czech glass manufacturers have used designs by academically trained artists. Nowadays, artists and designers are an integral part of the entire manufacturing process. ... The Czech Centres are an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, established to strengthen the good name of the Czech Republic abroad through public diplomacy. Through our network of 22 Czech Centres on three continents, we bring the finest in Czech culture and education to audiences around the world." Uncaptioned image from entry
On the Precipice of Austria and Ottomania - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Bosnia is in the World Cup, and Brazil's green and yellow banner is quite common. Of course, this has me wondering what kind of public diplomacy Brazil is doing to countries in the World Cup. This is such an incredible departure point for public diplomacy, and Brazil could have a field day doing cultural diplomacy and gastrodiplomacy in countries that will play in the World Cup. I'm sure Bosnia would absolutely love Brazilian rodizio- the skewers of grilled meats, and enjoy dancing to the samba beat. I feel an op-ed coming on..."
The Daily: Modernization by Way of Hacking - Michael Ardaiolo, thepublicdiplomat.com. Summary of PD-related articles.
New Work by PD Council Members – Joe Johnson, Public Diplomacy Council: "Donna Oglesby has published an article for Layalina Productions titled The Political Promise of Public Diplomacy. Should practitioners of public diplomacy pay more attention to political argument and debate in today's communication environment? Go to the link to get Oglesby's perspective. And Bruce Gregory has updated his compilation of recent work about public diplomacy, which we carry on these pages. Find summaries and links to articles about everything from Hip Hop foreign policy to Robert Gates' memoirs in this edition."
North Korean Human Rights Concerns and Its Challenges - abcclio.blogspot.com: "Mikyoung Kim is Associate Professor at Hiroshima City University-Hiroshima. She was a Fulbright visiting professor at
RELATED ITEMS
Ukraine: Russian propaganda and three disaster scenarios: The Russian leadership has become entangled in the logic of its own propaganda - Mykola Riabchuk,aljazeera.com: The rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin justifying the Anschluss of Crimea and unscrupulous meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs has been based on the premises that there is no legitimate government in Kiev, that it is being run by a gang of Nazis and anti-Semites who took power by coup d'etat and terrorised Russians and Russophones all over the country.
Such a claim, however calumnious and fully disproved on the ground by independent observers, opinion polls and the minorities themselves, can be sold nonetheless to some audiences, at least Russian, willing for various reasons to be fooled. Uncaptioned image from entry
CBC cuts 657 jobs, reduces programs - theglobeandmail.com: 'The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years, as part of a plan to confront a $130-million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year.' The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years, as part of a plan to confront a $130-million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years, as part of a plan to confront a $130-million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years, as part of a plan to confront a $130-million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year.Via ACP III on Facbook .
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