Transcripts For CSPAN2 CSIS Hosts Discussion On Public Diplo

I i would briefly walked to the agenda before we invite the speakers onto the stage. First up we have Katherine Brown and jay wang will participate on a paper which is published online today called Public Diplomacy and National Security in 2017. Building alliances, fighting extremism and dispelling this information. Katherine is council of Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow and a visiting fellow with my program here at csis and weve been fortunate to have her for a couple of months leading to his work on Public Diplomacy. She most recently served as executive director of the u. S. Advisory commission on Public Diplomacy. Jay wang is an associate professor at the Usc Annenberg school for communication and journalism, and director of the usc center on Public Diplomacy. The paper theyre going to present to you today emerged from the workshop that we held jointly with jason center back in november. Essentially what it does is indexed and assessment of where weve been with Public Diplomacy and what are the main successes under the Obama Administration. And do we suggest some ways we can strengthen Public Diplomacy going forward. So then following that brief presentation, Michael Crowley from political will lead a discussion with two simple figures in Public Diplomacy, ben rhodes and ambassador jim glassman. We are extreme fortunate to have both of them here today to share their experiences and senior roles in the obama and Bush Administration respectively. During this time of an opportunity to ask them some questions about Public Diplomacy so we will open up the floor for q a. Finally well hear from acting undersecretary republican diplomacy and affairs bruce morton was poised to very ably lead Public Diplomacy apparatus in state that the transition. After the formal program will invite you all to join us for a Cocktail Reception and during that time we will have the paper that we are presenting out on a touch screen so you can scroll through it. Its also available at the website. Without further ado i like to welcome katherine and jay to the stage. [applause] i am not jay. I am Katherine Brown. Its great to see so many of you. Thank you so much for coming and im going to quickly go through some top points on this paper we just released a few minutes ago on Public Diplomacy and National Security in 2017, Lessons Learned. But the paper really looks more specific at how to leverage Public Diplomacy to build alliances, counter violent extremism and also to dispel misinformation from state actors. This paper was an effort by about 40 different stakeholders from across governments, from academia, Civil Society and through different partners to really create a document of record of the progress we have seen the last eight years with the Obama Administration, building a progress from the Bush Administration. And to give our best possible prescriptions moving forward into the next administration. So im going to welcome jay now up to the stage to go over the topline findings, and those on how to dispel disinformation from state actors. And i will come back. Good afternoon. I am very glad to be here, and we are very glad to be back in d. C. And to be a partner for todays discussion and also for this particular study. So as katherine mentioned, last november csis and cpd convened three dozen Public Diplomacy thought leaders currently working in and out of government to assess the successes of pd during the Obama Administration and to make recommendations for future course. The session focused on the major challenges confronting Public Diplomacy today. Namely, the role in countering violent extremism, defining influence of fake narratives by state actors especially activities directed by the kremlin and building and strengthening networks with foreign publics which are critical for achieving uniform policy goals. When the Trump Administration officials entered into the government they will find pd apparatus consumed by these critical issues. Therefore, the workshop participants aim to identify successes, pinpoint enduring challenges and provide concrete recommendations for reforms and improvements in all these three areas, looking at the aspects of themes, tools and structures. Im going to provide a very broad overview of some of our findings. Stakeholders agree that the overarching successes of the Obama Administration have included reaching larger global communities through new digital platforms throughout the state department. Expanding educational and professional Development Opportunities to not delete through various existing Exchange Programs and through the Young Leaders initiatives. Developing the exchange of Alumni Office in the educational and Cultural Affairs appear to maintain that work tens of thousands of easy a Program Alumni worldwide, advancing theme of entrepreneurship to leverage a soft power of american entrepreneurship and innovation, and continuing to enhance a career path for preprofessional to Better Connect Public Diplomacy with policy including investment of Foreign Service officers cpd roles. Yet enduring challenges remain for pd practitioners. They include confronting the gap between ideals and realities within the United States, with foreign citizens. As domestic news is often picked up and relate overseas i foreign outlets. News stories on violence, Police Brutality and issues of American Society confronts everyday such as racism, discrimination illustrate our enduring value of transparency. At the same time they can also undermine the messages about american pluralism, inclusiveness and tolerance with nonamerican audiences. Public diplomacy practitioners must be better prepared to address and contextualize domestic events in the field rather than to stick to sanitized talking points that did not connect to a foreign citizen. Working within a stymied bureaucratic structure continues to be difficult for pd practitioners to effectively engage abroad. There are several roadblocks insuring that theres sufficient strategic planning, budgeting the research to support Public Diplomacy operations which we outlined in the report. Thought leaders and experts consulted for the study made the following additional recommendations for pd going forward. Focus on initiatives that work instead of creating new ones. Empowering Public Diplomacy professionals in the field. It is important to listen to pd practitioners at embassies and empower them to be responsive to their environments. Investing in our Public Diplomacy professionals. The Trump Administration must focus on their professional development and advancement within the state department. They should also put a premium on recruiting political appointees with Technical Expertise needed to advance effective and impactful pd programs. Continue to take Audience Research and Impact Evaluation seriously, paying close attention to Audience Research to help shape and for programming strategies will be essential moving forward. Changing the conversation with congress. Pd requires a toolkit of information, cultural, educational activities. It is not defined by one particular program. It is essential our conversations with members of congress and their staffs emphasize how programs and tools Work Together and how they apply to various global and