Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:16:53 PST About Us      Advertise      Contact Us      Archives      Earlier articles


Public Diplomacy and Iran

{article.de scri ption}
Shermineh Rohanizadeh - shermineh.rohanizadeh@gmail.com
5 / 5 (2 Votes)
In an article in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Arthur Bardos wrote how public diplomacy was born out of the Cold War and that the U.S. saw itself in a struggle for the hearts and minds of the people in much of the world.  The U.S. is once again in a battle for the hearts and minds of the people of the world, especially in the Middle East. The time for effective public diplomacy in the Middle East has never been more important. Iran’s controversial uranium enrichment activities and its refusal to end their nuclear programs has positioned the country as a threat to the world. Now is a very crucial time for the U.S. to increase funding for public diplomacy programs in Iran.
     Given the history between these two countries, it will be a very difficult process; however, something happened this fall that changed the course U.S. public diplomacy. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, and a movement swept through the entire country, blazing a path toward rebuilding the U.S. image abroad.  The rest of the world began to take notice and the stigma attached to Americans has slowly begun to diminish. The bridge between the U.S. and the rest of the world is being mended. Now is the time in our nation’s history that is crucial for our national security to walk across that bridge, generate goodwill and rebuild relationships. The world is watching, waiting to be engaged, ready to listen and open to persuasion.
     Although post 9/11 efforts of public diplomacy have not been very successful, the political atmosphere is changing and Iran is no longer a lost cause. Iran is a unique case in the Middle East, because while the Iranian government is anti-American, the Iranian people are not. The opposite is true of the Arab nations in the Middle East. This provides the U.S. a great opportunity to win the trust and respect of the Iranian people.
     In order to have a successful public diplomacy program with Iran, the U.S. needs to focus on the younger generation of Iran, because 75% of the population is under the age of thirty. The U.S. needs to study trends of the Iran’s youth in order to more effectively reach this demographic.  The U.S. must focus its efforts on finding ways which will make Iranians more receptive to the U.S.  Another way to create public diplomacy with Iran is to increase cultural exchange programs to encourage more Iranian students to  attend American universities. Iranians are at the forefront of every major industry and their talents should be recognized and enriched.  The U.S. should also invest more money into creating Iranian studies programs at American universities, just as they did during the Cold War.
     Even though the Iranian government is anti-west, the Iranian people are pro-democracy and it would be mutually beneficial for the U.S. to fund pro-democratic organizations and NGO’s in Iran. The most important and challenging step to achieving an effective public diplomacy program in Iran is to gain the trust of the Iranian people who hold a cynical outlook on U.S. foreign policy. With a history of U.S. betrayal, it is going to take a lot of persuasion for the U.S. to gain credibility with the Iranian people. The only way to gain that trust and change the Iranian sentiment is through open and honest dialogue. Edward R. Murrow said, “To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful.”  The U.S. must recognize that Iran is not susceptible to propaganda, and the only way to win the hearts and minds of the Iranian people is through honesty and diplomacy.


5 / 5 (2 Votes)
Home > English > Politics

Submit Comment On Article Latest Farsi Articles On Payam e Ashena
Your name:
Your email:
Subject:
Comment Text:


به مناسبت 22 بهمن و سی و یکمین سالگرد انقلاب سال 1357: فرصت هایی که تا کنون از دست داده ایم !
از : غفور میرزایی
February 11th, 2010: نهضت روشنگری در ایران که ترجمان خواست جامعه عقب مانده و سنتهای نا متناسب با زمان بود، بیش از یکصد و پنجاه سال سابقه دارد.  این نهضت در درازای این تاریخ به موفقیت های متعددی نیز رسیده است.  ...
کودتا علیه دموکراسی
از : شهلا صمصامی
February 11th, 2010: دو روز پس از سالگرد ریاست جمهوری «اوباما»، دادگاه عالی آمریکا در یک رأی بی سابقه تأیید کرد که کمپانی های آمریکایی می توانند هر اندازه بخواهند برای پشتیبانی یا مخالفت با کاندیداهای سیاسی ...
گردهمایی یکصدمین سال تولد بارزگان
از : حسين زاهدى
February 11th, 2010: مهندس مهدی بازرگان، دین دار و دین شناسی که با حکومت دینی مخالف بوداو دین را در خدمت مردم می دانست و دستگاه روحانیت و شیوه تقلید را خلاف اسلام!نگاه شوق و خیال بلند وذ وق وجودگمان مبرکه همه خاک رهگذر ...
روانشناسی رشد اخلاق و نقش اخلاق در روابط انسانی (1)
از : دکتر نهضت فرنودی - روانشناس بالینی
February 11th, 2010: مقدمه: در لغت نامه ی دهخدا «اخلاق» اینگونه معنا شده است:علم اخلاق عبارتست از علم معاشرت با خَلق و آن از اقسام حکمت عملیه است و آنرا تهذب اخلاق و حکمت خُلقیه نیز نامند.امیر نیک آئین در ...
علائم خطر در بیماری های گوارشی
از : دکتر رامین ذبیحی متخصص بیماری های دستگاه گوارش
February 11th, 2010: تاکنون سخنان بسیاری از هوش و ذکاوت پزشکان حاذق شنیده ایم، ولی در اینجا قصد دارم از «بیماران باهوش» سخن بگویم و خصوصیات آنها را برشمرم.بیماران باهوش می توانند به خود و پزشک خود کمک بسیاری ...
Posted Comments On Article








Payam e Ashena Polls







لطفاً نظرتان را در باره این سایت بنویسید
بسیار خوب
خوب
متوسط



Most Popular News


Photo Gallery

Advertisements














'3') {data = data + '&sd=' + screen.colorDepth + '&sw=' + escape(screen.width+ 'x'+screen.height)}; document.write(''); document.write('');
First Time Visitor Since Feb 2005
CLICK  HERE TO SEE OUR VISITOR LOG

Copyright ©2000 - 2010 Payam e Ashena. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited
Designed    & Hosted By Scorpio Informatics
Preview Chanel
Powered by: PHPCow.com