Cultural Diplomacy:

Hard to Define, but You'd Know It

If You Saw It
AMBASSADOR C Y N T H I A P. S C H N E I D E R

Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy

Georgetown University

You see I am an enthusiast on the subject of the arts. But it is an enthusiasm of

which I am not ashamed, as its object is to improve the taste of my countrymen, to
increase their reputation, to reconcile to them the respect ofthe world, and procure
them its praise.
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison

1 nt

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S OBSERVATION TO JAMES MADISON, penned from Paris on 20

September 1785, still ofFers a good definition of cultural diplomacy. Jefferson, the
statesman, scientist, and architect, recognized the potential for cultural expression to
shape international opinion about the fledgling republic. Over two hundred years later
in the post-9/11 era of opinion polls, Jefferson's argument remains relevant.'
Since 9/11 public diplomacy has emerged as a much discussed, if little understood,
component of foreign policy. Public diplomacy consists of all a nation does to explain
itself to the world, and cultural diplomacythe use of creative expression and exchanges
of ideas, information, and people to increase mutual understandingsupplies much
of its content.^ Most of the thirty-plus reports on public diplomacy issued in the last
four years focus on improving process and structure at the expense of content.^ With
the exception ofthe commendable but largely ignored Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy., all neglect the role of cultural diplomacy.'* If U.S. public
diplomacy is measured according to the three "strategic imperatives" put forward by
CYNTHIA P. SCHNEIDER is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and Director ofthe Life Science and Society Initiative at Georgetown Universiry. She is a non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute for
the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, and at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Schneider served as the
61st Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from August 1998 to June 2001.
Copyright 2006 by the Brown Journal of World Affairs

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Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes in testimony before the House Committee on

International Relations (10 November 2005)to offer a vision of hope, isolate and
marginalize violent extremists, and foster a sense of common interest and valuesthen
the report card is mixed at best. The image of the United States has declined steadily
over the lastfiveyears, in the Muslim world as well as in Europe and Canada,' and U.S.
citizens are increasingly viewed in the same negative light as U.S. policies.*
Discussions ofthe United States' declining image inevitably turn to public diplomacy. However, the expectation that public diplomacy can somehow repair the damage
caused by unpopular policies is unreasonable and at odds with the fundamental longterm goals of increasing understanding and building relationships and trust. Experience has shown that using public diplomacy as a rapid response tactic tends only to
alienate foreign publics even further. For example, a Southeast Asian diplomat told of
a U.S. library that had opened six times during the 1960s, always in response to crisis.
Each time the crisis abated, the library was shut down.^ According to one Egyptian
diplomat, "Cultural diplomacy emerges at times of crisis. But this should be a process
of building bridges, not a one way street. Developing respect for others and their way
of thinkingthis is what cultural diplomacy does."*
The surge of interest in public diplomacy since the attacks of 9/11 reveals that in
the United States public diplomacy is still primarily used as a response to crises. This
article will examine aspects ofthe public diplomacy response to the crisis of 9/11 and
will ask the following questions: What are the roles of public and cultural diplomacy
today, and what should they be? Recognizing that world opinion always will be significantly shaped by policy, how can cultural diplomacy increase understanding between
the United States and other countries and cultures, specifically the Arab and Muslim
worlds? Following a short review of past successful cultural diplomacy efforts, this study
will consider the challenges of cultural diplomacy with the Muslim world today and
will suggest potential strategies for the future.
HOT JAZZ IN THE COLD WAR

Cultural diplomacy saw its heyday during the cold war, when the United States armed
itself with jazz, abstract expressionism, and modern literature. In the late 1950s more
than 100 acts were sent to 89 countries in four years. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker brought abstract concepts of liberty to life
by democratizing their concerts and insisting that ordinary people, not just elites, be
allowed to listen. They departed on tours of one to two months, playing in Iran, Iraq,
Egypt, Nigeria, and many other Muslim countries, as well as in the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe.

