Losing Hearts and Minds: Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence in the Age of Terror

(Hardback)

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There is a broad consensus among informed observers both inside and outside the Beltway that American public diplomacy leaves much to be desired. Recent studies describe ineffectiveness, inadequate resources, and a general lack of direction. Further complicating this situation, there is no real consensus among critics on what must be done to fix current problems. Moreover, the ills afflicting public diplomacy are poorly understood. Losing Hearts and Minds situates these problems within the complex environment of U.S. government bureaucracy, and relates them to other instruments of national power, particularly diplomatic activities and military force. This book prompts debate by analyzing obstacles to effective public diplomacy, and offers a comprehensive vision of this critical dimension of statecraft, which without improvements will ill serve the nation in its ongoing efforts to counter the global threat of terror. After a systematic exploration of the concepts and terminology used to characterize public diplomacy and the wider domain of strategic influence, Carnes Lord examines the contemporary security environment and sketches an overall strategy that should guide the United States in projecting influence in the war on terror and in pursuing larger global interests. The author then looks at the cultural and institutional problems that have long handicapped the performance of the U.S. government in these areas. The book concludes with a detailed examination of the specific problems facing governmental agencies involved in public diplomacy and kindred disciplines, including the Departments of State and Defense, international broadcasters, and the White House.

Reviews

Lord, a professor of military and naval strategy at the US Naval War College, assesses the definition and role of American public diplomacy, or the overseas communications activities of government. The focus is on the governmental infighting that has recently marked the American use of public diplomacy, with the author suggesting ways to restructure the bureaucracy to increase the effectiveness of public diplomacy in the war on terrorism. He specifically champions a revived United States Information Agency (USIA) and vigorous ideological engagement on various issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian dispute; democracy and market economics; media policy; education reform; and state building. Public diplomacy, the author claims, should always serve the national interests of the US.[t]he work adds to the growing body of literature on public diplomacy by presenting some of the structural and practical elements that impede effective communication. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through practitioners. * Choice *
Drawing on his high-level public policy experience, he outlines what he considers to be an appropriate strategy to develop the organizational mechanisms within the U.S. government needed to carry out an effective public-diplomacy campaign to defeat the center of gravity of Islamic terrorism, which lies not in its organizational structure but in its ideological inspiration the real source of the fresh recruits who continue to flock to the terrorist banner.Mr. Lord's discussion of the role of public diplomacy and strategic influence as vital instruments of American national power is especially pertinent today as the administration and Congress goes about the business of confronting religious extremism and terrorism. * The Washington Times *
Weighs in on the vital debate over public diplomacy, offering both analysis of and prescriptions for some of the most complex issues facing U.S. foreign policy today. Lord believes that public diplomacy is a matter of strategic importance and that bureaucratic disarray, intellectual confusion, and political squeamishness are preventing the United States from performing this task successfully. Makes a strong case that a broad review of public diplomacy is urgently needed, and his holistic approach and unblinking focus on the relationship of public diplomacy to U.S. grand strategy will greatly benefit such a review. Much of what Lord says will be controversial, but a healthy dose of controversy may help stimulate the wide-ranging debate this important subject urgently needs. * Foreign Affairs *
Carnes Lord's Losing Hearts and Minds is one of 2006's more salient and disturbing books.Lord, a professor of strategy at the Naval War College, understands that the War on Terror is an ideological struggle, pitting democracy against tyranny and terror. Carnes argues that the United States and the West have not successfully engaged the ideas inspiring Islamist-led terrorism. It is indeed a tough subject--the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group barely touched on the terror war's ideological dimensions. Carnes notes how the media and Hollywood frequently compromise American soft power (moral, political and information persuasion). His suggestions for improving the selling of democracy include a revived and revamped U.S. Information Agency. * Lowell Sun (Massachusetts) *

Author Bio

Carnes Lord is Professor of Military and Naval Strategy in the Strategic Research Department at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. Dr. Lord is a distinguished scholar, educator, and former government official who served as the National Security Advisor to the Vice President and the Director of International Information and Communications Policy on the National Security Council Staff at the White House. His most recent book, The Modern Prince: What Leaders Need to Know Now, was acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal as an instant classic.