Diplo Learning Corner

A couple of months ago, I found myself in a classroom at the Foreign Service Institute with a dozen other trainees and a yogi. It...

Yuri Materiy, the ambassador of the Russian Federation [to Great Britain], sundaytimes.lk image from article, with caption: Russian troops in Syria: A game changer Excerpt: On the 10th of February each year, the Russian diplomatic service celebrates its professional holiday — Russian Diplomats’ Day — which was established by a Presidential Decree in 2002. ... The FIFA World Cup was a highlight last year – a real triumph of public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. Millions of foreign guests visited Russia. ...

The Sunday Times Sri Lanka; see also (1) (2) Image (not from article) from So this is what we have come to. Our budding (and some budded) diplomats will, over the coming years, be let loose in the capitals of the world to tell whoever is willing to listen that Sri Lanka is a country like no other. (see 1) In some ways it is truly a country like no other. The way some of our politicians conduct affairs and still others have their hands dipped in even more dubious deals leave more than a lasting stench in the civic nostril. When one heard the other day about advice proffered by Minister Tilak Marapana to our diplomats in the making, it seemed that something was decidedly wrong. It seemed as though Minister Marapana had switched portfolios and had taken to promoting age-old products such as spices and tea — with or without sympathy — without even a word to us faithful followers of the political gymnastics that our leaders and the lesser political breeds engage in providing the world-weary..

In 1986 a new press attaché was appointed to the Israeli Embassy in London. His first task was to establish close working relationships with the editors of Fleet Street, the home all major British newspapers at the time. One of the attaché’s most important meeting was with the journalist writing the editorials for the Times of London. Yet two hours before the fateful meeting the journalist called to cancel explaining “Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was just assassinated I need to learn all I can bout Swedish politics in the next five hours”. The attaché, who had just finished a four year posting in Stockholm, saw an opportunity. He told the journalist “let’s meet and I will tell all you need to know about Palme and Sweden. We can leave Israel for another time”. The next morning the Times’ editorial offered an in-depth analysis of Palme’s influence of Swedish foreign policy and the likely effect of his assassination on the country. The attaché, on his part, received another call from..

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, ..

For centuries, the skills of British diplomats have been the envy of the world, with discussions about their strategies and tactics taking place behind...

"Twitter allows us to reach the parts that normal diplomacy doesn't" @JohnCassonUK, the UK's former Ambassador to Egypt, pioneered a new kind of digital...

picreadi.ru; entry contains a video; see also uncaptioned image, presumably of Burlinova, from entry Опубликован авторский видео-курс общественного дипломата Натальи Бурлиновой, президента "Креативной дипломатии", на сайте Российского совета по международным делам. Также напоминаем, что "Креативная дипломатия" проводит очные курсы по теме публичной дипломатии. [JB emphasis] Российский совет по международным делам в сотрудничестве с Натальей Бурлиновой представил «Курс общественного дипломата» — научно-образовательную программу повышения квалификации по вопросам «мягкой силы» и «публичной дипломатии» России. Курс сформирован на основе авторской учебной программы по дисциплине «Деятельность российских НПО и фондов в социально-гуманитарной сфере», составленной Натальей Бурлиновой в соответствии с требованиями к обязательному минимуму и уровню подготовки магистра Федерального государственного образовательного стандарта высшего образования МГИМО МИД России. Курс было прочитан студентам маги..

Most-Read Blogs of 2018 Dec 18, 2018 What did 2018 look like for analysis and commentary about public diplomacy? Here are the CPD Blog posts that topped our audience's reading list this year: 10) Countering Disinformation: The Public Diplomacy Problem of our Time by James Pamment. How can communications professionals counteract manipulation and deception? Pamment offers two guides on counter-influence. 9) Media Framing of a Diplomatic Insult by Muhammad Ittefaq. An example of how the impact of an incident at an airport can spill over into diplomatic relations. 8) Public Diplomacy for Losers by Nicholas J. Cull. Why honesty and working with defeat is so important to public diplomacy. 7) Learning from South Korean Diplomatic Experimentation by Jan Melissen and HwaJung Kim. South Korea's unique approach to public diplomacy innovation offers valuable insight for other nations. 6) British Council on Evaluating Arts & Soft Power Programming by Ian Thomas. The Head of..

In this episode of The #DigitalDiplomacy Podcast we talk to Matthias Erlandsen, journalist and PhD student of Communication Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University...