bilateral challenges. Finally, seeking partnerships with private and Civil Society organizations. These general recommendations emphasize the big picture successes and remaining challenges from the Obama Administration. We also address more targeted issues currently relevant to the foreignpolicy landscape and the role of Public Diplomacy. Building and strengthening alliances, countering violent extremism and countering the negative influence of false narratives from state actors, particularly activities directed by the claimant. So i will share with you just a general, some of the general points for one particular area of discussion, how we define false narrative from state actors to Public Diplomacy and kathy will come and talk about building alliances and counter violence estimates of the role of Public Diplomacy in those activities. Increasingly we are seeing state actors directed, their campaigns to counter u. S. And allied messages. In many cases this false narratives are meant to influence Public Opinion around the world, to target against the United States. While some of the technologies at issue are new, it is crucial to remember you with Public Diplomacy has responded successfully to sober threats in its history. Many elements of years Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting were created to defy adversary influence during the cold war. This experience contains invaluable lessons for us to think of strategies going for. In terms of themes we need to articulate in the broadest terms who we in the west stand for. And present conditions it is important American Values such as human rights be presented as universal rather than geographically specific. This said in terms of narratives we need to tell stories that are not about us as much as about our local audiences. Our programs and narratives must resonate with and be responsive to local audiences. This should not be solely focused on counting the narratives of others. The government should communicate that people have an inherent right to Accurate Information and technology that this is a battleground of ideas and worldviews. We can defend post one or two liberal institutionalism and multilateralism and may find a 21st Century Global Development Agenda could provide a framework to address such addition to entrance of tools, pd tactics to counter this information need to be revamped. The white house will work with congress on legislation to support public resource and stable Public Diplomacy platforms and programs in countries and regions most affected by this campaign. In terms of research, the state Department Needs to do a better job of listening to target audiences to understand the needs and the impact of pd programs and messaging efforts. This means partnering with local ngos who understand these audiences better. The media had become an armament, a tool of policy influence, the united gates needs a negotiating process that put the Public Policy at the center appeared final in terms of structure, theres two forms within the United States government. First the Intelligence Community said it better job of cleve undreamed declassifying that demonstrates russian and attempts to influence political and social debates of the doubt and suspicion within the United States and allies. The u. S. Government should bring together a brain trust of experts on information including academics and private sector to inform the u. S. Government interagency approach to this issue. In addition to local ngos and Civil Society networks overseas. Within the apparatus of u. S. Diplomacy, the Young Commission should be decentralized so the information campaigns can be more responsive to local audiences. Finally, the u. S. Government needs to develop original strategy with the european and Central Asian countries to rebuild a common agenda for security and development and offer the vision that would not only inspire our friends at transfer and conditions that lead people to position themselves as adversaries. I will ask up front to give us an overview of the recommendations. [inaudible] the creation of that type of report. For the sake of time dimension of this paper and so it is online and you will see that we will go through strengthening alliances, despite information of state actors but also focus on themes, tools and structures needed for all three of those areas. So for a cbe, the discussion on extremism matter workshop was based on csi as november report turning point which provides the u. S. Administration a comprehensive strategy based on 15 years of experimentation and learning in the assessment is while the u. S. Government has invested hard power tactics to fight terrorism, its overlook soft power necessary to extremist ideology. Public diplomacy plays a role by helping to leverage american soft power and hoping to inoculate and dissuade citizens from being drawn into extremist ideologies emeritus. Under the things necessary for the next administration to promote when it comes to Public Diplomacy role, without the u. S. Must develop a stronger narrative that focuses on integrating individuals into the local, regional and Global Economy. A more positive narrative putting could tolerance an emphasis on dignity and justice are generally supporting development and society from which people including minorities and the most honorable of plentiful avenues to find meaning and belonging. For the tools to promote inclusive games, without the u. S. Government is to empower local Society Actors to spread positive messages organically and ensure the operating space and Political Support to do so. Officer should also support the creation of books and literature that promote tolerance via mobile libraries. The exchange dimension of Public Diplomacy is key as well wait for a professional Development Committee such as Leadership Programs can foster networks between foreign and american businesses. An academic institutions, religious institutions and Civil Society leaders to challenge extremist narratives and agendas. Structurally, given the people centric nature of the sufferers, and makes all of us work it should at least be led by civilians and government. The leadership should also improve interagency cooperation in other Public Diplomacys role is to deconflict overlapping committees. The turning point recommends the president is on the white house to lead these efforts and enhance accountability for results and wall structures important, its equally critical of the Incoming Administration demonstrates leadership and puts greater weight on soft power these are hard power. Its crucial that we think that the field needs to have autonomy. Foreign Service Officers must get out of their compounds and engage and develop relationships with local leaders who need the u. S. Government resources and support to compete with extremist voices on and off line. You can read more in the report about all of these areas but in closing we believe the central pillar to more than 60 years in creating and maintaining relationships abroad with leaders, innovators and change makers to influence conduct of International Affairs requires american commitment in strategic investment of resources over the very long term. It also requires us to live up to values of inclusiveness and tolerance here at home. The incoming the participants involved in