The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

74 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 4 B OOKS A Proud Legacy Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of the U.S. Information Agency Wilson P. Dizard Jr., Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, $49.95, hardcover, 260 pages. R EVIEWED BY A LLEN C. H ANSEN The United States Information Agency was absorbed into the Department of State five years ago this month, on Oct. 1, 1999. Had that reorganization not occurred, last year would have marked the 50th anniver- sary of USIA’s founding. With that in mind, the publication of Wilson P. Dizard’s Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of the U.S. Information Agency , while a welcome addition to the other histories of the agency, is also a somewhat bittersweet occasion — particularly since Dizard also pro- duced the first book about USIA ( The Strategy of Truth , 1961). Dizard begins this account by describing two organizations that pre- ceded USIA: the Office of War Information, a model for USIA’s overt programs, and the Office of Strategic Services, a model for the CIA’s covert information programs. Refreshingly, he has no qualms about calling USIA a propaganda agency — nor should he, even though that term has always bothered even some of its practition- ers. As he explains, some within the agency also questioned the use of another term for the agency’s mission, “public diplomacy.” Curiously, Diz- ard does not tell us that the term reportedly was first coined in 1965 by Edmund Gullion, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, when the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy was established. But despite that minor omission, he helps us under- stand its meaning, both in theory and practice. Another often-debated subject throughout USIA’s existence was the varied roles of media and cultural pro- grams and the importance of each. Rather than taking sides in that perennial dispute, Dizard points out how they complement each other. Even when supervision of cultural exchange programs remained within the State Department (until 1979), USIA offices overseas (known as the U.S. Information Service, USIS) administered cultural programs with mostly positive results, refuting the argument that cultural and informa- tional programs don’t mix. Throughout his narrative, Dizard masterfully intertwines the major global issues and events (and domes- tic ones, as well) that affected U.S. foreign policy concerns from 1940 to the present time. As he notes, USIA was called upon to explain, refute or support official positions to overseas audiences, and it was through that process that public diplomacy USIA- style evolved. Likewise, he gives care- ful attention to the dramatic techno- logical changes in communications that occurred during the last half of the 20th century, and documents how the agency changed its methods of operation in response. For more details, see his previous books, partic- ularly Meganet: How the Global Com- munications Network Will Survive (Harper Collins/Westview, 1997) and Digital Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Information Age (Prae- ger, 2001). This seminal study is a gold mine of information for researchers inter- ested in U.S. foreign policy and how the U.S. government’s media and cul- tural activities sought to garner inter- national support for Washington’s policies during the Cold War. Replete with footnotes that support many of his views (thoughtfully placed after each chapter rather than at the end of the book), and a comprehensive bibli- ography, Inventing Public Diplomacy is an excellent reference book as well as an interesting history to read. In his final chapter, “The Future of Public Diplomacy,” one does wish Dizard had discussed in greater detail the current organization of the State Department that, in the view of many observers, has seriously hamstrung public diplomacy in the post-USIA era. This reviewer would also have welcomed a discussion about the pos- sibility of creating another single pro- paganda agency, even though current conventional wisdom indicates that such a possibility is impractical. Such small quibbles aside, Dizard has produced what will surely be viewed for a long time to come as a definitive history of USIA. Former USIA FSO Allen Hansen is the author of USIA: Public Diplo- macy in the Computer Age (Praeger, 1984; 2nd edition, 1989).