Transcripts For CSPAN3 CSIS Hosts Discussion On Public Diplo

National security advisor ben rhodes. And former undersecretary of state jim glassman to begin. Theyll be talking about Public Diplomacy of the past two president ial administrations and what they recommend for the Incoming Trump administration. Good afternoon. Were going to go ahead and get started. N my name is shannon green, senior fellow and director of the human rights director and it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you today for what proves to be a fascinating discussion on Public Diplomacy and National Security. We have a very full program today so i thought i would very briefly walk through the agenda before we invite the speakers on to the stage. First up we have Catherine Brown and jay wong who will present the paper that we just published online today called Public Diplomacy and National Security in 2017. Building alliances, fighting extremism, and dispelling disinformation. Catherine is counsel on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow and a visiting fellow with my program here at csis. Weve been very fortunate to have her for a couple of months leading this work on Public Diplomacy. She most recently served as the executive director of the u. S. Advisory commission on Public Diplomacy. Jay wong is an associate professor at the Usc Annenberg school for communication and journalism and director of the usc center on Public Diplomacy. Paper that they are going to present to you today emerged from a workshop that we held jointly with jays center back in november. Essentially what it does is conducts an assessment of where weve been with Public Diplomacy what are the main successes under the Obama Administration, and then we suggest some ways that we can strengthen Public Diplomacy going forward. So then following that brief presentation, Michael Crowley from politico will lead a discussion with two central figures in Public Diplomacy, ben rhodes and ambassador jim glassman. We are extremely fortunate to have both of them here today to share their experiences and senior roles in the obama and Bush Administrations respectively. Then during this time youll have an opportunity to ask ben and jim some questions about Public Diplomacy so well open up the floor for a q a. Finally, well hear from acting undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and public affairs, Bruce Wharton, who is poised to very ably lead the Public Diplomacy apparatus at stake through the transition. So after the formal program well invite you all to join us for a Cocktail Reception. The paper really looks more specifically at how to leverage Public Diplomacy to build alliances, counterbalance extremism and also to dispel disinformation from state actors. This paper was an effort by about 40 different stake holders from across government, from academia, Civil Society, and through different Public Diplomacy implementing partners to really try to create a document of record of the progress that weve seen the last eight years with Obama Administration, building on progress from the Bush Administration, and to give our best possible prescriptions moving forward in to the next administration. So im going to welcome jay now up to the stage to go over the top line 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. We are very glad to be back in d. C. And to be a partner with todays discussion and also for this particular study. So as catherine 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, their role in counter violent extremism, defining influence of fake narratives by state actors especially activities directed by the kremlin and building and strengthening networks with foreign publics. When Trump Administration officials enter into the government they will find a pd apparatus consumed by these critical issues. Therefore, workshop participants aim to identify successes, pinpoint enduring challenges, and provide concrete recommendations for reforms and improvements in all of 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. Sta 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 nonelite audiences through various existing Exchange Programs and through the Young Leaders initiatives, developing the Exchange Alumni office of the in the educational and Cultural Affairs bureau to maintain networks of tens of thousands of eca Program Alumni worldwide, advancing the team of entrepreneurship to leverage the soft power of american entrepreneurship and innovation, and continuing to enhance a career path for preprofessional to Better Connect Public Diplomacy with policy including increasing advancement of Foreign Service officers to pd roles. Yet enduring challenges remain for pd program fishers in. They include confronting the gap between ideals and reality within the United States, with foreign citizens. As domestic news, as we all know, it is often picked up and relaid overseas by foreign outlets. News stories on violence, Police Brutality and issues of American Society confronts every day such as racism, discrimination, illustrate or enduring value of transparency. But 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 do not connect to a foreign citizen. Moreover, working within a stymied bureaucratic structure continues to be difficult for pd practitioners to effectively engage abroad. There are several road blocks ensuring that there is sufficient strategic planning, budgeting and research to support Public Diplomacy operations which we outline in the report. Thought leaders and experts consulted for this 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. It should also put a premium on recruiting political appointees with Technical Expertise needed to advance effective and impactful pd programs. Continuing to take Audience Research and impact evaluations seriously, paying close attention to Audience Research to help shape and inform 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 that our conversations with members of congress and their staffs emphasize how Public Diplomacy programs and tools Work Together and how they apply to various global and bilateral challenges. And 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 addressed more targeted issues currently relevant to the Foreign Policy landscape and the role of Public Diplomacy. Building and strengthening alliances, countering violent extremism and countering the negative inplufluence of false narratives from state actors, particularly activities directed by the kremlin. So i will share with you just a general some of the general points for