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During this time American Cultural Centers thrived in many capitals of the
Islamic world, from Alexandria to Aleppo. Professor Samer Shehata of Georgetown
University recalls that the American Cultural Center in Alexandria was where he learned
about Jefferson and Lincoln.' In post-World War II Germany, Marshall Plan funds
contributed to building more than 80 centers, sowing the seeds of goodwill throughout the country. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, these centers were shut down. The
short-sighted belief that cultural outreach had outlived its purpose, combined with
the anti-arts movement in Congress (spearheaded by Senator Jesse Helms) led to the
elimination of much of the cultural programming, and ultimately the dissolution of
the United States Information Agency (USIA) itself By so effectively showcasing the
attributes of a free society, cultural diplomacy had made itself obsolete, or so many
thought. Warnings of the long-term dangers of diminishing cultural diplomacy by
Walter Laqueur, among others, went unheeded:
Nor can it seriously be arguedas some havethat these tools of U.S. foreign
policy are no longer needed now that the cold war is over and America no longer
faces major threats . . . far from being on the verge of a new order, the world has
entered a period of great disorder. In facing these new dangers, a re-examination of
old priorities is needed. Cultural diplomacy, in the widest sense, has increased in
importance, whereas traditional diplomacy and military power . . . are of limited
use in coping with most of these dangers.'"

I93

In 1994, shortly after the fall ofthe Berlin Wall, Laqueur's words may have sounded
alarmist; a dozen years later they appear all too prescient.
DISSENT AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Cultural diplomacy succeeded during the cold war in part because it allowed and even
fostered dissent. Artists, actors, musicians, and writers in any culture act as the national
conscience, reflecting, often critically, on society. Andras Simonyi, Hungarian Ambassador to the United States, himself a rock musician, commented:
Rock and roll was the Internet of the sixties and early seventies. It was the carrier
of the message of freedom. . . . Rock and roll, culturally speaking, was a decisive
element in loosening up communist societies and bringing them closer to a world
of freedom."
That the United States permitted critical voices as part of government-sponsored performances and emissaries astonished audiences everywhere, particularly behind the Iron
Curtain. When, during a visit to the Soviet Union, U.S. author Norman Cousins was
asked whether U.S. writers would be punished for criticizing the government openly.

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he surprised his Soviet interlocutor by countering that any government official who
complained about writers' criticisms would be more likely to encounter difficulties.'^
Another U.S. writer recalled the impact ofthe exchanges as follows:
What I sensed they got out of visiting American writers was, to them, our spectacular
freedom to speak our minds. I mean, there we were, official representatives of the
U.S.sort ofthe equivalent of their Writers Union apparatchiks^who had no party
line at all... and who had the writers' tendency to speak out on controversial issues.
. . . In other words, the exchanges enabled Soviet writers, intellectuals, students, et
al. to see that that the "free world" wasn't just political cant.'^
Voices of dissent have been notably absent in more recent attempts to instill ideas of
democracy in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Diplomats such as Undersecretary for Pub-

Voices of dissent have been notably absent i'^ Diplomacy Hughes have discussed
in more recent attempts to instill ideas of '^^"'""^'^ ^\''^' the world, but audiences in undemocratic societies have

democracy in the Arab and Muslim worlds, had Uttie tangible experience of what

194

freedom of speech means in the United States. Outside the elite circles of the highly
educated and well-traveled, students and journalists in Arab and Muslim countries
know little about opposition to Bush administration policies or anti-war sentiments
and protests in the United States.'''
The current administrative structure for public and cultural diplomacyas a
bureau within the State Departmentcompromises the independence of cultural diplomacy, which is essential to its credibility. Cultural diplomacy was persuasive during the
cold war because its "ambassadors"performers, writers, thinkers^were perceived to
be independent ofthe government. From the first discussions about public diplomacy
by the Creel Committee in 1917-1919, through the creation (1953) and dismantling
(1999) of USIA, and even in the reports and commissions ofthe last five years, the
merits of housing public diplomacy activities inside or outside the State Department
have been debated.'^ Recently, the Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy to the secretary of state recommended an "independent clearinghouse, in the
manner ofthe British Council."'^
Other countries realize the importance of an arm's-Iength relationship between a
cultural presence and the government. For example, although both the British Council
and the Goethe Institute are funded by the British and German governments respectively, they operate independently. According to an official with the British Council,
"We're not prepared to accept the Foreign Office's message for short-term political gain,
because that would undermine our credibility."'^ U.S. diplomats also understand that
public diplomacy initiatives are more effective if they are perceived to be separate from
any goal of advancing specific policy objectives. A foreign service officer, quoted on

