John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

Hal Brands, bloomberg.com The West needs a plan like it had against the Soviet Union. Image from article, with caption: fully armed Excerpt: The U.S. will not be able to contain a globally connected China in the same way it contained a relatively autarkic Soviet Union. Yet the U.S. will need to limit China’s malign influence just as it limited destabilizing Soviet activities during the Cold War. Here the history of that conflict does provide some helpful ideas. First, the Cold War analogy shows that multidimensional challenges require multidimensional responses. What made the Soviet menace so potent was that it combined a military threat to areas that were critical to the global balance of power with an ideological threat to the supremacy — perhaps even the survival — of liberal ideas. As a result, the U.S. and its allies responded not just with military and geopolitical containment of Soviet power, but with policies — from the Marshall Plan to public diplomacy [JB emphasis] initiative..

Amel al-Hilali, al-monitor.com Image from article, with caption:Tunisian protesters demonstrate outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling on their Islamist-led government to renew diplomatic relations with Syria and the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Tunis, Tunisia, May 28, 2013. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/01/tunisia-ennahda-restore-ties-syria-regime-arab-league.html#ixzz5cccbfLv7 Excerpt: On Dec. 27, the Syrian Cham Wings Airlines landed in Habib Bourguiba Airport in Monastir in eastern Tunisia, transporting 150 passengers.Social media activists posted on Facebook that the flight crowned the “public diplomacy” efforts of Syrians and Tunisians to pave the way for the resumption of relations.All eyes are on the outcome of the 30th Arab League Summit in Tunis in March and its stance toward the Syrian regime. Observers believe the restoration of ties and Damascus reopening its embassy in Tunisia are a matter of time, especially after Bahrain and the UAE, w..

eeas.europa.eu Image of EEAS Headquarters, Bussels fromThe European External Action Service (EEAS) supports the work of the High Representative in her tasks of conducting the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and chairing the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in her capacity as Vice President of the Commission with regard to her responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field including the coordination of other aspects of the EU’s external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with Member States, the Council and relevant services of the European Commission.The EEAS Strategic Communications Division (Stratcom) leads the European Union's communication on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as well as its external action more broadly. It provides around-the-clock professional support to the HR/VP in all her public diplomacy [JB emphasis] activities. This includes integrated communication campaigns and media rela..

reliefweb.int JOBfrom Palladium International Closing date: 25 Jan 2019Project The Pacific Labour Scheme and the Seasonal Worker Programme are two employment programs sponsored by the Australian government, which allow citizens of Pacific Countries to take up low and semi-skilled work opportunities with Australian employers in certain locations and industries. These programs increase circular labour mobility within Pacific countries, which builds people-to-people links and supports increased economic growth, employment and investment across the region.The Pacific Labour Facility (PLF) facilitates the connection of Australian employers with Pacific workers for both these programs. The facility also provides continuous support to Pacific workers who are taking part in the programs. The PLF will act as trusted intermediary in connecting Australian employers with Pacific workers and in its partnerships with Pacific countries, the private sector and other stakeholders. The PLF is man aged b..

Stuart Holliday, stamfordadvocate.com uncaptioned image from articleExcerpt: [R]ecent data (Kauffman 2018 State of Entrepreneurship in the U.S.) shows that American entrepreneurs overwhelmingly feel unsupported by the government. Around 80 percent of startups and older businesses (five years or more) did not receive government support to launch their enterprise -- despite 98 percent of American firms having fewer than 100 employees (Census Bureau’s 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs). This funding gap indicates the strong need for entrepreneurs to look beyond government channels in order to cultivate the expertise and experience to build innovative and economically vibrant societies. Nonpartisan institutions like Meridian International Center [JB - see] help bridge this gap through global leadership programs and training initiatives that fuse together entrepreneurial thought, leadership development and multicultural understanding, all in one place. Historically, leadership programs ha..

youtube.com Israel's Foreign Affairs Min.Published on Jan 14, 2019 Confronting Online Hate: Tech and Government in Conversation Noam Katz, Senior Deputy DG for Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis], MFA

diplomatmagazine.nl For the first time Diplomat Magazine and the Diplomatic Council shall present the Global Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis]Award, in Frankfurt. The award constitute a recognition of the efforts of heads of diplomatic missions and other dignitaries to promote strategic diplomatic engagement vis-à-vis state as well as non-state actors.The Public Diplomacy Award will recognise both top diplomats and other members of the international community; in charge of the selection of the laureates are a group of members of the diplomatic corps and academia.The award consists of state-of-the-art hand-made prism with the crafted name of the recipient. He or she becomes an honourable member of the Diplomatic Council. The Diplomat Magazine and the Diplomatic Council will promote the accolade on the international stage.The Global Public Diplomacy Award will be launched during a festive gala in Frankfurt on February first. It will presented by H.E. Buddhi Athauda, Ambassador of Sri Lanka..

Joel Lee, The Korea Herald When Korea’s foremost civilian ambassador, Choi Jung-wha, walked along Paris’ Champs-Elysees Avenue last year, she was struck by familiar tunes sung in Korean. Young French people belted out K-pop band BTS’ songs in Korean, to the surprise of Choi, who first landed in France in the late 1970s for her studies. Back then, Korea, much less South Korea, was barely on the mental map of an average French person. But with the country’s continuing economic and cultural ascent on the global stage, the Korean language itself, along with its modern and traditional culture, has now become all the rage for youngsters the world over. CICI President Choi Jung-wha poses with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (left) and her husband Didier Beltoise at the Yeongsan Diplomat Award ceremony in July last year. (CICI) In an age of globalism and hyper-connectivity, public diplomacy [JB emphasis] is a realm not confined to diplomats, public figures and high-flying perso..

adaderana.lk; see also (1) (2) Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana has called on Sri Lankan diplomats to boost the image of Sri Lanka overseas through efficient and effective execution of public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. He has called on them to utilize its intrinsic brands such as Buddhism, gems, tea, spices, high-end export products and the warmth of traditional Sri Lankan hospitality. Minister Marapana made these remarks at the certificate awarding ceremony on Friday (11) of the two-week long Public Diplomacy and Media Relations training programme, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its officials in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) with a view to enhancing their public diplomacy and media relations skills. The programme was attended by the officers of the 2018 intake of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and a group of mid-level officers serving in the Ministry. This was the first time in two decades that the Ministry organized a professional training pro..

Firas Elias, Translated by Shaimaa Shedeed, newiraqcenter.com uncaptioned image from articleExcerpt: The conclusion Iran represented one of the grand regional forces in the Middle East that has variable group of soft power elements. This is in addition to Iran’s advantages in itself which it has been seeking for investing optimally in order to promote its policy regionally and internationally. The Islamic ideology and the Shiite doctrine beside the ancient Persian civilization can be seen as success factors in the Iranian public diplomacy. [JB emphasis] In addition, Iran’s foreign policy discourse addressing the dictatorial regimes and the world arrogance powers and its support for the Palestinian issue and hostility towards Israel stood as pillars for the Iranian foreign policy in its soft invasion in the neighboring countries and the region. Meanwhile, such pillars represented pull factors for many political and military groups adopting the same concepts ad terms. On the other side, ..