Brookings calls for new public diplomacy strategy

The Brookings Institution held a discussion in which in unveiled “Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century,” a plan to improve U.S. public diplomacy.

“Power is diffusing into a larger and more diverse group of nations, non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations than ever before,” said Kristin Lord, a fellow at Brookings and author of “Voices for America.”

Lord called for the creation of a non-profit organization called U.S.A.-World Trust which would “conduct and commission research and analysis…and convey it in a form useful to public diplomacy practitioners.” It would also “tap the vast potential of the private sector…to engage companies, non-governmental organizations, universities, think tanks and others to work on innovative new initiatives” and “provide grants and venture capital to endeavors that advance the nation’s public diplomacy objectives.”

“The goal in all the instances would be to attract new talent and new voices to the challenge of improving U.S. public diplomacy,” said Lord.

The panelists agreed that one of the most important things the U.S. should do is listen to public opinions in foreign countries. “Listening conveys respect, and a lot of people in the Muslim world feel that we don’t respect them,” said Martin Indyk, Senior fellow at Brookings and Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. “The consequence of listening is that you have to show that you’re going to change something about what you do as a result of listening. Otherwise, people get the sense you aren’t listening at all even though you say you are.”