AMERICA'S ROLE IN THE WORLD: A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.

• Author: Williams, J. Edgar
• Position: Author abstract

This well-written report comes from a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to enlist the U.S. business community in efforts to improve the standing and reputation of America in the world. Its premise is that the U.S. "reputation crisis" has a negative impact on the U.S. economy as a whole, including business. It proposes to reverse this trend by improving and making wider use of public diplomacy. In this effort, the business community should have a prominent seat at the table.

For more than a decade, it asserts, public diplomacy has been downgraded--just another office in the Department of State. It should be taken out of State, since it is unlikely that State could secure the funding and human resources necessary for the vital job of changing the global mindset about the U.S. while also preserving American values and national interests. Public diplomacy, as it now exists, has fallen far behind American business in developing effective communications with people worldwide.

The report recommends placing public diplomacy under a non-partisan, independent Corporation for Public Diplomacy that would represent the business community along with other sectors. Another new, inter-agency...