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Foreign Affairs
Public Diplomacy and the War on Terrorism
By Peter G. Peterson
The following article is adapted from the chairman's preliminary summary of the report of the Independent Task Force on Public Diplomacy sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. Members of the task force, chaired by Peter G. Peterson, are listed on page 92. The findings discussed in this article are based on discussions and recommendations reached in task force meetings and have not been reviewed by all members. Key recommendations include the following: issuance of a presidential directive establishing a priority commitment and a new course for public diplomacy; establishment of a coordinating structure, chaired by a principal adviser to the president, to harmonize the public diplomacy efforts of government agencies, allies, and private-sector partners; as part of a broad effort to expand private-sector and indigenous development, dialogue, and debate, creation of an independent, not-for-profit "Corporation for Public Diplomacy" as the centerpiece of expanded public-private involvement in public diplomacy; and increased training, resources, and up-to-date technology for State Department and other government officials responsible for public diplomacy.
A full-length version of the report, its appendices, and dissents can be found on the Council on Foreign Relations Web site, at www.cfr.org.
A Strategy for Reform
A consensus is emerging, made urgent by the war on terrorism, that U.S. public diplomacy requires a commitment to new foreign policy thinking and new structures. They are needed to make clear why the United States is fighting this war and why supporting it is in the interests of others, as well as of Americans. Because terrorism is now considered the transcendent threat to America's national security, it is overwhelmingly in the national interest that the United States formulate and manage its foreign policies in such a way that, in its war on terrorism, it receives the indispensable cooperation of foreign nations.
Thus, more than in the past, the United States will need to modify not simply the implementation of its foreign policies but, in certain cases, the foreign policies themselves. The purpose is not to increase U.S. popularity abroad for its own sake, but because it is in America's national interest to do so. This requires a deeper understanding of foreign attitudes and more effective communication of U.S. policies. It also means fully integrating public diplomacy needs into the very foundation of American foreign policies in the first place. Particularly in a period when the United States is fighting a war on terrorism, the country must come to understand and accept the basic notion that "image problems" and "foreign policy" are not things apart. They are both part of an integrated whole.
A new approach and enhanced resources are also needed to establish the centrality of public diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy. To achieve that objective requires significant reform that will bring strategic planning, focus, resources, and badly needed coordination to the effort.
Today, America has a serious image problem. With broad consistency, this unflattering image . . .
Peter G. Peterson is Chairman of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Blackstone Group and served as Secretary of Commerce in the Nixon administration.