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American Encounters with Arabs: The Soft Power of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East
By
William A. Rugh
Explores U.S. attempts to win hearts and minds in the Arab world. For sixty years, U.S. government officials have conducted public diplomacy programmes to try to reach Arab public opinion, in order to inform and educate, and to understand Arab attitudes. American public affairs officers have met serious challenges in the past, but Arab public criticism of the United States has reached unprecedented levels since the Iraq War. Polls show that much of the negative opinion of the United States, especially in the Middle East, can be traced to dissatisfaction with U.S. foreign policy. Rugh, a retired career Foreign Service officer who served twice as ambassador to countries in the region, explains how U.S. government officials have dealt with the key problem issues over the years, and he recommends ways that public diplomacy can better support and enhance U.S. national interests in the Middle East. This struggle for the \"hearts and minds\" of the Arab world is carried out through broadcasting, cultural contacts, and educational and professional exchanges. Public diplomacy supports the traditional diplomatic functions of official business between governments. Whereas diplomats from the United States deal with diplomats of foreign governments, public affairs officers deal with opinion leaders such as media editors, reporters, professors, student leaders, and prominent intellectuals and cultural personalities. Rugh provides a detailed look at how public affairs officers do their jobs, how they have innovated in their efforts to meet the challenges of the past, and how they continue to do so in the post-9/11 era. The author has hands-on experience as a diplomat in the Arab world, and provides 60 years of background history in public diplomacy in the Middle East, drawing lessons for the present. It includes reactions of Arabs to U.S. public diplomacy, and asks if the message is getting through. The context of foreign policy is illuminated by the author.
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