The Last Three Feet: Case Studies in Public Diplomacy ed. by William P. Kiehl (review)

The term public diplomacy has become entrenched in modern political talk. A hundred years ago one would have used the term propaganda, but that word became so entwined with Nazi Germany’s and the Soviet Union’s efforts at misinformation that it became a symbol of lying and exaggeration and fell out of use. It was replaced for the most part by the term public affairs, an anodyne expression that was reasonably accurate and caused no grief, but at the same time appeared to bring no particular distinction to the user. As was inevitable, the popular replaced the anodyne, and the term public diplomacy, to everyone’s satisfaction, became widely used.

One might well ask if the public affairs officer and the diplomat who engages in public diplomacy do exactly the same thing and whether it really matters what we call them? The answer is yes, it does. Words have a meaning often beyond the schoolboy’s definition, and if a new title gives dignity, gravitas, and even courage to an office holder, then he or she should be encouraged to use it, not so much to inflate one’s ego but to perform successfully. The US Foreign Service knows this, and it encourages innovation and nuance sensitivity in its officers through a variety of ways, including title description.

The Public Diplomacy Council, a nongovernment entity, in an effort to facilitate and popularize the practice of public diplomacy, has now published The Last Three Feet, edited by William P. Kiehl. It includes, for the most part, case studies of public diplomacy in action. The title is a quote from Edward R. Murrow, who wrote that moving information five or ten thousand miles is simply a technical problem; moving it the last three feet in face-to-face conversation is the real art. Even this statement, however, so enthusiastically endorsed by so many, can be argued. The real art is generating a meaningful response from the person to whom one is talking. Dialogue, the mutual exchange of serious ideas, is the instrument a public diplomat uses not only to present ideas but to present them in a convincing fashion. Dialogue is the meat of public diplomacy and once achieved can lead to many successful partnerships.

The Last Three Feet contains case histories of public diplomacy efforts written by the people who were actively involved. Beatrice Camp, former principal officer at the US Consulate General, Shanghai, begins by telling how she “loved the Shanghai Exposition” in 2010. US participation was difficult because it started so late. Congress had expressly denied funding for international affairs after earlier misuse of appropriations and reversed itself only after a long campaign citing Chinese disappointment and the commercial advantages other countries would attain because of the US absence. Camp also worked with US firms who either already had heavy investments in China or had plans for future involvement. This partnership between government and business was unique to the US exhibit and brought congratulatory comments from attending Chinese and envious comments from other international exhibitors. By the time the exposition ended, more than 7 million Chinese had visited the US exhibit, had seen the specially created films for the fair, and had spoken to the young American guides, who all spoke Chinese. The exhibit was a clear success, attested to by the thousands of unsolicited comments made by its visitors, and was clearly attributable to the hard work and intelligent planning of its sponsors.

Rachel Graaf Leslie, a one-time public affairs officer in Bahrain, describes the political situation in this small Shiite majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni emir during the Arab Spring. The US embassy faced a dilemma; it wished to preserve the special relationship and great cooperation the United States had with Bahrain concerning defense and naval matters while at the same time endorse the civil liberties the Shiites were demanding from the Sunni...