one particular area of discussion, how we define state narrative false narratives from state actors through Public Diplomacy. Catherine will come and talk about building alliances ant countering violent extremism in Public Diplomacy. Increasingly we are seeing state actors advancing false narratives. They are meant to influence Public Opinion around the world, to turn it against the United States. While some of the technologies at issue are new, it is crucial to remember that u. S. Public diplomacy has responded successful to similar threats in its history. Many elements of u. S. Public diplomacy in International Broadcasting were created specifically to defy adversary influence during the cold war. This experience continues to hold valuable lessons for us in continuing strategies going forward. In terms of themes we need to articulate in the broadest terms who weals the west stand for. In present conditions, it is important that American Values such as human rights be presented as universal rather than geographically specific. This said, . 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 audience, not solely focusing on countering narratives of others. People have an inherent right to Accurate Information and acknowledge that this is a battleground of ideas and world views. We can defend post world war ii and multilateralism. This could provide a framework to address such a vision. In terms of tools, pd tactics to counter this information need to be revamped. The white house and state department should work with congress on legislation to support public resource and stable Public Diplomacy platforms and programs in countries and regions most affected by disinformation campaigns. In terms of research, the state Department Needs to do a better job of listening to target audiences to understand their needs and the impact of pd programs and messaging efforts. This means partnering with local ngos who understand these audiences better. Audiences consistently request not only news but also entertainment in local languages, such as russian, so they are not dependent on russian entertainment and absorbing the russian world view in the process. Producing this content will require partnering with local news and entertainment professionals. The state department should try to reopen american spaces in russia beyond the u. S. Embassy in moscow. Finally, it should be remembered that the u. S. Tactics in a cold war included direct negotiations with the ussr on information propaganda issues. If media has become an armament and information a tool of policy influence, the United States needs a negotiating process that puts Public Diplomacy at the center. Finally, in terms of structure, there are two things of coordination within the United States government that need to improve. First, the Intelligence Community needs to do a better job of declassifying and releasing intelligence that demonstrates russian and other states attempts to influence political and social debates and sew doubt and suspicion within the United States and our allies. Second, the u. S. Government should bring together a brain trust of experts on disinformation, including academics and the private sector to inform the u. S. Governments interagency approach to this issue. In addition to local ngos and Civil Society networks overseas. Within the apparatus of u. S. Public diplomacy, the information teams within imp should be tren scentral itzed t more responsive to local governments. And develop a region at strategic with the european and Central Asian countries to rebuild a common agenda for security and development and to offer the kind of vision that will not only inspire our friends but in times transform conditions that lead people to position ourselves as our adversaries. Ill ask catherine to give us an overview of some of the recommendations in the other two areas. Helped with the creation of that part of the report. For the sake of time im going to very quickly just go over the countering violent extremism dimension of this paper. It is online and you will see that we go through building and strengthening alliances, dispelling disinformation from state actors but also focus on themes, tools and structures needed for all three of those areas. For cve, this discussion on countering violent extremism at our workshop was based on the november report turning point which provides the u. S. Administration a strategy to counter violent terrorism. While the u. S. Government has invested much in hard power tactics to fight terrorism, it has overlooked the soft power necessary to blunt the extremist ideologie ideologies. By helping to leverage american soft power and help persuade foreign citizens from being drawn into extremist ideologies and narratives. Under the themes necessary we felt for the the next administration to promote when it comes to Public Diplomacys role in cve. The u. S. Must develop a stronger narrative that focuseses on integrating individuals into the local, regional and Global Economy. And also a more positive narrative would encourage greater tolerance and an emphasis on dig nitd anity and. Generally supporting development in societies in which people, including minorities and the most vulnerable, have plenf fup avenues to find meaning and belonging. For tools to promote these more inclusive themes, the u. S. Government needs to empower local Civil Society actors and ensure they have the operating space and Political Support to do so. Pd officers should also support the creation and summation of books and literature that promote tolerance in schools via mobile libraries. In exchange dimension of Public Diplomacy is key here as well. Professional Development Activity such as International Visitor Leadership Programs can be used more strategically to foster networks between for rirn and american businesses. In foreign academic institutions and Civil Society leaders and religious institutions. Structurally we believe given the people centric nature, it makes all of this work all this work should be led by civilians and government. That leadership should also work to improve intraagency cooperation and know that Public Diplomacys role in cve is to deconflict overlapping activities. Turning point point recommends an assistant to the president on cve to enhance accountability for results. While structure is important it is equally critical that the Incoming Administration demonstrates leadership on cve and puts greater weight on soft power. It is crucial here also that we think that the field needs to have some autonomy. Foreign Service