Guest post on Guerrilla Diplomacy: Tools for a more resilient public diplomacy

I had the pleasure of presenting via videoconference to Daryl Copeland’s MA class at Ottawa University on October 10. The guest post on his blog, Guerrilla Diplomacy,  approximates the thoughts I presented.

Tools for a more resilient public diplomacy

With the right tools, smarter networks and collaborative strategies there is potential to deliver a more resilient and sustainable public diplomacy.

Context

• Public diplomacy is regularly cast as a long term activity, often around building lasting relationships or impact and frequently focused on engaging young people or the ‘next generation’.

On the other hand;

• We know shock events will happen that cause rapid shifts in emphasis, policy, and resources. This Michael Oppenheimer has referred to as the inevitability of surprise in an environment that exhibits rapid change, fluid alignments, wide policy choice and strategic surprise.

The resulting challenge:

• How to develop public diplomacy strategy in a way which considers potential shocks and is more resilient to policy shifts within the ‘constellation of possible futures’, to borrow a phrase Anne-Marie Slaughter used at the School of International Futures. Read more…

The full article can be found on Guerrilla Diplomacy.