"I do not recall his ever asking me if I thought going to war with Iraq was the right decision.”
--Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in his recent memoirs, speaking of President George W. Bush; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Obama’s challenges in Egypt involve delicate diplomacy and public diplomacy - William A. Rugh, Whirled View: "The Obama administration faces a difficult challenge because it has very little control over a situation whose outcome will have an impact on US interests in the Middle East for some time to come. This is a time for sensitive and smart diplomacy and careful public diplomacy as well, in support of that diplomacy and our national interests. This is also an unusual moment, when the president and secretary of state are personally involved almost every day, as are their spokespersons, in the public diplomacy effort, because our policy toward Egypt is
such a high priority policy issue. ... The Obama administration has also taken advantage of the Egyptian situation to send a message in public to other authoritarian regimes in the Arab world that they should undertake reforms now. Without naming countries specifically, Secretary Clinton has made public statements about the need for reform in the region. This public diplomacy is almost certainly mirroring what American ambassadors are saying privately to selected Arab leaders, but it is helpful to them in this task that Clinton is saying it publicly. .... The best outcome for us and for Egypt would be for Sulaiman to facilitate the departure soon – before September – of Mubarak, and for El Baradei to head a transition government that allows secular political parties – which Mubarak had blocked—as well as the MB to participate in free national elections monitored by Jimmy Carter." Image from
Mired in confusion - DAWN.com: "The only thing clear about the case of Raymond Davis, the American man accused of shooting two young men in Lahore last month, is the amount of confusion it has generated. Too many questions remain about the incident, perhaps the most important concerning Mr Davis`s actual identity and whether he is a diplomat or not. Both the American and Pakistani governments have been engaged in public diplomacy about the fate of the accused — who is in Pakistani custody — and the verbal sparring is getting increasingly nasty. ... The American media has linked Mr Davis to an obscure Florida-based security firm. Was Mr Davis
a consulate staffer, a diplomat or a private security contractor working for the Americans? Was he assigned to the US embassy in Islamabad or the consulate in Lahore? These clarifications are required because different things have been said at different times about Raymond Davis. Clarity is also needed on the part of the government regarding the nature of the activities of foreign private security contractors in Pakistan." Image from
Two RFE/RL correspondents detained in Cairo (updated again: still no word from them since their arrest) - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
UK journalists' union: Egypt crisis shows BBC World Service needs "its own network of transmitters beyond the reach of dictators" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
More comments on the BBC World Service cuts, e.g.: "The shortwave was, and still is, indispensable" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Salehi hails special presidential envoys - presstv.ir: Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi
says the appointment of special envoys by the president helps advance the Foreign Ministry's objectives. 'The Foreign Ministry is completely aware about the dispatch of special presidential envoys… and there is no problem regarding this matter,' Salehi said on Saturday. Salehi added that all public diplomacy capacities such as parliamentary diplomacy and sending presidential envoys to other countries should be employed to advance the Foreign Ministry's objectives, IRNA reported." Salehi image from article
Soft Power and Public Diplomacy - asiknews.wordpress.com [Scroll down link for item]: "Public diplomacy is increasingly playing a visible role in China’s efforts to help improve its image and communicate its stand on key issues to the world. Prior to Hu’s U.S. visit, a promotional video on China was displayed in New York’s iconic Times Square. The 60 second video, which features basketball superstar Yao Ming and astronaut Yang Liwei among other celebrities, will stay on the big screen until Feb 14. The display, which included a 30-second commercial to be aired on US television and a 30-minute documentary, is part of a major campaign to promote China’s image in the United States. This is the first time that China has been promoted overseas on such a scale through a commercial channel.
Meanwhile China and Austria officially kicked off celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations with the Chinese New Year concert. It also marked the launch of Austria’s Year of China. To mark the anniversary, an array of rich cultural events will be offered in both China and Austria, including jointly held concerts, exhibitions, lectures and plays. Elsewhere in France, the first session of Chinese Movie Festival began in Paris. From January 26 to February 8, about 12 selected Chinese films of different styles will also hit screens of Lyon, Toulouse and Versailles, for the first time held in four French cities simultaneously. According to Chinese officials, this festival aims to provide an opportunity for French audience to enjoy ordinary Chinese films and promote Chinese films in France. Source: China Daily, January 26, 2011." Image from
Media warfare to silence the voices of the oppressed - Abdel Rahman Elsayed, Students for Palestinian rights: "When the Israeli government extends its war on the Palestinian people to cyberspace, under the guise of what they call hasbara, or 'public diplomacy' (Internet warfare), you will naturally find those who stand their ground and fight back. And it’s our moral duty to fight back. It’s our duty especially here in Canada."
