"Relying heavily on scores of first-hand accounts collected through interviews, the studies examine the practice of public diplomacy largely from the perspective of American practitioners in different countries. The analyses follow the standard field officer approach, asking systematically: what iss
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ues in local public opinion should we be addressing; who should we engage; how can we best engage them; and how well are the programs working? This is an ongoing process at every field post, involving local staff and constant attention to contacts. The studies in this book focus on field operations during one period of time, broadly from the end of the Bush administration to the early Obama administration, so comparisons can be made between them to determine which practices are common and which are unique [...] The first chapters in this book offer analyses of public diplomacy operations in specific countries in Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, and Asia. Four other chapters focus directly on the specific question being asked by practitioners and scholars today: What is the role of the new media in public diplomacy? Two chapters present findings that advance our understanding of the role of the private sector, and the parallel roles of the State Department and the Peace Corps. The final chapter summarizes best practices from recent field experiences." (Preface, page x)
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"Unlike more recent books dealing with the press in the Middle East which focus upon the treatment of the Arab Israeli conflict, this one analyzes the news media as institutions, "to see what forms they have taken in the independent Arab states, how the self-governing Arab societies have chosen to c
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ontrol them, and how they relate to the political processes in the Arab world." The author, counselor for public affaire at the U.S. Embassy, Cairo and an expert on the region, looks in particular at the relationship between the mass media and the government with an eye to the extent of freedom that exists. Countries dealt with are the 18 nation states where Arabic is the official language of the people and the media. Much of the material is based on interviews and Arabic-languages sources. Notes and index." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 374)
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