8. Foreign Public Engagement: An American Tradition in Context

The chapter explores the five patterns uncovered in the six early examples of US public diplomacy: communication; methods of engagement; people and organizations; public-private partnerships; and the role of the public in international relations. In looking at these patterns, connections will be made between the cases in the study and present-day public diplomacy. The last portion of the chapter re-examines the three interconnected problems confronting public diplomacy, and how the problems in some ways are tied to past practice, experience, political culture, and the United States’ own government structure. In connection to this, there will be a discussion on how key ideas or principles of US political culture either inhibited or catalyzed US foreign public engagement. This discussion leads to general recommendations about the role of public diplomacy in US statecraft and general practice.