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conditions of anonymity, stated, "Public diplomacy is not really about getting things
in the press. It's about long-term engagement. It can't be just about supporting the
policyit has to be deeper than that.""
The damage to the United States' reputation from the revelations of atrocities and
injustices at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay has further crippled public and cultural
diplomacy." Serious cracks have emerged in the United States' image as a model for "a
positive vision of hope and opportunity," to quote Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy
Karen Hughes, who has described her work as a "conversation" with the world. A conversation that begins by acknowledging flaws in our democracy would demonstrate a
characteristic that distinguishes democratic countries: self-criticism. By increasing our
accessibility, humility can help to build bridges with the rest of the world.
C O M M O N VALUES AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Fostering common values has been a key tenet of cultural diplomacy with the Muslim
world from the immediate aftermath of 9/11 to the present. In her travels and speeches.
Undersecretary Hughes focuses on the common values of "faith, family and social justice
and responsibility."^" While increasing understanding and establishing trust have always
been fimdamental to cultural diplomacy, campaigns to discover common values between
the United States and other countries and cultures can obscure legitimate differences in
perspective. For example, the interactions between individuals and their communities
are different in the United States and the Arab and Muslim worlds. As Rami Khoury,
editor-at-large for Beirut's English newspaper The Daily Star, explained:
In fact, people in most countries of the Middle East, in Asia and Africa give up
personal freedom in return for the benefits they get from belonging to a group,
the family, the tribe, the religious group, the clan, the ethnic group; you know, the
Armenians, the Kurds, the Druze, and the Islamic Ummah, the Arab nation, all of
these.... But this group that you belong to gives you meaning, gives you protection,
gives you a sense of hope for the future. It gives you all of those things that you in
this country get from your status as individual citizens in a country run according
to the rule of law in which there is a mechanism, reasonably fair, for a redress of
grievance and adjudication of your disputes through the law. We don't have that
system in most ofthe third world and the Arab world, so you don't get these things
from a sense of security or a sense of identity or sense of well-being for the future.
You don't get them from your status as a citizen in a state of law or land. You get
them from your family, your tribe, your religious group, whatever.^'
By contrast, the classic U.S. hero, in art and in life, from Huckleberry Finn to Rosa
Parks, is the individual who fights the system. This difference in roles given to families
and individuals has precipitated some ofthe misunderstandings between cultures.^^ If

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cultural diplomacy helped illuminate such diflFerence between our ctiltures, then perhaps
it could begin to help us understand one another as well.
POLITICS DEMONIZES, ART HUMANIZES

Given the resurgence of conflict between Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah, the Iraq war,
the prison scandals, the stagnation ofthe Middle East peace process, and the election of
Hamas, this is a particularly difficult moment for relations between the United States
and the Arab and Muslim worlds. During moments of tension and conflict such as these,
cultural diplomacy can emerge as an effectiveand sometimes the only viablemeans
of communication. Creative expression crosses cultures, helping people from diverse
backgrounds to find common ground. The Nigerian Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
Wole Soyinka aptly observed that "art humanizes while politics demonizes."^^ To maximize the impact of cultural diplomacy, the following should be understood:

19B

Cultural diplomacy is a two-way street.

Cultural diplomacy operates in the long term.
Cultural diplomacy does not explain or compensate for unpopular policies.
Cultural diplomacy can increase understanding between different peoples and
cultures.
Cultural diplomacy can divert or entertain while communicating aspects of
U.S. culture, such as diversity, opportunity, individual expression, freedom of
speech, and meritocracy.
Cultural diplomacy can open doors between U.S. diplomats and their host
countries, even when relations are strained.
Cultural diplomacy cannot be effectively measured; it makes a qualitative, not
quantitative, difference in relations between nations and peoples.
Cultural diplomacy works best when it caters to the interests of a host country
or region.
In todays climate of tight budgets, cultural diplomacy needs to be creative,
flexible, and opportunistic.

