Matt Armstrong (AKA MountainRunner) has been publishing a blogging tour de force during the last few weeks and has established himself as the most prominent voice on public diplomacy in the blogosphere. If you are not reading his blog yet, here are four posts that will convince you otherwise:
AFRICOM: DOA or in Need of Better Marketing? No and Yes.
Like Mark Twain’s “death” in 1897 (he died in 1910), reports of AFRICOM’s demise may be exaggerated. Concerns that AFRICOM hasn’t been thought out or is unnecessary aren’t supported by the actions and statements of those charged with building this entity. However, based on the poor marketing of AFRICOM, these concerns are not surprising.
I attended USC’s AFRICOM conference earlier this month and between panel discussions and offline conversations, I came away with a new appreciation (and hope) for the newest, and very different, command. …
Measuring “Public Diplomacy”?
What “nine annual and long-term outcomes” would you use to measure America’s public diplomacy apparatus? State has apparently found them.
The American concept of “public diplomacy” is a strange one. As Americans, we seek a return on our investments. It’s in our blood. If there is no clear payback, then there’s no clear value and there’s no reason to continue. Public diplomacy is no different as we, unique to perhaps the rest of the world, view it as discrete cylinder of excellence that must be measured to prove its worth. Numerous reports as well as historic and recent prominent officials have noted, public diplomacy is presented as something that lacks a domestic constituency and thus support for its programs must be somehow explained. …
Not Afraid to Talk: our adversaries aren’t, why are we?
To begin with, we must accept that the romantic days of the United States Information Agency are gone. So many confuse the USIA and the other information services, such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, of recent decades with the USIA that was engaged in the active psychological struggle that largely ended with détente and the finalizing of the European partition. It was only after this aggressive period ended was “public diplomacy” coined, twelve years after USIA was created.
Unlike half a century ago, the U.S. military has a clear voice and is arguably our dominant public diplomat. Therefore, simply resurrecting “USIA” without reorganizing our national information capabilities across civilian and military lines would turn it into just another voice struggling to be heard over America’s military commanders, spokespersons, and warfighters. …
Synchronizing Information: The Importance of New Media in Conflict
The effectiveness of information campaigns today will more often dictate a victory than how well bullets and bombs are put on a target. Putting information on target is more important when dealing with an asymmetric adversary that cannot – and does not need to – match the military or economic power of the United States and her allies.
Insurgents and terrorists increasingly leverage New Media to shape perceptions around the globe to be attractive to some and intimidating to others. New Media collapses traditional concepts of time and space as information moves around the world in an instant. Unlike traditional media, search engines and the web in general, enable information, factual or not, to be quickly and easily accessed long after it was created.
The result is a shift in the purpose of physical engagement to increasingly incorporate the information effect of words and deeds. Thus, the purpose of improvised explosive devices, for example, is not to kill or maim Americans but to replay images of David sticking it to Goliath. …
As readers, publishers, and proponents of “new media”, we need to push blogging as a platform for intelligent, quality content and discussion relevant to professionals in our field. Not simply a place to post about our pets. I am glad to see the conflict/IR blogosphere making steady progress in that direction.
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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