USMA SENIOR CONFERENCE XLIII PUBLIC DIPLOMACY:
MESSAGE, PROCESS AND OUTCOMES
MESSAGE, PROCESS AND OUTCOMES
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When: June 1-3, 2006 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Location: West Point, N.Y. This event is by invitation only. |
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Overview:
The United States Military Academy (USMA) Senior Conference is an annual event administered by the Department of Social Sciences on behalf of the Superintendent, USMA. The conference provides a forum for distinguished representatives - from government (including the executive and legislative branches, and at the federal, state, and local levels), academia, the think-tank community, the media, business, and the joint military services - to discuss topics of national security importance. Senior Conference 2006, our forty-third gathering on Public Diplomacy: Message, Process and Outcomes addresses the formidable challenges that America faces carrying-out its public diplomacy effort in an international security environment that is significantly less supportive than in previous decades. Our image has suffered - not only in the Middle East and among Muslim populations, but among traditional allies. In Kuwait, which America fought to liberate from Iraq less than fifteen years ago, barely a quarter of the population views the United States favorably. In France, Germany, and even the United Kingdom, public animus towards America has greatly increased the political costs of public support of the United States. While "public diplomacy" has traditionally referred to governmental efforts to influence foreign audiences that definition has been increasingly blurred: messages intended for American citizens are received abroad; messages for foreign audiences are domestically received; and, key audiences, such as Diaspora communities living both in the United States and abroad, straddle the distinction between "domestic" and "foreign." Anti-American messages - attractive to audiences that transcend geography, culture, language, and social status - can be powerful, consistent, and difficult to counter. Globalization and the Internet level the playing field between governments and networks of individuals. The government's role in transmitting American values pales in comparison to U.S. cultural and business influence around the globe, yet it is unclear whether American marketing savvy helps or hinders U.S. efforts to influence foreign audiences. Even if it helps, that advantage has not been effectively harnessed to support U.S. international policy. Clearly, America has stumbled in articulating a clear and consistent message. Furthermore, it is clear that the United States must significantly improve the mechanisms designed to coordinate and deliver a coherent message. These are only some of the issues that this year's Senior Conference will engage. The conference provides a perfect forum -- sequestered and informal settings at the USMA -- for assembling a distinguished group of participants for two days of informal discussions. Keynote speakers will suggest new directions for analysis, and finally, three panels will focus on key aspects of the challenges the United States faces in leveraging all its elements of power to produce an effective public diplomacy strategy. Throughout all of these sessions, there will be a free and candid exchange of ideas among all participants. All comments are "not for attribution." The primary goal of the conference is to enrich senior participants' understanding of the U.S. public diplomacy problem. In addition, the conference will serve as a springboard for research in the Department of Social Sciences and the USMA Combating Terrorism Center. Finally, it is envisioned that the conference (while strictly "not for attribution") will generate timely and succinct synopses and analyses of the discussions, for distribution to the conference participants, and specifically tailored for consumption by policymakers and practitioners. The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the USMA Combating Terrorism Center, and the Department of Social Sciences are partnering to produce Senior Conference 2006, which is part of the Department of the Army's Eisenhower National Security Series. Agenda: Click here to view events details at the United States Military Academy website |