Effective cultural diplomacy initiatives can be wholly original, or they can build on
extant programs, exhibitions, or performances; they can be sponsored by the government
or by the private sector. Most important, though, is that they resonate with the local
population. Sometimes a positive impact is predictable, other times not. For example,
the success of a visiting break dancing group to Damascus in the 1980s exceeded all
expectations. The Syrian audience became so carried away that even the security guards
joined in, pantomiming living in a glass cage as they danced.^^
The potential for cultural diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim worlds far surpasses
the record to date. Considering what has worked well and what might work in the future, I will now look at the possibilities for cultural diplomacy in three key areasfiltn.

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music, and literature.
FILM

Already well-established in Iran, Egypt, and India, film is growing in other Arab and
Muslim countries including the U.A.E., Oman, and even Yemen. For a country like
Iran, film provides one of the few openings for Americans. Now entering its 25''"
year, the /vyVfilm festival includes U.S. films (even if none won awards in 2005) and
Americans among its judges. Dubai, Cairo, and Oman all hold film festivals, and Arab
and Muslim film festivals take place throughout Europe and the United States. Only
a concomitant increase in production and screening of contemporary films from the
Arab and Muslim worlds is lacking.
Against all odds, the first Yemeni feature film, A New Day in Old Sana'a, was
released in 2005. Director Bader Ben Hirsi and producer Ahmed Abdali wanted to
"counter the sensationalist coverage of the Arab world" and to enable viewers to "go
behind the walls and [find] out a bit more about the women, the men, the culture,
customs, and traditions" of Yemen.^^ Making the film entailed shipping nine tons of
equipment from Beirut; finding and training Yemeni actors; fending off angry onlookers, a hostile press, and the Ministry of Culture; and a public defense before the
Parliament.^^ A New Day in Old Sana'a has been shown to acclaim in many venues
from Cairo (where it won the Arab Film Award at the Cairo Film Festival) to Toronto
and New York, but it only has been screened a few times in Sana'a itself Even so, the
Yemeni Parliament has said it would "fund" another film (out of a $1.4 million budget,
the Yemeni government contributed $40,000).
The example o^A New Day in Old Sana'a is illustrative ofthe difficulties in making films in most of the Arab and Muslim world. Despite the burgeoning popularity
offilmand film festivals there, more than 90 percent ofthe films shown are U.S. films.
Furthermore, Arab-madefilmstend to be parochial, and apart from festivals, are rarely
screened outside their country of originOil-rich Gulf states such as the U.A.E. and
Oman host lavishfilmfestivals and celebrate stereotypes js ever to be realized,
film icons such as Egyptian director Youssef ([^gp mQi-g films about everyday Arab
Chahine or actor Adellman, but funding for
, . . ,. ,.
...,
. ,
,
youngfilmmakersis virtually non-existent. 3"^ "^"Slim llVeS Will haVe tO be made.
Traditionally, European (rather than U.S.) sources have provided funding for films
from the Arab world, but with a distinct predilection for political films that focus on
the conflicts in the region.^' If the potential of film to break down stereotypes is ever
to be realized, then more films about everyday Arab and Muslim lives will have to be

