New Public Diplomacy Meets Trump Diplomacy, by Joe Johnson
A recent dialogue about the innovations in public diplomacy over the past ten years brings to light a remarkable transformation in government, but it raises new questions: Is the “new public diplomacy” suited to how the United States has been conducting foreign relations since January of this year?Dan Spokojny, founder and CEO of fp21, published an interview last week with PDCA member Paul Kruchoski. Until June of this year, Kruchoski directed the State Department’s Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources in the Undersecretariat of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R/PPR), where he led an initiative to update and upgrade the practice of public diplomacy. The effort spanned reorganization at embassies and in Washington bureaus, a conceptual model with the first “doctrine” ever applied to PD, and new technology.
The New Public Diplomacy
In the interview, Kruchoski explains the concept and details of how he (and a hundred or so Civil and Foreign Service colleagues, together with contracted experts) made it happen. It’s a fascinating read for anyone interested in government or diplomacy.
The through lines of the whole effort were to build embassy public diplomacy teams that would:
- focus on projects with clear objectives that align with embassy goals;
- define and describe communication objectives that would change key audiences’ attitudes and behavior and could be measured and evaluated.
The New-New American Diplomacy
The modernization assumes that embassies are pursuing long-term diplomatic goals that involve mobilizing public support or catalyzing change in the society. In past years, the Integrated Country Strategies contained goals meant to promote political and economic stability. If country strategies still exist, they are not visible on the State.gov website; they're likely undergoing extensive review. Judging from news coverage, our foreign policy changes dramatically from one week to the next and embassies may not be involved. The White House often issues statements on matters from war and peace to tariff rates through short social media posts. Moreover, embassy goals that dealt with human rights, democratic norms, and public corruption are no longer Administration priorities. Will new embassy goals involve public diplomacy campaigns, and will foreign policies settle into more enduring patterns?
To carry out their initiatives, most PD sections have relied on small grants and educational and cultural exchange to do the heavy lifting. Local influencers and organizations usually have greater credibility with the local public than a foreign government. Many of those small-grant recipients are led by former participants in U.S. exchange programs, which are deemed the most effective tool in the public diplomacy kit.
At this time, the issuance of small grants has been frozen. Exchange programs are going through extensive reductions; just last week, the Administration announced its intent to rescind more than $100 million appropriated for exchanges this year. Taking into account other planned budget cuts, an embassy’s toolkit may consist of little more than press statements, social media accounts, and staff time – which will surely be reduced further if personnel cuts continue.
PD Modernization, More than Ever Necessary
Nevertheless, the new doctrine, the associated training of staff, and the online suite of planning, audience, and evaluation databases are a core asset. PD modernization is a feat that took ten years to build, and the work persisted under three Presidential administrations. It’s a striking example how merit-based government employees can modernize and increase the effectiveness of government.
But assets always require upkeep. PD modernization is a work in progress. Continued efforts will be necessary to set in place the new organizational habits and to refine and improve the conceptual model. That work will fall to a new Senate-approved undersecretary.
Every government must have effective public diplomacy to further interests abroad and to maintain representational security. And the Trump Administration needs public diplomacy at the host-nation level more than most. Let’s hope that new leadership will build on these hard-earned assets and not let them fall away.
Joe Johnson, a veteran public diplomacy officer, served until 2023 as an instructor in public diplomacy at the Foreign Service Institute, where he pioneered training workshops on strategic planning for public diplomacy and worked with Paul Kruchoski's team for the PD modernization effort.