Hillary!

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26 April 2013 by mistertunde

Reading Hillary Clinton’s piece, “Leading through Civilian Power,” made me realize how lucky people who believe in public diplomacy must have felt to have Ms. Clinton in the top job at the State Department these last four years.

I think her presence certainly raised the profile of the State Department with the American public, which is certainly not a bad thing.  While I don’t have a vantage point to judge either way, hopefully her presence at State was also helpful during the turf and budget words that State has with other agencies, such as the Department of State.

Most importantly, public diplomacy believers should feel lucky because they clearly had a Secretary of State in Hillary Clinton who alos believed in public diplomacy too, as demonstrated through the title of the piece and the actual content written.  I think this is the section where she most clearly and strongly demonstrates the value of public diplomacy:

“In this information age, public opinion takes on added importance even in authoritarian states and as nonstate actors are more able to influence current events. Today, a U.S. ambassador creates ties not only with the host nation’s government but also with its people. The QDDR endorses a new public diplomacy strategy that makes public engagement every diplomat’s duty, through town-hall meetings and interviews with the media, organized outreach, events in provincial towns and smaller communities, student exchange programs, and virtual connections that bring together citizens and civic organizations. Indeed, in the twenty-first century, a diplomat is as likely to meet with a tribal elder in a rural village as a counterpart in a foreign ministry, and is as likely to wear cargo pants as a pinstriped suit.”

Hopefully Secretary John Kerry will continue this push to make public diplomacy an even more essential aspect of the State Department’s work.