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made. Equally important, in order to broaden views about the Islamic world in the
West, Arab and Muslim actors need to be seen with greater regularity in films and TV
shows about everyday life.
The lack of funding in the Arab and Muslim worlds combined with the wealth
of experience in filmmaking in the United States opens up a tremendous opportunity
for cultural diplomacy. At present, the U.S. government supports film in the Arab and
Muslim worlds by sending film experts and U.S. films to festivals in the Middle East
and Asia. Supporting young Arab filmmakers could contribute to the opening up of
Arab and Muslim societies, given the general tendency offilmmakersto look critically
at their worlds.
Although Hollywood can inspire admiration, envy, or disgust, it still is the
gold standard for filmmaking. Hany Abu-Assad, whose film Paradise Now captured
a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar, is in a class by himself as the only
Arab or Muslimfilmtnakerto have succeeded in Hollywood. His example is instructive.
Recognized as a talent with good ideas, he received mentoring and advice at screenwriting workshops in France and at the Sundance Institute.^' For a film to succeed
internationally, as Paradise Now has done, Abu-Assad and Michael Nozik, producer of
Syriana, believe that the film has to speak an international language. In other words, it
must adopt a more streamlined, dramatic narrative style than is characteristic of many
Arab films. According to Abu-Assad and Nozik, the United States (and the West in
general) has much to offer in terms of mentoring and developing talent in filmmaking.
The Doris Duke Foundation has partnered with the Sundance Institute to support the
participation of more Arab and Muslimfilmmakers;hopefully, other groups will take
similar initiatives.
The United States has everything to gain by becoming more generous with its
financial and human resources in filmmaking. Film has the power to tear down as well
as build up; the United States was targeted in a recent Turkish film about the fighting
in Iraq, which went on to become the most popular film in the country. The wife of
the prime minister even attended the opening of this high profile anti-U.S. production. Given the power of film to spread negative images of the United States, it is in
the United States' interest to supportfilmmakersin creating itnages that bridge, rather
than widen, cultural gaps.^"
MUSIC

The worldwide dominance of hip-hop as well as the popularity of Muslim musicians

such as Sami Yusef among non-Muslim audiences proves that music is a universal
language. Though it originated in the United States, hip-hop music is now pervasive

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enough in the Arab and Muslim worlds to warrant a Wikipedia entry on "Arab HipHop." Like jazz, it has resonated throughout the world with singers and groups from
Amsterdam to Almaty integrating the basic beat of American hip-hop with their own
traditions and languages. A genre conceived as outsiders' protest against the system,
hip-hop resonates with those marginalized from the mainstream. From the suburbs of

Paris to Kyrgyzstan in central Asia, hip-hop HJp-hOp mUSiC OfferS a potential link
m u s i c reflects t h e struggle against a u t h o r -

. . . .

JL

IL

UU

. y 3, ,
. ^^p ^, . to Muslim and Arab youth; we should
lty.^'
When
terrorism
Jessica about
btern be mOTe Cfeative ' in tapping it.
asked Muslim youths inexpert
Amsterdam
Americans they admired, rapper Tupac Shakur was mentioned.^^ In the words of hiphop artist Ali Shaheed Muhammad, "People identify with the struggle. It doesn't really
matter where you come from, we all have the same story. The music has an aggression
to it, and it taps into the emotion or the spirit or the soul. Lots of times, people may
not understand what you are saying, but they also feel the pain."''
Although talented hip-hop artists perform all over the globe, the United States
still has the most respectedfigures.As with film, why not be more generous with our
hip-hop talent? This does not have to mean U.S. domination of the hip-hop scene.
Why not have global hip-hop jam sessions, with artists from difFerent countries playing
together? Instead of funding another report researching how to reach marginalized,
1QQ

hostile groups in the Arab and Muslim worlds, why not reach out to them with something we sharehip-hop music? If just one or two ofthe American hip-hop stars were
to become interested in such an initiative, the impact would be tremendous. Even more
significant would be if an American Muslim artist, such as Mos Def or Nas, participated
in the jam session or concert. Hip-hop music offers a potential link to Muslim and
Arab youth; we should be more creative in tapping it.
LITERATURE

When Amy Tan delivered a lecture in February of 2006 at Georgetown University's

School of Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar, she was introduced by two studentsone a
Qatari, one a Palestinianboth of whom spoke of how profoundly Tan's The Joy Luck
Club had influenced their adolescent struggles with issues of identity and culture. Initially astonished by the reaction, Ms. Tan said, "I had no idea that people would read
this book about a very quirky family of Chinese-Americans and that anyone would
identify with it. Imagine my surprise when people came up to me who were Jewish and
Turkish and German saying that the book was exactly like relations in their families."'^
The two young Arab women found their own questions and doubts mirrored in the
struggles ofTan's characters with issues of tradition, identification, patriotism, and loss.

