Cultural diplomacy is back. In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001 a plethora of articles, reports, and op-ed pieces has appeared, urging greater attention to how the United States, its values, culture, and policies are perceived abroad and to how we can improve those perceptions. Among the recommendations are calls for increased efforts in the area of cultural diplomacy. Ironically, the renewed interest in cultural diplomacy comes at a time when the country’s resources and infrastructure for it are at their lowest levels in recent years. Since 1993, budgets have...

Diplomatic historian Frank Ninkovich observed that public diplomacy is “the promotion or communication between peoples as opposed to governments…” and is designed to “build agreement based on common values.” (Ninkovich, 1996, p. 3) As expressed in the motto of the former United States Information Agency, the aim of public and cultural diplomacy efforts is “telling America’s story to the world.” Public diplomacy is a two-way communication process that includes both efforts to project a nation’s image and values to other countries and...

Today, more than ever, the United States seeks to earn the respect and praise of the world, but opinion polls suggest that the country is falling short of the mark. The economic and military might which has gained the United States an unchallenged position of supremacy has not sufficed to win hearts and minds. But the power of America always has resided more in its moral than its military authority. In the face of criticism of the United States’ unilateralism, most manifest in the invasion of Iraq, that moral authority appears to be eroding in the eyes of the world. How to reinstate it?...

Attitudes towards the United States as a country and Americans as a people are more negative in early 2004 than in 2002 and close to all time lows.The decline in positive attitudes towards the United States and Americans is both palpable and contrary to national security. This negative view is more pronounced in attitudes towards us as a country (related to U.S. policies) than as a people (related to American values and culture). Still, as a people, while reduced majorities in Europe remain positive towards us, this is not so in Muslim countries. Majorities in those countries hold...

Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University and the Center for Arts and Culture held a Meeting on Cultural Diplomacy on April 30, 2003 in Washington, DC. This is a transcript of the introductory speech entitled “Cultural Diplomacy Best Practices” presented by Thomas Pickering.

The essay that follows has two objectives. First, to provide a brief survey of some of the major cultural policy initiatives of the United States government from the 1930’s until recent times. Second, to underscore some of the broader patterns and trends that can be discerned in America’s cultural relations with other countries and other peoples.