John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

Richard Herr, aspistrategist.org.au [ASPI - Australian Strategic Policy Institute] April 30, 2029 Just why the concept of soft power has become such an accepted explanation for the spread of Chinese influence in the Pacific islands is something of a conundrum. (The term ‘Pacific islands’ is used here with the narrow meaning of the small member states of the Pacific Islands Forum.)There seems to be little evidence that regional states have the sort of admiration for, and desire to emulate, China’s political or economic systems in the way Joseph Nye framed his idea about the attractive power of non-coercive influence.It was the geopolitics of the Cold War that motivated China to seek a place in the Pacific island sun, not some soft-power pull from regional states seeking to a model to follow. And, for nearly two decades afterwards, Beijing scarcely made a ripple in the regional lagoon, which ended with a flurry of ‘dollar diplomacy’ competition with Taipei for recognition.A main motivat..

Sam Sokol, jta.org, April 30, 2019; original article contains video Image from article, with caption: (Photo by Quique Kierszenbaum/Getty Images; photo illustration by JTA staff) JERUSALEM (JTA) — Earlier this month, just hours before the start of Passover, the British Labour Party tweeted out holiday greetings to its more than 671,000 followers. “As Jewish people prepare for Passover, we’re wishing everyone in the Jewish community chag sameach,” read the now deleted message, which was accompanied by the image of a Star of David, a kiddush cup — and a loaf of bread. The image of a food specifically prohibited on Passover, in a tweet from a party battling allegations of institutional anti-Semitism, immediately created a firestorm on social media. Responses ranged from enraged to humorous. Joining the fray was the Israeli army, whose official account tweeted a “Happy Holidays” message with a similar image featuring matzah, an Easter egg and a Druze pilgrimmage site. Responses on social m..

Kwang-jin ChoiDate8 May 2019Time11:15 - 12:45 hrsSeriesDiplomacy and Global Affairs Research Seminar Series 2019LocationWijnhaven Turfmarkt 99 2511 DP The HagueRoom3.60RegistrationWould you like to join the lecture? Register now.About the lectureThere is a clear trend among foreign ministries and their diplomats towards greater domestic engagement. In the Netherlands, political parties call for greater people involvement in foreign affairs and worldwide we see a variety of drivers calling for a more people-centered diplomacy. Today domestic stakeholders loom much larger in foreign affairs than, say, ten years ago. There is a distinct shift from conventional diplomacy between governments and public diplomacy [JB emphasis] performed for the foreign public to citizen diplomacy 2.0. South Korea’s “People Diplomacy,” (Kookmin Waygyo국민외교) is a new and important government-guided diplomatic experiment in the Republic of Korea. It aims to reflect the people’s need for the democratization of di..

Darya Gribkova, moderndiplomacy.eu, April 30, 2019 uncaptioned image from article Excerpt: On May 1, 2019, Japan enters a new era – Reiwa [JB - see], the era of peace and harmony … with a “baggage” of problem accumulated in the previous Heisei period. By itself, a change of the name with a change of emperor has a rather symbolic meaning and, of course, it is not a specific political programme, – unlikely it will bring any peculiarities to the external and internal political agenda. ... Despite the countless exercises of experts and politicians in determining of the Indo-Pacific, its core, purpose and structure, it is still unclear, how the idea of ​​the Indo-Pacific region, in which Japan claimsto play one of the leading roles, will develop, and in what form, what institutional structure it could be realized. ... With many unsolved issues in economic and foreign policy spheres, Japan has a great chance to show to the whole world and feel by itself beautiful harmony during the 2020 Summ..

uscpublicdiplomacy.org CPD is now accepting applications for the CPD Research Fellowship, which CPD created in 2009 to support and publicize the work of scholars and practitioners of public diplomacy [JB emphasis]. Every fall, three non-resident fellows are selected, each serving a two-year term.CPD Research Fellows will be expected to oversee a substantive research project that will yield at least two outputs, including one publication for the CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy series that is due by June 1, 2021. The second output could consist of a series for the CPD Blog, or another type of product that the Fellow develops with the Center. CPD welcomes proposals that examine both the historical and contemporary practice of public diplomacy conducted anywhere in the world. The selected candidates will each receive a $2,000 stipend upon successful completion of the fellowship. In addition, the Center will offer research assistance as needed and as available from students in the Mas..

