The Foreign Service Journal, October 2006

U.S. presence in Finland was the American Center. He urged the U.S. to establish one in Tallinn. We did, but it lasted less than a decade before succumbing to budget cuts and security concerns. During the 1990s a critical PD tool in Sierra Leone was a “Women in Development” group. Encour- aged by USIS, the women sparked an indigenous peace movement that eventually brought down a nasty military junta. The future president of the country was also a carefully cultivated PD contact and frequent dinner guest at the ambassador’s res- idence. Speaker programs also support change. They not only explain U.S. policy, but embody democratic debate. PD officers and political officers have often argued vehemently over whether official speakers should stick to a party line or whether they can incor- porate opposing ideas as well. In our experience, when foreign audiences heard U.S. officials discussing policy, they were attentive. When USIA-sponsored academics respectfully differed with current policy, however, the result was unalloyed admiration for the courage of the U.S. in showcasing free and open discussion. It was a win-win situation, but we’re told that this richness of opinion is no longer tolerated. That’s a major loss to U.S. credibility. Effective PD programs do not presume that the U.S. can democratize tyrannized societies overnight or from the outside, or that every democracy has to follow the U.S. model in detail. But in Eastern Europe and else- where, USIA programs overseen by skilled PD officers helped to equip the personalities and prepare the ground from which sturdy indigenous democracies are growing. Vaclav Havel and Charter 77 were well-known to PD officers at Embassy Prague. Ensuring Readiness for Big Changes Even when governments shun official contact with American diplomats or when top American officials refuse to deal directly with their counterparts, PD prac- titioners may be in productive contact with respected members of civil society and the opposition. After all, governments change. They fall overnight; they are thrown out in elections; they lose, so to speak, the mandate of heaven. Suddenly PD contacts are in control of the government! When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the U.S. knew the opposition in Poland and Hungary as well as Czechoslovakia. When Labor gave way to a Conservative government in the United King- dom in 1979, the new prime minis- ter, Margaret Thatcher, had experi- enced America on a U.S. govern- ment-sponsored International Visitor program. Dance and cultural programs are not frills. They are crucial PD tools in countries where normal political activ- ity has been driven underground. While American musi- cians perform during a concert at a public affairs officer’s house, invitees are free to talk to their host and often pro- vide useful information. During a 1998 concert in Karachi, for instance, a Pakistani Muslim leader revealed that he was deeply unhappy with trends in his Saudi- backed organization. So, nearly a decade ago we realized that Islamist politics had become important, and we had connections. Or take an incident from 1972. The military junta in Thailand earned an abrupt downfall by cold-bloodedly firing upon student demonstrations. The king appoint- ed judges to run the country and prepare for elections. A USIA officer in the cultural section was the only per- son in the U.S. embassy community who knew these judges personally. He had entertained them at his home. They trusted him. The U.S. was off on the right foot with the new regime. Whatever the context, however, integrity is impera- tive. Having earlier suggested that public diplomacy is more durable than duress, we insist that blatant propa- ganda is not only counterproductive, but increasingly futile. In today’s speed-of-light communications envi- ronment, the right message will resonate globally as never before. The folly of a poorly conceived message will be exposed just as rapidly. A U.S. government spokesperson has a reasonable chance of influencing news and commentary in the mainstream media at home, but the Wild West cacophony of the Internet is only controllable if U.S. spokespeople are honest and make sense. We know. We’re bloggers now. F O C U S 32 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 6 Cultural programs are crucial PD tools in countries where normal political activity has been driven underground — not frills.