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'""

It did not matter that the characters were Chinese-American; the stories appealed on
an emotional level.
That is the key to the power of art, and to the potential power of cultural diplomacythe appeal to emotions. In explaining her decision to write a novel as a way to
respond to the tragedy of Myanmar, Ms. Tan observed that without deliberately delivering a message, it is possible "through the serendipity of art to create something that
resonates with people."^' Millions will learn about the repressive regime in Myanmar
as they enjoy Saving Fish from Drowning; a negligible fraction of Amy Tans readership
would be likely to read a policy paper on Myanmar.
Literature can offer a textured, moving, thought-provoking, and entertaining
introduction to the United States, and yet the number of books translated into Arabic
every year is negligible. Cairo, the second largest U.S. Embassy in the world, received
just $37,500 in 2006 for translation projects; Embassy Amman received less than half
that amount.'^ While such funding is often supplemented by private efforts, it is in
the U.S. government's direct, strategic interest to support both English-Arabic and
Arabic-English translations to bridge the gap in understanding between cultures.
Translated literature also should be reassessed in light of the widespread use of
the Internet in many parts of the Arab and Muslim world. Translating literature on
the Internet could be both cost-effective and efficient. In Egypt, where Internet access is free, many more young people are likely to read books, articles, and poems on
the Internet than in their original form. Of course, this is an imperfect solution since
many in rural and impoverished settings cannot log on, but, in any case, translations
on the Internet would allow a much larger part of the Arab population to be exposed
to Western literature. Objections over intellectual property rights might be raised,
but hopefully they could be solved through government tax incentives, funding, or
the goodwill of the private sector. Using the Internet as the purveyor of literature and
ideas might also facilitate contact with publics in the Middle East, which has one of
the highest proportions of computer users in the world1 computer per 18 persons,
compared with the worldwide average of 1 per 78.^^ In order to maximize the potential
benefit of translating literature into Arabic, the U.S. strategy needs to be nimble, opportunistic, and willing to use technology to reach more people.'*
SOFT POWER, HARD DOLLARS

The examples of outreach strategies for film, music, and literature give an idea of what
might be possible for the United States to achieve by developing creative and coordinated strategies to communicate through culture.^' The irony is that the country
whose number one export is cultural products and whose popular culture permeates

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Diplomacy

the world is struggling to define itself Henry J. Hyde, when he was Chairman ofthe
House Committee on International Relations in the House of Representatives, noted,
"How is it that the country that invented Hollywood and Madison Avenue has allowed
such a destructive and parodied image of itself to become the intellectual coin of the
realm overseas?""*" One factor is the division between the private and public sectors in
the United States, something that is an anomaly in the Middle East. The dilemma is
that the United States' largely profit-driven popular culture is understood by much
of the world to "represent" the United States. Societies in which the lines between
the public and the private sector are blurred have difficulty reconciling their cultural
climates with the idea that the images of sex and violence in American film and music
are fictitious, emanate purely from the private sector, and do not reflect a government
communication strategy.
Soft power requires hard dollars. To even begin to make a dent in the negative
opinion worldwide about the United States would require an enormous increase in the
paltry sums currently allocated for public diplomacy. Although the public diplomacy
budgetused for both cultural programming and exchange programshas escalated
steadily over the last four years, the funds for 2006^just over $700 millionamount
to a fraction of 1 percent of the military affairs budget. The puny size of the public
diplomacy budget and consistently poor results from public opinion polls tell a tragic
story about U.S. efforts at cultural diplomacy. For all the reports on and declarations
ofthe importance of public diplomacy, the U.S. government has only paid lip service
to public and cultural diplomacy.
CONCLUSION

The preliminary results of a landmark Gallup poll of Muslim and Arab poptilations,
projected to reach one billion people, indicate the prevalent feeling of humiliation
that stems from a perceived lack of understanding and lack of respect from the West.""
Building understanding, respect, and trust to alleviate this feeling of humiliation will
require time, as well as cultural diplomacy. In the words ofthe Egyptian official interviewed by the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy:
Developing respect for others and their ways of thinkingthis is what cultural
diplomacy does
We want people to know about real Americans. Let your people
know that Egyptians are not just fanaticsIslam is one religion, but there are many
ways of applying i t . . . . Americans should build bridges, they shouldn't be afraid,
they need to open up
NOTES

