Democracy across the airwaves: The strategic work of American international broadcasting in Azerbaijan and Iran

At the end of the Cold War, American public diplomacy struggled to articulate its mission in a rapidly changing political and media environment. The days of one enemy, challenging American democracy, were gone. To many policy makers, public diplomacy's heyday was in the past---as evidenced through the dismantling of the United States Information Agency (USIA) in the early 1990s. This perception changed, however, after September 11, 2001, when calls for improving America's image abroad---both in the Muslim world and amongst close allies---could be heard in scholarly and policy circles. Now, nearly a decade into the quest to revamp and rebuild public diplomacy in the information age, the question remains of just how effective and targeted America's message is. To confront this issue, my dissertation examines two key institutions of American international broadcasting---Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)---and examines their work in two key Muslim states, from an American foreign policy perspective---Iran and Azerbaijan. In doing so, I examine whether promoting democracy is a strategic priority at RFE/RL and VOA. By considering public diplomacy organizations through the lens of democracy promotion, I am able to articulate similarities and differences between the broadcasters, in order to make a larger concluding statement about the role of American public diplomacy in foreign policymaking. As such, I argue that grouping public diplomacy organizations together, assuming parallel missions, misses the mark and limits the role of these organizations in gaining funding and in achieving their strategic goals. First, policymakers must understand the mission-oriented work of the international broadcasters, and then they will be better equipped to utilize these organizations in support of foreign policy goals. When this can be achieved, American public diplomacy will finally be given a "seat" at the policy table, and will experience a much-needed revival in the post-Cold War political context.