A Failure to Communicate?

Many Americans were convinced a failure to communicate America’s story contributed to the attacks of 9/11. The US responded on two levels. First, leaders embraced what was familiar. The 9/11 Commission recommended a long list of traditional public diplomacy methods framed in a “war on terrorism.” In the State Department, a revolving door of public diplomacy undersecretaries served briefly with little impact. But there was a second response. Practitioners were facing global challenges other than terrorism. They adopted new tools and methods, and they focused increasingly on diplomacy in health, climate, energy, cyber, migration, technology, and other domains. Ambassadors, “the new PAOs,” pioneered uses of social media. Foreign Service officers convened and connected diplomatic actors in cities and civil society. Cultural diplomats expanded youth and student exchanges. Broadcasters pivoted to Internet streaming and social media platforms. Democratizers made democracy’s decline a new and urgent priority.