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1. For a summary and analysis ofthe data collected by the Pew Research Centers Global Attitudes
project, see Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes, American Against the World (New York: Times Books, 2006).
For the most recent polling report, see Pew Research Center, "America's Image Slips, But Allies Share
U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas," Pew Global Attitudes Project, http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.
php?ReportID=252e (accessed 12 July 2006). For earlier reports, see Pew Research Center, "America's Image
Further Erodes, Europeans Want Weaker Ties," 18 March 2003, http://people-press.org/reports/display.
php3?ReportID=175 (accessed 12 July 2006); Pew Research Center, "Views ofa Changing World 2003,"
3 June 2003, http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=185 (accessed, 12 July 2006). Gallup has released preliminary results ofa poll of one billion Muslims to be completed by the end of 2006.
See Meredith Buel, "New Poll of Islamic World Says Most Muslims Reject Terrorism," Voice of America,
2 May 2006, http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05-02.voa82.cfm?CFID=7176751&CFT
OKEN=55381572 (accessed 14 June 2006).
2. This definition of cultural diplomacy is from Milton C. Cummings, "Cultural Diplomacy and the
United States Government: A Survey," Center for Arts and Culture, hrtp://www.culturalpolicy.org/pdf/
MCCpaper.pdf (accessed 14 August 2006); cited also in Cynthia P. Schneider, "Diplomacy that Worb:
'Best Practices' in Cultural Diplomacy," Center for Arts and Culture, http://www.culturalpolicy.org/pdf/
Schneider.pdf (accessed 15 July 2006).
3. For a summary of the reports and their recommendations, see Susan B. Epstein and Lisa Mages,
"Public Diplomacy: a Review of Past Recommendations," CRS Report for Congress, 2005.
4. Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, "Cultural Diplomacy: the Linchpin of Public Diplomacy," U.S. Department of State, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/54374.pdf (accessed 15
July 2006).
5. Kohut and Stokes, American Against the World, 27-29.
6. Ibid., 29-30.
7. Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, "Cultural Diplomacy," 12
8. Ibid.
9. "Communicating with the World: Diplomacy that Works" (conference, Georgetown University,
Washington DC, 30 April 2003).
10. Walter Laqueur, "Save Public Diplomacy," Foreign Affairs 73, no. 5 (1994): 20.
11. Bill Nichols, "How Rock n' Roll Freed the World," USA Today, 6 November 2003.
12. Cynthia P. Schneider, "Culture Communicates: U.S. Diplomacy that Works," in The New Public
Diplomacy: Soft Power in Intemational Relations, ed. Jan Melissen (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005),
152. See also Yale Richmond, Cultural Exchange and the Cold War (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2003), 158. On Soviet reactions to encounters with American freedoms, see Frederick C.
Barghoorn, The Soviet Cultural Offensive: the Role ofCultural Diplomacy in Soviet Foreign Policy (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1960).
13. Richmond, Cultural Exchange and the ColdWar, 154; quoting Ted Solotaroff.
14. Liza Chambers, conversation, 14 June, 2006. Information about students comes from Soliya, "The
Connect Program," http://wviw.soliya.net/ (accessed 15 July 2006). Soliya is an organization that brings
U.S. and Muslim world students together for virtual discussions, and exemplifies how the Internet can be
put to creative use to bridge gaps and increase understanding.
15. On the history of cultural diplomacy in the United States, see Richard T. Arndt The First Resort of
Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century (Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2005), 27-74,
264-337. On the "independence"or notof cultural affairs, see also Charles Frankel, The Neglected
Aspect ofForeign Affairs (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1965); Hans Tuch, ed. Communicating
with the World in the 199(h (Washington DC: USIA Alumni Association and The Public Diplomacy
Foundation, 1994).
16. Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, "Cultural Diplomacy," 1415.
17. Ibid., 15.
18. Nicholas Kralev, "Cultural Diplomacy Pays Off, Envoys Say," Washington Times, 22 March 2004.
19. Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, "Cultural Diplomacy," 22.

