Description
Book SynopsisPublic diplomacy has never been more important in international relations. Yet, public diplomacy’s future as a valued national resource and a respected profession is far from certain. Lingering historical misperceptions and contemporary debate regarding public diplomacy’s role and value in protecting and advancing national and international interests threaten public diplomacy’s advancement on both fronts. Grounded in public relations theory and steeped in common sense, this book advances the global debate on public diplomacy’s future by documenting the intellectual and practical development of public diplomacy in the United States and analyzing key challenges ahead. The author’s fresh perspective provides compelling insights into public diplomacy's purpose and value, the conceptual foundations of the discipline, and principles of strategic practice. Based on extensive primary and secondary research, including a comprehensive survey of veteran U.S. public diplomats, the book reveals lessons learned from the U.S. experience in public diplomacy that will be critical in determining public diplomacy's fate in the United States and throughout the world.
Trade Review"The author covers all the major ideas that have been presented in print on public diplomacy since 9/11, and some older ones, such as Tom Tuch’s classic volume, Communicating with the World. She seeks to relate and compare public diplomacy to other practices, such as public relations, marketing, advertising, nation branding and international relations theory. Unlike much of the other writing on public diplomacy, especially articles and essays or edited volumes by different authors that focus on narrow aspects of the subject, she brings them all together and tries to make sense out of the whole body of thought on the subject." (Ambassador (ret.) William A. Rugh, Ph.D., AmericanDiplomacy.org, 2010)
