The Foreign Service Journal, May 2023

52 MAY 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL In 2022, the Kremlin even formally abrogated the 1958 U.S.-Soviet Cultural Exchange Agreement that had been renewed annually and served as the basis for joint programming. disinformation campaigns that pose a direct threat to the United States. In addition, there are global news networks that are increasingly controlled by nonstate actors. After decades of peace and open communication, we are back to a highly dan- gerous and unpredictable world. When faced with an aggressive Stalin regime in the late 1940s, the U.S. undertook a comprehensive strategic review of the tools, methods, and institutions needed to successfully wage a Cold War. That review resulted in a new national security structure and operations, including the creation of the U.S. Information Agency, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and a strengthened Voice of America with new Russian and Ukrainian language services. Those new institutions helped bring the Cold War to a peaceful end. Today, the Biden administration should begin a similar stra- tegic review by establishing a high-level bipartisan commission that would be charged with analyzing current U.S. capabilities in public diplomacy and international broadcasting and making specific recommendations about restructuring current institu- tions, creating new ones if needed, and setting funding levels. By drawing on a diverse set of experts from the private and govern- ment sectors, the Biden administration can revitalize U.S. foreign policy and effectively make the case to the American people that public diplomacy and international broadcasting are fundamen- tal to our national security. n