On U.S. Public Diplomacy (1917-2009)

Diplomacy is the product of civilization and the rational method to resolve disputes. The audience give more and more attention to international problems, grasp the external world, participate international affairs, strongthen international exchange. The audience have played a big role in formulating a policy by the improvement of their social status. The main countries struggle for promoting their images, inform and explain their policies, communicate their values to influence international public opinion and make further efforts to maximize their national interest. The time and tide attach importance to public diplomacy and it has become the important part of national diplomacy.American is the nation with the most active and powerful public diplomacy practice. Public diplomacy has become an unneglectable part of American foreign policy, has been taken as a well-known weapon to build the national image and win the support of global public opinion and played a supplementary role in American foreign relations. From the building of America, public diplomacy witnessed and experienced the two World Wars and Cold War, and it employed various methods and made its feature easy to be detected.This thesis differentiates several periods of U.S public diplomacy and gives a discription on excution, activities, different strategic regions, supervision, legal systerm and the defect.During War of lndependence public diplomacy play a role for American to make a better international climate. From then on U.S. has developed public diplomacy. During the World War I the U.S. government established Committee on Public Information, which is the begin of intentional public diplomacy. Before the World War II, because of the international communication channel's building and the administration's establishing the activies of public diplomacy has expanded in the field of international broadcasting, movies, publication, and international education and so on. During the World War II the public diplomacy played a role in military triumph.USIA, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy were established and public diplomacy has become a independent field. These organizations are the public diplomacy systerm with Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Bureau of International Information Programs, CIA and Department of Defense.U.S. international information net composes of AP, UPI, VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio and Televiosion Marti, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Iraq, Radio Free Afghanistan, Radio Sawa, Radio Farda and so on. They inform U.S. policies, introduce U.S.history, culture and social systerm and refute the hostile propaganda.U.S. government communicates culture and value to influence the audience and make a good image by publication, movies, providing fund to exchange of students and scholar, volunteer of Peace Corps. The Program of Fulbright and Peace Corps are legitimate activities and have been taken for decades.The Fulbright Act of 1946, Smith-Mundt Act, The Mutual Educational and Cultural Act of 1961, Peace Corps Act, International Education Act of 1966, International Broadcasting Act, and Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 have passed. These acts have formed the legal systerm. The legal systerm makes public diplomacy work smoothly. On the other hand, it protects civic right against aggression from proganda and anti-terrorism.In a word, U.S. public diplomacy has established the systerm whick is composed of policies directing, execution, supervision, engaged large-scale activities and improve public diplomacy legal system.However, U.S. public diplomacy has vital defects. Firstly, U.S. lacks of initiative in public diplomacy. The government always take irritability activities after affairs or disaster. Secondly, U.S. public diplomacy is short of strategic programme. Thirdly, U.S. public diplomacy won't be always very effective because of the awful foreign policies.According to advantage and shortcoming of U.S. this thesis gives some suggestions to China. The first one, we should work out a long plan. The second one, we should build a long-term mechanism. The third one, we should encourage the nongovernmental resource. The forth one, the public diplomacy should cover more and more audience. The fifth one, we should build an open reception systerm. The last one, we should be ready for a long time stuggle for success.