Memo to Karen Hughes: New Public Diplomacy Recruits Posted by Suzanne Nossel

So here's an idea.  Karen Hughes and team are criss-crossing the globe trying to rebuild America's image with speeches, student outreach, and corporate programs.  Its a hard job made much tougher by near-daily revelations of mistreatment at Abu Ghraib, unauthorized wiretapping, the Dubai ports fracas and other policy debacles that undo the positive portrait Hughes is trying to paint.

While hers is nearly mission impossible right now one way to strengthen US public diplomacy efforts in future would be to mobilize former foreign ambassadors who have served in the US, turning the tables so that they represent the US as goodwill ambassadors to their home countries. 

Let's face it, no matter how hard she tries, Karen Hughes is a heavily accented Texan trying to forge instant, personal connections with skeptics in far-flung regions.   US diplomats face a similar problem:  they tend to be as apple-pie American as they come, and are discouraged from "going native" in ways that might help transcend cultural divides (will be interesting to see whether Khalilzad's example reshapes the ambassadorial model at all).

Former foreign ambassadors who have served in the US might help build what can often be a bridge too far for Americans working on their own.  Having worked with many ambassadors at the UN and some in Washington one thing stands out:  after a few years here, sometimes despite themselves and their governments, these people tend to get sucked into a long-term love affair with America. 

They start summering in the Hamptons, shopping at Whole Foods, scheduling around the Sopranos and - before they know it - they develop an abiding fondness for virtually all things American but for, in many cases, our policies.   The feelings are often strongest among those from poor countries where the quality of life contrasts are starkest.  I've never seen numbers collected, but a large number of these emissaries seem to send their kids to American colleges and graduate schools, often soldering permanent ties to grandchildren who are American. 

Both Washington and the UN in New York tend to be the very top posts available in foreign diplomatic services.  So unless an ambassador goes on to become foreign minister, the next step is often retirement from the diplomatic corps.   While some former envoys may squire lucrative private sector offers, most don't.  Accustomed to life as dignitaries, many have got to be bored with the adjunct teaching, lecturing and other opportunities open to them.  Why not put them on the U.S. government payroll instead?

Here's how it could work:  all foreign ambassadors are well-known to US State Department personnel.   When they vacate, American officers could recommend them for membership in a specialized corps dedicated to advancing understanding and appreciation of the United States at home. 

Those who sign on would agree to reside in their home country and work with the local US embassy to develop and implement messages, create informational material, host events and the like aimed improve America's image.  These culturally steeped local influentials could be valuable partners for America's diplomats, helping to screen and tailor communication and identify high-priority audiences.  Since they would not represent the US, they could be free to draw on their own experiences to interpret US policies, as long as the overall gist was helpful not hurtful.  They would not formally be part of embassy staff nor, obviously, be privvy to any confidential information. But they could also provide another pair of eyes and ears on the ground, hearing opinions that Americans may not.

Would any self-respecting former foreign diplomat sign up for this?  Hard to say but maybe.  The US does a pretty poor job redirecting talented former diplomats once they've reached a very young mandatory retirement age.  Diplomats elsewhere may well be in search of interesting opportunities.   

Would governments be up in arms if they thought we might try to recruit their best and brightest out of retirement and that this consideration might influence diplomats while they served?  This is an issue, but potentially no more serious than the problem of revolving door lobbyists in the executive branch.  Where necessary, a grace period could be observed so that they do not go right from shilling their own government's policies to promoting ours.  It would be assumed that these former diplomats would retain some loyalty to their home governments, meaning that the US connection could potentially pay off for both sides.

We need to get creative when it comes to public diplomacy.  That may mean recognizing that the best messenger may not be our own.   What this won't solve, of course, is the absence of a U.S. message that holds any credibility.

Comments

[libertarian soldier]

Gee, "near-daily revelations of mistreatment at Abu Ghraib, unauthorized wiretapping, the Dubai ports fracas and other policy debacles?" You are certainly correct in saying the MSM is still writing about daily. But the first ended two years ago, Sen. Feingold isn't finding a whole lot of support ofr his claims on the second, the ports fracas certainly painted CONGRESS (anti free trade, racist, or other adjective of your choice) in a bad light, but not the Adminstration, and the only way for the Administration to avoid potential "policy debacles" is to either do nothing, or let others (various elements of the international community, NGOs, Congress, business) make our decisions for us. I haven't seen that turn out well in many cases, either.

[libertarian soldier]

Oh, and how much do you propose bribing these foreign ex-deplomats? I am sure many from 3rd World countries would sign up if they could continue to summer in the Hamptons and send their kids to US universities at no expense to them, which, of course, is why getting stationed is America is such as sought after job.

[David Billington]

The question is whether foreign diplomats would have the skills to engage in public diplomacy, even if they are willing to work for us. Stepping back, I think you may be pointing to a group that could help their own countries as well as ours but I would start while they are still posted to the United States.

Secretary of State Rice gave a speech a month or so ago calling on US embassies abroad to create online forums in which foreign citizens could interact directly with US diplomats. Real-time chatrooms would be a very bad idea, I think, but asynchronous moderated message board discussions might work.

Canada hosts discussions on their foreign ministry website for Canadian students. Here is the link:

http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cip-pic/current_discussions/group-en.asp

Our embassies abroad could invite local students to join moderated online discussions with US diplomats. This could be done on a reciprocal basis, with foreign embassies in Washington setting up similar discussions for Americans as a way to engage with us. I think these ties would be easy to set up through universities in this country and abroad.

The result would be that everyone's diplomats would have a way to reach key audiences in an intellectually serious way and would gain useful experience doing so. If the effort is successful, some of the diplomats upon retirement might be willing to join with their retired American counterparts in a broader program to link students of different countries with each other.

[Dan Kervick]

You say that these former diplomats would be part of "a specialized corps dedicated to advancing understanding and appreciation of the United States at home," and apparently the corps would be run by the state department But then you say the members of this corps "would not represent the US." But isn't it the case that by asking foreign service members to join this corps, we would be asking them to become agents of a foreign government?

[Anon]

This sounds like a great non-profit idea.

Also, a Rhodes type program.

The best things about America aren't in government, which just gets captured by interests. Either business interests, or corrupt unions.

Why not focus on doing this through a non-profit sector. Raising money for this should be EASY. and groups like AMCHAM's would love to spend money on this.

[John]

That anyone could appoint Karen Hughes as the point person to turn around world opinion, and particularly third world muslim opinion, on the USA defies belief. It's up there with Hadley announcing the doctrine of pre-emptive war at the Institute of Peace. One wonders what thought processes this administration goes through. How about sending Lou Dobbs to negotiate our next free trade agreement, or Ann Coulter as our Ambassador to France. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said ''Now we've fixed Iraq and Katrina, what's next?'' A few more appointments like this and even more people will be linking the I word to GWB.

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