John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

georgiatoday.ge Western media outlets recently announced China has built military facilities on the Tajik side of the Tajik-Chinese border. The move is significant as it is first confirmation (built upon earlier unconfirmed reports) of the Chinese military/semi military presence in the Central Asia region. The section where the Chinese facilities are located is strategically important as it overlooks one of the crucial entry points from China into Central Asia and is close to the vital corridor through which the country has a connection with Afghanistan's heartland. The corridor is particularly important to China due to its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Put into a wider context, the opening of the new base might be problematic as Central Asia is perceived by the Russians as a sphere of their own influence. As I argued in previous pieces for GEORGIA TODAY, for Moscow, Central Asia nowadays is especially important as it is the only region where the Kremlin can still extend its exi..

Mark Landler and Katie Rogers, The New York Times, March 7, 2019; original article contains links Image from article: John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, has followed President Trump’s lead in using Twitter to promote the administration’s agenda.CreditCreditDoug Mills/The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump threw out the diplomatic rule book when he took office, tweeting gleefully about sensitive global issues, be it the nuclear showdown with North Korea or burden sharing within NATO. Now he has spawned a squad of in-house imitators. John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, has tweeted more than 150 times about the political crisis in Venezuela, demanding that the country’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, go into exile and championing his waiting-in-the-wings replacement, Juan Guaidó. Jason D. Greenblatt, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, has taken to Twitter dozens of times to debate or chide Palestinian leaders, with whom the White House has had no formal ..

Max Boot and Max Bergmann, The Washington Post, March 6 Image from article:President Trump talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images)Max Boot, a Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a global affairs analyst for CNN. Max Bergmann is the director of the Moscow Project and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. This article is based on their new CFR Policy Innovation Memorandum, “Defending America From Foreign Election Interference.”It’s heartening to read The Post’s revelation that U.S. Cyber Command disrupted Internet access on Election Day 2018, for the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg. This is the Russian troll farm that ran an extensive online campaign in 2016 to help elect Donald Trump. But as the cyberwarfare expert Thomas Rid noted, the Cyber Command operation was “more of a pinprick that is more annoying than ..

Emily Heil, The Washington Post, March 6 Image from article: Melania Trump visits a language arts class at the Dove School of Discovery on March 4. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) The visit by Melania Trump to a charter school in Tulsa on Monday seemed to be a picture-perfect success for the first lady. She complimented pre-K students on their crayon skills and observed ­middle-schoolers conducting science experiments. She made small talk and warned a second-grader who had complained about her homework that it was “very important.”But the first lady had just stepped into a zone fraught with potential diplomatic peril with her stop promoting her Be Best initiative that aims to improve children’s well-being. The Dove School of Discovery, a Tulsa charter institution that focuses on character education, is believed to be part of a network of schools in the United States and abroad linked to the Gulen movement, a secretive religious movement inspired by a 77-year-old Turkish Muslim cl..

www2.fundsforngos.org US Embassy Lisbon image (not from entry) from[...]Deadline: 31 May 2019The U.S. Embassy Lisbon Office of Public Affairs (OPA) of the U.S. Department of State has announced that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Small Grants Program.OPA invites proposals from individuals, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions for projects that strengthen the bilateral ties between the U.S. and Portugal. OPA will only consider grants that have an American component or aspect in their proposal.Priority Program AreasMedia Literacy and Countering Misinformation: activities that promote media literacy and critical thinking, resist malign influence, and counter disinformation.Trade and Investment: activities which support the expansion of U.S. exports and investments, improve the connections between U.S. and Portuguese businesses, and/or expand economic opportunities for women and underserved populations.Technology and Innova..

american.elluciancrmrecruit.com Friday, March 29, 2019Fitzpatrick image (not from entry) from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time Location: OnlineDescription: Join us online with Professor Kathy Fitzpatrick, faculty member within the SOC Public Communication Division. Prof Fitzpatrick is an internationally-recognized scholar in public relations and public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. She has written several books and monographs in the subjects of public diplomacy and ethics and has published in several leading scholarly journals in communications and diplomacy. Prof Fitzpatrick also teaches COMM-533 Ethics in Strategic Communication and COMM-640 Principles of Strategic Communication.In addition, you may speak with Leila Hernandez, SOC Recruitment Coordinator, and SOC alumnus. Who can answer questions about:SOC's Graduate programsAdmissions process and requirementsFunding OpportunitiesWhere are our alumni now To participate, all you need is an Internet connection. We use GoToMeet..

state.gov Image (not from entry:) First Lady Melania Trump and Under Secretary Tom Shannon Pose for a photo with the 2017 International Women of Courage Awardees.Excerpt: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS MARIE ROYCE10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Royce delivers remarks at the International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony, at the Department of State. Please click here for more information. (OPEN PRESS COVERAGE) ...

gwtoday.gwu.edu, March 06, 2019 The Vermont senator was awarded the Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] during a Capitol Hill ceremony Image from article: Janet Steele (right) presents Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) with the Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy. (Photo: Colette Kent)The George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication recently awarded U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) the Walter Roberts Award for Congressional Leadership in Public Diplomacy.The institute also announced a grant from the Walter Roberts Endowment to the Vermont Council on World Affairs to enhance international youth leadership exchanges.Mr. Leahy said he was grateful for the honor and thankful for the work GW and the Vermont Council on World Affairs were doing to promote awareness and understanding of the world. Vermonters understand their future is inextricably linked to the wider world, he sai..

Wajid Ali Syed, thenews.com.pk image (not from article) from WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: The US employed unconventional channels along with its public diplomacy [JB emphasis] to help de-escalate recent tensions between India and Pakistan. "Sometimes we do public diplomacy and sometimes there's a time for private diplomacy, and there's a lot of private diplomacy that's going on right now," the State Department's Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said yesterday. Pakistan and India came eye to eye during a recent military engagement when Indian Air Force violated Pakistan's air space and carried out a 'surgical strike.' In response Pakistan shot down two Indian aircrafts, and captured a fighter pilot who was later released and handed back to Delhi as a peace gesture. During the week of heightened tensions between the two nuclear armed countries, the US maintained a high level contact with the government of both countries. The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ..

digitaljournal.com; original article contains one more image Beijing's propaganda apparatus is pumping up the volume for its annual parliament meeting, with videos starring a rapper dropping rhymes about his "elation" for the session and an American waxing lyrical about the Chinese "system of democracy". Chinese state media regularly rolls out clips targeted at foreign audiences during important political events, and this year's production has again raised eyebrows among China watchers. Xinhua, China's official news agency, co-produced a rap video entitled "'Two Sessions': To the World from China" to celebrate the annual meeting of the rubber-stamp parliament -- the National People's Congress -- and the country's top political advisory body. Rich in rhymes which often appear incoherent, the song boasts about the country's social and scientific achievements, from anti-pollution measures to poverty alleviation programmes and a historic moon landing..