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20. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "U.S. Undersecretary of State Pushes for More Interfeith Dialog,"
11 June 2006, http://www.rfrl.org/featuresarticlepint/soo6/o6/b37ec268-416a-4591-abb3-659920b34l
(accessed 12 June 2006).
21. Rami Khoury, "Unprecedented Opportunity," interview by the Center for Public Integrity, 2 March,
2005, http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=665# (accessed 16 June 2006).
22. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation fir Women and Islam (New
York: Free Press, 2006) contrasts the importance of the individual in the west with values and practices
in Muslim societies. Laila Lalami, "The Missionary Position," The Nation, 19 June 2006 argues that differences are not so stark.
23. White House Conference on Cultural Diplomacy, November 2000.
24. The description of the break dance group in Syria relies on Schneider, "Diplomacy that Works."
The information originally came from a conversation with Marjorie Ransom in February 2003. See also
William A. Rugh, American Encounters with Arabs: Yhe "Soft Power " ofU. S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle
East (Westport, CN: Praeger Security International, 2006), 100.
25. Bader Ben Hirsi (Arts and Cultural Leaders Seminar, U.S.-Islamic World Forum, Doha, Qatar,
19 February 2006).
26. Bader Ben Hirsi, conversation, February 2006. The cast bonded so completely through these tribulations that no fewer than five marriages were celebrated among actors and members ofthe crew.
27. Arts and Cultural Leaders Seminar, US-Islamic World Forum, Doha, Qatar, 19 February 2006.
28. Conversations with filmmakers Omar Naim, Hany Abu-Assad, Bader Ben Hirsi, and Ahmed
Abdali.
29. Conversations with Hany Abu Assad and Michael Nozik (producer of Syriand), February and
March 2006.
30. A participant in the Arts and Cultural Leaders Seminar revealed that when she spent several days
with Chechen rebels in 1997, she discovered that the rebel leader Basayev modeled himself after an unlikely
combination of William Wallace and Rambo.
.
31. David Brooks, editorial, "Gangsta, in French," New York Times, 10 November 2005.
32. Conversation with Jessica Stern, March 2005.
33. Press release for the 2006 Arts and Cultural Leaders Seminar, U.S.-Islamic World Forum, Doha,
Qatar, 20 February 2006 www.us-islamicworldforum.org. A four time Grammy winner, Ali Shaheed
Muhammad is the founder ofthe group A Tribe Called Quest. See also Brooks, "Gangsta."
34. Arts and Cultural Leaders Seminar, U.S.-Islamic World Forum.
35. Ibid.; Amy Tan, Saving FishftomDrowning (Ne-w York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005).
36. T.J. Dowling, Bureau of International Information Programs, Department of State, 16 June
2006.
37. Government Accountability Office, "State Department Efforts to Engage Muslim Audiences Lack
Certain Communication Elements and Face Significant Challenges," United States Information Agency
Alumni Association, www.publicdiplomacy.org/63.htm (accessed 15 July 2005).
38. Soliya, "The Connect Program."
39. Government Accountability Office, "State Department Efforts to Engage Muslim Audiences" notes
the lack of an overall strategy for public diplomacy.
40. Henry J. Hyde, "Speaking to our Silent Allies: Public Diplomacy and U.S. Foreign Policy," Department of State, December 2002, http://usinfor.state.gov/journals/itps/1201/ijpe/pj7-4hyde.htm (accessed
16 June 2006).
41. Meredith Buel, "New Poll of Islamic World Says Most Muslims Reject Terrorism," Voice of
America News, 2 May 2006, http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-05/2006-05-02-voa82.
cfm?CFID=22008434&CFTOKEN=48206128 (accessed 15 June 2006); John Esposito, conversation,
Georgetown University, February 2006.
42. Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy, "Cultural Diplomacy," 14.

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2006 VOLUME XIII, ISSUE I