The Foreign Service Journal, March 2005

Turkmenistan — receive the lowest possible scores for both political rights and civil liberties, making them the most repressive regimes in the world. Chechnya and Tibet also fall into this category. Professionals Call for Action on Public Diplomacy Members of the non-partisan Public Diplomacy Council, in a white paper released Jan. 25, call on the administration and Congress to undertake a transformation of American public diplomacy to bring it into the 21st century. The “Call for Action on Public Diplomacy” notes that U.S. public diplomacy is in crisis. “If it is to remain a global leader,” the Council states, “the United States must significantly strengthen its pub- lic diplomacy programs around the world, and do so immediately.” The report outlines the need for a more robust global communication strategy and puts forward five action recommendations: creation of a new agency within the State Department to manage civilian international infor- mation and exchanges functions; a 300-percent increase in overseas staffing for public diplomacy; increas- es in funding and closer integration of international broadcasting; the estab- lishment of a Cabinet-level intera- gency committee to coordinate and direct a national public diplomacy strategy; and a public-private sector partnership to provide permanent funding for international exchanges. The full text of the “Call to Action,” as well as a thought-provok- ing statement of dissent titled “Transformation Not Restoration,” can be found at http://www.pdi. gwu.edu . New and Noteworthy: Expat Web Directory Another excellent Web site for expatriates of all varieties — Expat Communities ( www.expatcomm unities.com ) — joined the list of online resources for citizens of the world in 2004. Expat Communities , copyrighted by Mick Winter, is a directory of more than 110 countries with sizable English-speaking (and usually inter- national as well) expatriate communi- ties. Links to English-language Web sites, organizations, online forums, meet-ups and local newspapers are featured for each of the countries. Resource links for each country include “Real Post Reports,” country reviews from Tales from a Small Planet , the online expat resource founded by diplomatic spouses. In addition, annotated links are provided to selected expatriate blogs, expat organizations, employment and insurance/medical resources, and to books of interest to current and potential expatriates. Books address the expatriate lifestyle generally, and include several focused particularly on retirement abroad. n C Y B E R N O T E S u 12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 5 I n all that lies ahead, the primary instrument of American diplomacy will be the Department of State, and the men and women of its Foreign and Civil Services and Foreign Service Nationals. The time for diplomacy is now. — Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, Jan. 18, 2005, http://foreign.senate.gov