image from gorchakovfund.ru Excerpt: The Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Fund was established in accordance with a decree of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry A. Medvedev on February 2, 2010. Under the conditions of globalization of world’s political, economic and social processes, the public diplomacy acquires special significance for effective advancement of the Russia’s foreign policy interests. The Fund’s mission in this regard involves encouraging development of the public diplomacy field and supporting establishment of a favorable for Russia public, political and business climate. The Gorchakov Fund holds activities in the following directions with the purpose of providing support to the public diplomacy, offering assistance to participation of the Russian non-governmental organizations in international cooperation and ensuring active and efficient involvement of institutions of the civil society in the foreign policy process:assistance in advancem..

via email April 23, 2019 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR PD Watch an exclusive video interview with Kyle Matthews, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies Executive Director, on what AI means for public diplomacy. WATCHTURKISH ARCHERY: WHEN A HISTORICAL WEAPON BECOMES A SOFT POWER TOOL CPD Mini-Course alumnus Halid Bulut of Turkey's Yunus Emre Foundation writes about the power of Turkish sports diplomacy. > READFULBRIGHT CALL FOR PROPOSALS ABOUT PDThe 2019 Fulbright Association Annual Conference welcomes proposals about public diplomacy from researchers at all levels who need not be current Fulbright grantees or alumni. HOW TO APPLYWORLD LEADERS ON FACEBOOK 2019 MORE SUBSCRIBE | VISIT THE CENTER | SUPPORT CPDCPD | USC Center on Public Diplomacy

ecns.cn; Editor: Gu Liping, 2019-04-22; article contains an English-language video of an interview with Norov The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) Secretary-General Vladimir Norov will attend the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing next week. How can members of the SCO increase connections between their people through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? Below is the transcript of CGTN's interview with Norov. It has been edited for brevity and clarity. Q: The bedrock of the Belt and Road Initiative is inter-connectivity. What role does the SCO play in promoting people-to-people exchanges? A: We have a special agreement about cultural cooperation, and a lot of exhibitions are being held in our countries. Communication between people plays an important role.President Xi Jinping during the Summit of Bishkek in 2013 announced the creation of the China Special Committee of the SCO for long-standing good cooperation and partnership. This fulf..

Mohammad Ali, urdupoint.com, 22nd April 2019 image from article President Pak-China Global Cultural Link Dr. Li Yi has said that Pakistan and China are time tested all weather friends and promotion of culture between the two countries will further deepen relations at people to people contact. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2019 ) President Pak-China Global Cultural Link Dr. Li Yi has said that Pakistan and China are time tested all weather friends and promotion of culture between the two countries will further deepen relations at people to people contact. Public diplomacy [JB emphasis] was the need of the hour and we shall promote it through cultural activities in both the countries," he said while talking at a closing ceremony of three-day first Chinese Traditional Culture and Creative Exhibition titled "Chinese Culture IP Exhibition at PNCA, said a press release. He termed Prime Minister Imran Khan second visit to China as very important and said that it wil..

publicdiplomacy.su, 22 апреля 2019; English translation at Президент Фонда развития институтов гражданского общества «Народная дипломатия» [JB emphasis] Алексей Кочетков и сопредседатель Гражданской инициативы «Союз» Станислав Бышок передали в дар Муниципальному бюджетному учреждению культуры «Централизованная библиотечная система г. Смоленска» книги, изданные Фондом по российско-белорусской общей истории. На встрече присутствовали директор МБУК «Централизованная библиотечная система г. Смоленска» Татьяна Михайловна Гапеева и советник главы города Смоленска Виталий Викторович Галицкий.