UK weighs special unit to combat Olympics bad news - Avril Ormsby, Reuters: "Britain's Foreign Office should set up a 'rapid response unit' ahead of the 2012 Olympics to rebuff or correct negative stories which could damage the country's reputation, lawmakers said on Sunday. The foreign affairs committee expressed concern that the Foreign Office's overall message was ill-defined and that Britain should be
promoted as a 'diverse, inclusive and friendly country. Or in a word ... generous.' The Foreign Office (FCO) should also push London's status as the only city to have hosted the Games three times -- in 1908, 1948 and now 2012. 'The FCO ... will have a responsibility for seeking to influence overseas perceptions of any problems that arise,' the committee said in a report 'FCO Public Diplomacy: The Olympics.'" Image from
Mary Narayanan: 40 Years of Serving Denmark - scandasia.com: "For four decades, Mary Narayanan has served as an assistant to seven different Danish ambassadors in Singapore."
Image from article, with caption:Mary Narayanan with all 'her' Ambassadors to Singapore, from left to right: Ambassador Vibeke Rovsing Lauritzen, Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade and Investment. Ambassador Klavs Holm, Centre for Public Diplomacy. Ambassador Niels Dyrlund (sadly he passed away on 14/11/2010). Ambassador Jens Peter Larsen (retired). Ambassador Jørgen Holm (retired).
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
Norman Rockwell: Public Diplomacy used as USG celebratory propaganda in Ethiopia? - John Brown, Notes and Essays: Re Finale: Four Freedoms Exhibition at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: "US-government-sponsored cultural events overseas should should be asking important questions such as the following regarding Rockwell, as posed by the curator Tomas Pospiszyl in his article Socialist Evening Realistic Post:
It does not take an experienced connoisseur to notice the uncanny similarity between the widely popular art of Norman Rockwell and certain artworks of Socialist realism. Similarly, some of the official art created in the Soviet Union during Rockwell's most successful years could easily pass as emblematic of the Saturday Evening Post covers depicting that era.I think Norman Rockwell, for all his limitations as an artist, would agree with this approach to his work." Image: "Russian Schoolroom", Norman Rockwell (1967)
This can be a confusing realization given that these images originated from the two very polarized ideological standpoints of that time. Is this a mere coincidence of style, or are these two forms of expression somehow more deeply bound?
Mubarak thugs target Cairo Scholars listserv - Samer Ali, Bikya Masr: "If you are an American student or scholar working in Egypt, you likely heard about Cairo Scholars by word of mouth or Google search before your arrival. It’s often dubbed the 'Craigslist of Cairo' and upon landing you might have consulted this listserv to find an apartment, roommate, daycare, or Arabic lessons in your adoptive city. ... Since Wednesday, Cairo Scholars members have reported dozens of incidents of foreigners being arrested or detained for questioning by pro-Mubarak police and state security. This harassment is state-sponsored and constitutes a direct assault on cultural diplomacy and academic exchange with the people of Egypt. This pattern of intimidation includes that of journalists, whose prime offense is connecting Egypt to the outside world. Unlike Craigslist though, Cairo Scholars’ express purpose is to support specifically students and scholars abroad doing the work of cultural exchange and person-to-person diplomacy. For that reason, the list has a closed membership in order to promote a sense of community and relative trust among students and scholars abroad, who need to depend on each other for daily needs."
Analysis: This Idiotic Policy Is Costing The BBC Its Brightest Talent - Tim Luckhurst, dailymail.co.uk [Scroll down link for item]" "A calamitous error: BBC management’s determination to expel 50 per cent of network programme-making from London, regardless of the consequences. ... Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News, admits that 30 million listeners will be deprived of one of the most powerful instruments of British cultural diplomacy."
Iran warns France over Louvre artefacts: report - AFP, news.yahoo.com: "Tehran has warned it will cut cultural ties with France if renowned Paris museum The Louvre
fails to set up an exhibition of Persian artefacts in Iran as agreed, an official was Monday cited as saying. 'If this museum (The Louvre) fails to fulfill its commitment with the (Iranian) Cultural Heritage Organisation in the next two months, then we will cut cultural ties with France,' head of the organisation Hamid Baghai was quoted as saying by Tehran Emrouz newspaper. ... This is not the first time that Baghai has taken on a world-renowned museum. In February 2010, he said Tehran had severed ties with the British Museum in protest at repeated delays in lending the Islamic republic the world-famous Cyrus Cylinder, a fragmented 2,600-year old clay item bearing a cuneiform inscription." Louvre image from
Toeing a consistent line - Nicole Pope, Today's Zaman: "The Turkish government’s active engagement with its neighbors in the past couple of years, the lifting of visa requirements that has allowed more Arab tourists to visit the country and cultural diplomacy through soap operas have raised the country’s profile and its approval rating in the region, as a newly published Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) survey demonstrates."
The Great Game: Turkey and Russia in the Caucasus - Zaza Jgharkava, Georgia Today: "Following the Security Council of Turkey’s removal of Georgia and Armenia from the country’s list of national enemies last summer, officials in Ankara have found time for cultural diplomacy. The Turkish government has agreed to fund and carry out repairs on four Georgian churches on Turkish territory in exchange for rehabilitation of four mosques and the construction of one new place of worship for the country’s Muslims on Georgian territory.
