It doesn’t count as public diplomacy — not yet. But the way in which the Iranian authorities have permitted foreign media visits, especially coverage by major American media (e.g., NPR and the NYT) , not to mention official Iranian comments on bilateral relations, suggests a whiff of change toward caring what the Western world thinks. […]
I’m off to the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, normal posting will resume the week of the 23rd.
President Obama’s first prime-time news conference featured three questions about U.S. foreign policy, chief among them, relations with Iran. Caren Bohan from the Reuters news service asked about President Obama’s strategy for dealing with Iran, and in his reply, President Obama made clear that he is starting over, conducting a formal review of relations with […]
New U.S. Middle East Envoy Wins Approval but Little Confidence for His Mission America's new Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is back from his first trip to the region and will likely return there later this month. He met with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority and visited Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. […]
Genuine Fractals PrintPro 5 + Autodesk Inventor Professional + Steinberg Hypersonic 2.0 The Obama administration has signaled the Russians that they are interested in continuing the process of nuclear arms reductions that stalled over the recent past. This AP report notes that Secretary of State Clinton is spearheading the issue: The Obama administration, reversing the […]
A few weeks ago I noted an op-ed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who counseled the Obama Administration to move quickly to improve U.S. relations with China. On the surface, it appears that Team Obama may be doing that. According to this CNN report, Hillary Clinton's first official trip abroad as Secretary of […]
Students of public diplomacy and propaganda are quick to point out the difference between the two, but sometimes it's not so easy. One man's strategic government effort to communicate with foreign publics can be another man's tendentious information blitz to smear the reputation of another country. Nowadays, the clumsy and blunt-edged attacks that characterized the […]
Things have been difficult for U.S. ally Turkey lately. The rebuff from the EU over accession has sent ripples of shock and consternation through the secular military and the increasingly Islamic political class. Tensions between them are high and there have been rumors of a coup. The stress may be getting to the prime minister, […]
In his inaugural address President Obama offered a new engagement with the Muslim world, specifically addressing them by name and telling them, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” That new way forward was on full display today as he granted the Arabic satellite network […]
You might think Barack Hussein Obama would choose a safer audience than the Arab world for his first TV interview as President. But he chose Dubai-based Al Arabiya, and he chose well. With all the innumerable problems facing the United States, the most daunting long-term problem is America's relationship to the world; within that context, […]
I’d like to call your attention to the new White House website that has a page devoted to the foreign policy agenda. The site highlights efforts in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nuclear Weapons, Iran, Energy Security, Renewing American Diplomacy, Israel, and Bipartisanship and Openness. Although the page is not in a blog format and […]
You are probably familiar with the advice given to President Obama from U.S. leaders, critics, pundits and even comics, but are you familiar with the advice he has received from other world leaders? The magazine Foreign Policy recently invited an assortment of international leaders to offer their advice to the new president. Some of the […]
Today has been a very busy day for foreign policy at the Obama White House. President Obama is making plans to shut the Guantanamo and CIA prisons, the new Secretary of State has arrived at the State Department, and a new Mideast envoy has been appointed. Here is a quick roundup of the day's headlines: […]
As the inauguration of President Obama fades into history I thought it would be interesting to parse out references to foreign policy in the inaugural address (text, video). Although the speech was short on specifics, President Obama did set a tone suggesting a willingness to engage the world, to lead collaboratively, and contained the requisite […]
How is the inauguration of Barack Obama changing perceptions of the U.S. role in the world? According to this AP report, the answer involves expressions of hope, expectation, elation and celebration: A world made weary by war, recession, joblessness and fear shed its collective burden Tuesday to celebrate the arrival of a new American president. […]