The United States and the Challenge of Public Diplomacy

The attacks of September 11th established a new era of US foreign policy—one marked by a profound focus on public diplomacy. With tremendous resources poured into diplomatic efforts to curry favor with foreign audiences, the efficacy of these efforts are subjected to continual debate in the American political arena. But some of the most crucial players in the discipline—public diplomats themselves—have been missing from this discussion. Applying his personal experience in NATO's Public Diplomacy Division, James Thomas Snyder examines the difficulty of communicating in adversarial environments, military public diplomacy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the complexity of multi-linguistic communications, and the importance of directing American cultural power in the national interest. The book also critically examines presidential rhetoric, new communications technologies such social media and virtual worlds, and the role of non-governmental organizations that engage in private diplomacy. Finally, the book looks closely at American political culture itself to provide perspective for the nation's image abroad.

James Thomas Snyder served on the NATO International Staff from 2005 to 2011. A former US Congressional speechwriter and translator, his work has appeared in Foreign Policy, Military Review, Small Wars Journal, Internationale Politik, Public Diplomacy Magazine and the International Herald Tribune, among other publications. He writes at jamesthomassnyder.com.

1. Fighting Words
2. What We Are Talking About When We Talk About Engagement
3. Extreme Public Diplomacy
4. Overt Operations
5. Virtual Diplomacy
6. Radio Free America
7. Matters of Interpretation
8. Know What I Do
9. Non-Governmental Diplomacy
10. The Diplomatic Arts
11. The Americans