Additional information
by Bruce Gregory (Author)
This is the first book to frame U.S. public diplomacy in the broad sweep of American diplomatic practice from the early colonial period to the present. It tells the story of how change agents in practitioner communities - foreign service officers, cultural diplomats, broadcasters, citizens, soldiers, covert operatives, democratizers, and presidential aides - revolutionized traditional government-to-government diplomacy and moved diplomacy with the public into the mainstream. This deeply researched study bridges practice and multi-disciplinary scholarship. It challenges the common narrative that U.S. public diplomacy is a Cold War creation that was folded into the State Department in 1999 and briefly found new life after 9/11. It documents historical turning points, analyzes evolving patterns of practice, and examines societal drivers of an American way of diplomacy: a preference for hard power over soft power, episodic commitment to public diplomacy correlated with war and ambition, an information-dominant communication style, and American exceptionalism. It is an account of American diplomacy's public dimension, the people who shaped it, and the socialization and digitalization that today extends diplomacy well beyond the confines of embassies and foreign ministries.
Back Jacket
This book tells the story of how innovative and rival practitioner communities have shaped American diplomacy's public dimension. It is the fi rst book to frame U.S. public diplomacy in the broad sweep of American diplomatic practice from the early colonial period to the present. "...not only original but also potentially fi eld shifting. This is not simply another good book on American public diplomacy: it will be the book on American public diplomacy." --Professor Geoffrey Wiseman, DePaul University, U.S.A "American Diplomacy's Public Dimension, a masterful historical overview of American diplomatic communication, provides fi rst-time insight into the evolution of U.S. public diplomacy from the colonial era to the present day. This book also offers a nuanced assessment of contemporary public diplomacy practices in the face of rapid technological transformation and increasingly 'societized' diplomatic engagement. An exceptional blend of public diplomacy scholarship and deep institutional knowledge, this major work will appeal to diplomatic practitioners, professors, and policymakers." -- Vivian S. Walker, Executive Director, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy "Gregory thinks like an academic while seeing public diplomacy through the lens of the work of the men and women who have put fl esh on the bones of U.S. public diplomacy policies... This book is steeped in deep knowledge and his exceptional dedication to getting our understanding of public diplomacy right." --Professor Jan Melissen, Editor-in-Chief, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy Bruce Gregory taught graduate and undergraduate courses on public diplomacy at Georgetown University and George Washington University for 17 years. Prior to that, his 33-year government career included positions at the Department of State, U.S. Information Agency, 13 years as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and three years on the faculty of the National War College. Publications include peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, public policy reports, and a bimonthly literature review. P
Author Biography
Bruce Gregory taught graduate and undergraduate courses on public diplomacy at Georgetown University and George Washington University for nearly seventeen years. Prior to that, his 33-year government career included positions at the Department of State, U.S. Information Agency, 13 years as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and three years on the faculty of the National War College. Publications include peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, public policy reports, and a bimonthly literature review.
