Teaching Public Diplomacy and the Information Instruments of Power in a Complex Information Environment (2020)

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) is a bipartisan panel created by Congress in 1948 to appraise all U.S. government efforts to understand, inform and influence foreign publics. The Commission makes recommendations to improve the Public Diplomacy (PD) functions vested in U.S. government entities such as the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and other interagency partners.

In today’s complex and increasingly competitive global information environment, it is absolutely essential that information outreach, advocacy and influence initiatives are coordinated across the U.S. government interagency. This requires a basic shared understanding and definition of the information space in all its complexity, as well as broad knowledge of the full range of the information instruments of power—what they are, how they can be best deployed, and their strategic effects.

To build a body of expertise around the teaching of public diplomacy, information and influence activities, the ACPD convened a group of military and civilian educators and practitioners at the National War College in Washington, DC.  This special report summarizes their findings and, we believe, marks the beginning of a sustained and productive exchange of ideas, as well as a genuine commitment to improving U.S. government PD initiatives across the interagency.