Turkey has also been outstretching its hand to Armenia, first through the much-feted 'football diplomacy' of late 2009, and then through an agreement on the construction of an Armenian church on Turkish territory. It seems that Ankara is willing to spend both cultural and financial capital in battle for the hearts and minds of the Caucasus." Image from
Introducing Vietnam's cultural heritage sites to the world - VOVNews.vn: "Pham Sanh Chau, Head of UNESCO’s Department of Culture and Foreign Relations, who is also Secretary General of UNESCO Vietnam’s National Committee, granted an exclusive interview to VOV on the issue. ... Mr Chau: 2010 was one of the most successful years for Vietnam’s external affairs in general and its cultural diplomacy in particular. It was also a successful year in terms of urging UNESCO to recognise Vietnam’s cultural heritage sites, at least in four different categories of the global geographical park network, including 82 doctorate steles in Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), Thang Long Royal Citadel, Giong Festival and Dong Van Stone Highlands. Vietnam also organised a series of activities in foreign countries through 'Vietnamese Culture Days'. More important still, it devised a cultural diplomacy strategy for the next ten years and finalised procedures for organising Vietnamese Culture Day abroad."
RELATED ITEMS
Cairo is not Tehran: Islamists dominated the opposition in 1979 in Iran - Doyle McManus, latimes.com: Obama has a far better chance of seeing a benign outcome in Cairo than Carter did in Tehran. Still, no matter how well the Obama administration plays its hand, there are plenty of ways the situation in Egypt can go bad. And if it does, the president almost certainly will be blamed.
Militants, Women and Tahrir Sq. - Nicholas Kristof, New York Times: If democracy gains in the Middle East, there will be some demagogues, nationalists and jingoists, just as there are in America and Israel, and they may make diplomacy more complicated. But remember that it’s Mr. Mubarak’s repression, imprisonment and torture that nurtured angry extremists like Ayman al-Zawahri of Al Qaeda, the right-hand man of Osama bin Laden. It would be tragic if we let our anxieties impede our embrace of freedom and democracy in the world’s most populous Arab nation.
Why Israel fears a free Egypt - Aaron David Miller, Washington Post: The United States is unable to extricate itself from the region yet probably unable to fix these problems or alter its policies,
along with Israel, which looks at the possible transformation of the Middle East not as an opportunity but as a moment replete with risks. Image from
China, Twitter and 20-Year-Olds vs. the Pyramids - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: The Arab world has 100 million young people today between the ages of 15 and 29, many of them males who do not have the education to get a good job, buy an apartment and get married. That is trouble. Add in rising food prices, and the diffusion of Twitter, Facebook and texting, which finally gives them a voice to talk back to their leaders and directly to each other, and you have a very powerful change engine.
Super Awesome: al Qaeda Now Supporting Egyptian Protesters - Rusty Shackleford, The Jawa Report: Ayman al Zawahiri's top deputy, Thirwat Salah Shehata, has released a statement praising the Egyptian people and calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Shehata is a longtime member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), a core part of al Qaeda, and has served Zawahiri since the 1980s. In the statement, which was released on jihadist message boards known to carry al Qaeda propaganda, Shehata calls on the Egyptian people to "remain steadfast" and refuse to settle for economic concessions from Mubarak's regime. There's no evidence that al Qaeda is involved in the demonstrations, but it's something to think about if al Qaeda thinks that Mubarak's ouster would be good for them.
Can books about the fall of the Berlin Wall illuminate Egypt's protests? - Carolyn Kellogg, latimesblogs.latimes.com: It does seem that there is something that 2011 shares with 1989 -- that world events are, again, surprising. Below image from article
Internet freedom cannot wait - Editorial, Washington Post: "The Web," a Chinese official noted in a Wikileaked memo, "is fundamentally controllable." As long as U.S. support for a free and open Internet remains simply words, this conclusion will hold.
Short Film Showcase - Bon Voyage (1944) - flickeringmyth.blogspot.com: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring John Blythe and 'The Molière Players.' The first of two propaganda films made by Alfred Hitchcock on behalf of the British Ministry of Information and designed to boost morale for the French Resistance,
Bon Voyage tells the story of a daring escape from a Nazi prison by RAF Sergeant John Dougall (John Blythe). Co-scripted by Angus MacPhail, the man credited by Hitchcock as coining the term 'MacGuffin', Bon Voyage is also notable for its early use of multiple viewpoints - a technique employed by Akira Kurosawa to great effect in the 1950 classic Rashomon - and the 'unreliable flashback' that Hitchcock would revisit that same year with Stage Fright. Receiving only sporadic screenings in France at the time of its release, Bon Voyage was shelved for a number of years before being broadcast on US television alongside follow-up Aventure Magalache in the early 1990s. Image from article
